SB Nation - Thaddeus Young

WIN! Oh wait.

TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsMichaelBourn — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:08:30 -0000

Is that a sock in your pants, Mr. Kaman, or did you just drop 18 and 10 in the first half?

After a pretty impressive comeback against an even worse team, Andre Iguodala seemed to have won the game on a buzzer-beater from just inside the three point line at the top of the key, but replays showed the red light went on when the ball was still in his hands. In overtime, we got played, as defensive ineffectiveness and poor rebounding kept us from getting the W.

I'll only touch on the negatives because they're the same ones we've seen all season: piss poor defense, especially against a team with a legitimate post threat, the inability to make good decisions late in games, and horrible 3-point shooting. Jrue played real bad, but didn't turn the ball over, which I guess is a positive. He got shredded on D by Baron Davis, one of the best offensive points in the league. Lou Williams was just as bad, and for the second time in a row, Eddie Jordan played an injured player too much, too soon in their first game back. He truly is an idiot.

But since we're in the Christmas spirit of optimism (!!!!!), let's look at the positives, shall we?

Mo, Mo, Mo - He's a really good offensive player. He's tenacious, he's tough, he's clever, he's a whole lotta man. John said it somewhere that if he showed the same intensity on D as he did on the other end, he'd be a phenomenal basketball player. What he is right now is a great talent. He was the guy we went to in crunch time, and succeeded, drawing fouls, including a crucial 6th to Chris Kaman (who murdered us tonight), and a gutsy one-hander after a spin move and a bunch of uncalled slaps on the baseline. I love what he's been showing us, especially on the boards, where he seems to be going at it with more determination. He should be our starting center.
Thaddeus Young - Against Boston he only got 3 boards after three straight games of 10+. Tonight he got his big ol' hands on 8 rebounds, showing some toughness against a notoriously angry Al Thornton, and played pretty decent defense, forcing him to take (and make) a tough shot in the waning moments of the game. His offense and fast-break improvements were on full display tonight, getting hot in the first quarter, then taken out by Eddie and never going back to him later. Thanks, Ed.
Andre Iguodala - He's good. Human fast-break, defensive stalwart, getting into passing lanes, setting up teammates, and finally, coming super close to winning this game on a loose ball prayer. But to no avail. 20, 9, 7, and 4 steals are what we expect of Andre on a nightly basis, and it's good to take a moment every once in a while to say "hey, most guys don't do that." Kid can play, we're lucky to have him on our ballclub.
Willie Green - He wasn't bad, and actually, he really hasn't been bad all season. I still don't want him to play because he's getting in the way of Jrue, but he's having a solid year despite all the crap we (and I) always give him. 45% from the field, 90% from the line, 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, 33% from beyond. I'd still trade him in a heartbeat, and he looks clueless out there from time to time, but compared to past years, he's....ok.
10 minutes for Dalembert - 5 fouls. Next year's expiring contract can't come soon enough.

So it turns out that last night's tease doesn't mean we're championship contenders. Go figure, they had me convinced. I already bought playoff tix! We're 7-20 people. Please realize what we have here and we can all move forward civilly in hopes of a future that includes a better draft pick and no Haitian center.

In sad news, the Cowboys won. The Saints were due for a loss after eeking out some close ones, but it's never fun to watch the 'girls celebrate. Can't wait for the Cowboys collective balloon to deflate next week when the Redskins beat them. Good luck with the snow everybody, and more importantly, Go Birds.

NBA Eastern Conference: Taking Stock

tenaciousT — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:04:32 -0000

NBA –arama

After making my preseason predictions, I said I'd check how things were going from time to time. It's time. Let's take a look around the east, see what’s going on, and fess up to a few big misses. A number of predictions are on target...so far. Preseason predictions are in parentheses followed by current record

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (63-19) - 20-4
Thought they were going gently into their assisted living facilities, eh? Tut tut, my skeptical friends. The ‘assisted living’ comes courtesy of one Rajon Rondo, point guard extraordinaire. Rondo plays one gear higher than the rest of his starting unit.

11 game win streak says they are rounding into shape after starting strong, stumbling, then slowly righting the ship. The only major surprise was/is the lack of 48 minute intensity, and rebounding woes. They still look like one of the best teams in the NBA to challenge the Lakers. Back with a vengeance? They are back. Vengeance comes later.

Toronto (35-47) - 11-17
International crisis or communication breakdown?
Some expected more, but they are about where I expected and for the same reason – defense. Bargnani is part of the dilemma. He is a skilled big, but not an interior presence. With a domestic vs. international player rift surfacing recently, the Raps played their best defensive game of the season afterwards. Hedo’s not fitting in like they hoped…yet.

Jose Calderon has disappointed so far in what was supposed to be his big year. The rebuilt roster should be better later in the season, but aren’t built for prolonged defense. They are giving up 103.5 over their last 5 games, which 5 points better than before.

New York (31-51) - 8-16
After a 3-14 start, the ‘D’Antonies’ are 5-2 in their last 7 games. Another team without interior defense. They looked under every rock for a bona fide PG but the right one – the draft. Biggest current embarrassment is choosing Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings in the draft. This was going to be a learning year anyway, right? Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague were also still out there. Any of those better than Chris Duhon? Maybe some are already.

D’Antoni, frankly, has disappointed as well. I’ll confess, I thought Darko Milicic was a good risk for a team starved for bigs that block shots and play defense. Go figure. Jordan Hill may end up being a good player some day, too. Winning started by benching Nate Robinson. Coincidence? Sharp shooter Gallinari continues to impress, adds some board work.

76ers (41-41) – 6-19
Okay, this is one that’s not going as I thought it would. Oye.
Injuries are only part of the problem. Is Brand a lesser player now? Or is he just on the wrong team? Maybe it’s all bad karma for Elton leaving a good situation in Clipperland. (Yes, I did just say that.) Louis Williams (injured), Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young give hope for the future. It’s so bad that Iverson is back. Yeah, I know.

New Jersey (26-56) – 2-24
Say no more. Accident on the Jersey Turnpike. Tie up for miles, but not for years. No, they are not this bad. Bad luck continues with Yi Jianlian getting 50 stitches (yes 50) in his mouth courtesy of a Sean Williams elbow in a recent practice. The sooner this team can exit the swamp the better. Still, Brook Lopez will become an even better player if this season doesn’t kill him first. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts are all good young talent.

Central Division

Cleveland (58-24) – 19-7
They are much better after starting 0-2 and 3-3. Not dominating like last season, but still a force. Shaq shooting a career low 49%, though they are now winning with him. Most lopsided team scoring distribution I have ever seen for a top team. Only three players in double digits and one of them is Shaq at 10.8 per.

Second best FG% defense and 4th best points allowed means they are still dangerous and in the hunt. Though Shaq is mostly a sideways or backwards move, if they get to the finals he helps against Lakers’ frontline. Shaq can’t slow down an already very slow team…can he? I feared this team more last year. Stop LeBron and you stop the Cavs. Am I wrong?

Stat of note: Cavs lead league in points in paint defense (34.1)

Milwaukee (35-47) – 11-12
Early season surprise coming back to earth lately. Many thought I had them too high. But Skiles always seems to get players to overachieve for a few years, until his tough guy ways get tired. Brandon Jennings makes a big splash with 55 point game but is tailing off since then. Still, he is the real deal and will figure things out.

Bucks are first in shot attempts and dead last in free throw attempts, which pretty much goes hand in hand. No one on this team gets to the line, except Jennings and Hakim Warrick.

Side Note: Toronto is known as the international team. But even they can’t compete with Milwaukee. Current starters are from 5 different countries: Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, and U.S. Positively cosmopolitan for a city Shlitz beer made famous.

Detroit (36-46) - 11-14
I guess they are a bit better than I thought. Will this last? Even with key players injured, they put together a recent 5 game winning streak. They are still working a new system with a new coach. Loss of Tayshaun Prince hurts, Gordon is playing hurt, and Rip Hamilton is still in and out.

Still, the biggest surprise is the renaissance of "I’m retiring" Ben Wallace. Back up to 30 minutes and 10 rebounds a game, he can still defend, too. Detroit is 2nd best in points in paint defense. Can he do it all year and where is his help?

Pistons have the 3rd best total rebounding and 3rd best offensive rebounding differential in the league. Rodney Stuckey’s career year (19.3 pts) is offset by lower shooting %. He should stop taking three pointers altogether (21.4%)

Indiana (30-52) – 9-14
Danny Granger’s team is without Danny Granger for a while. With mediocre stats everywhere, just what do they do better than most NBA teams? Foul. They are 3rd in league with 2.2 foul differential.

Mike Dunleavy returns to a system that uses him to his best advantage and not a minute too soon. If the Pacers win 36 games, and that’s possible, that means O’Brien would have coached three straight 36-46 records here. Hey I have to find something interesting, don’t I? T.J. Ford is underwhelming again.

How are they doing attracting more fans? The past three years they went from 30th to 28th to 27th this season in attendance. They are a team with more integrity, but a few more wins wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Chicago (41-41) - 8-15 No one expected this meltdown. The loss of Ben Gordon’s 4th quarter points, Tyrus Thomas’ injury, Kirk Hinrich playing hurt, John Salmons’ underachieving season are all contributors, but all are secondary to Derrick Rose’s lack of noticeable improvement.

The chant for Vinny Del Negro’s head grows louder and I’m not against it. But I’d ask…who hired a rookie head coach for this team in the first place? That is where the blame should lie. Del Negro did reasonably well last season, but the wheels are falling off the wagon now.

Deng is playing well and Joakim Noah is continuing his rise up the food chain, but it’s nowhere near enough. I am fast becoming a Joakim Noah fan. Plays with passion, toughness, and heart.

Southeast Division

Orlando (60-22) -19-6
Fools go where wise men fear to tread – the paint against the Magic. They are crazy deep and probably Boston’s biggest problem in the East. Jameer Nelson returns soon and that’s not good news for opponents. Right now they are better offensively (5th rated) but worse defensively (9th rated) than last season, while giving up 2.2 more points.

This is a great situation for Vince Carter, who is playing 5 minutes less, but leads the team in scoring (19), while still hoisting up 17 shots per and will be a solid 4th quarter option for the Magic.

D. Howard is getting one less block a game, but shooting a career high in FG% (63.4%) While they probably over paid a bit for Mickael Pietrus ($5.3 mil), he continues to be a valuable piece to this team. Ryan Andersen has quietly been a nice addition. Marcin Gortat – the unhappy multi-millionaire.

Atlanta (48-34) - 18-6
This team is playing even better than I thought….and I thought this would be a good team. Woodson said the next thing is to learn how to win on the road. The Hawks are 7-4 so far this season and that is a huge step forward. Three of those road wins were against very tough home teams - Dallas, Boston and Portland.

For a team that could lose their leader (Joe Johnson) and their coach next season, they are moving from pretender to contender. Their youthful exuberance could make up for whatever they are missing. Al Horford and Josh Smith are unique young players and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the veteran leadership. They are pasting the lesser teams and are 3rd in the league in average winning margin at +8.4 points. Just behind the Celtics and Lakers. Hmm…

Miami (38-44) – 12-11
Dwayne Wade is to this team what LeBron is to the Cavs. Probably more so. Jermaine O’Neal is actually playing pretty well, but is a shell of his earlier self. We knew going in that the Heat go as Wade goes. Michael Beasley is improving and Haslem is solid.

They stretched the Lakers to a (lucky) Kobe Bryant banked buzzer beating 3 pointer over Wade’s outstretched hand. That probably defines their season as well as anything. With $50 million coming off the books in 2010, this team (hopefully) gets a complete rebuild. With a player option for $17 million, whether Wade stays or not remains to be seen.

Charlotte (33-49) - 10-14
Solid defensive team (2nd in points allowed) that has trouble scoring (27th). Deliberate offense (pace: 28th in NBA) helps keep opponents’ numbers down. 5-5 over the last ten, they added controversial, but multi-talented Stephen Jackson. It gives the team a focal point (and… gulp…leader) Larry Brown has great experience handling prima donna players and Raymond Felton is playing better since Jackson’s arrival.

Gerald Wallace, the last original Bobcat, was plucked from deep on Sacramento’s bench. Time to test him for HRH (Human Rebound Hormone). He has gone crazy boarding, up from 7.8 last season to 12.2 this year. I’d like to know the last time an established player made that kind of jump. He continues to ply his game for a team going nowhere.

Talented DJ Augustine has perplexingly gone backwards this season. Tyson Chandler, who could have been an earlier version of Joakim Noah, is showing how much Chris Paul helped his game.

But we forget just how bad this team was before Larry Brown arrived.

Washington (41-41) - 7-16
In preseason I wrote…. "everyone’s favorite ‘move up’ team." What I didn’t write was that it would take some doing to keep all these scorers happy with shots and minutes. Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. And things aren’t getting better. They are on a 6 game losing streak as I write this.

I never saw a happier, more hopeful team in the losers’ locker room than the one that ended its season against the Celtics last year. They all knew a much better year was coming. They had their version of a big three returning. But ubuntu doesn’t live here. Tragic because there is a lot of talent here. Flip Saunders has to sort this out, but I’m not sure where he starts.

I’ll end by (again) making my pitch for an unsung role player buried on the Wizards bench. Dominic McGuire would make a great (and cheap) Celtic.

There you have it. I apparently thought way too much of the Sixers. Comments welcome on all teams.

Cavs snap Sixers 1-game winning streak

jsams — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:53:05 -0000

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Box Score

The Good

Jrue Holiday continues to be a baller. The 19-year-old added Mo Williams to his list of point guards who "Kissed The Baby" during his three December starts.

Russell Westbrook (Dec.2) 1-11 from the floor.
Monta Ellis (Dec.14) 3-14 from the floor.
Mo Williams (Tonight) 2-8 from the floor.

Total: 6-33 (18%)

Not only did Holiday shut down an All-Star (look it up) tonight; he also ran the offense beautifully. His vision and passing abilities are those of a 10-year veteran. Very impressive considering we're talking about the youngest player in the NBA. He still makes mistakes and his offense is very raw, but he's going to be a stud, and absolute stud. I'm so convinced. Offense comes and goes, but defense stays forever. Put that in your Christmas card!

In the past three games Thaddeus Young has three double-doubles. In the 183 games prior to this stretch he had three total. My two biggest criticisms of Thad have always been defense and rebounding. His offense will come, and he'll eventually average 20 PPG, but averaging four rebounds a game isn't going to cut it. For someone who plays significant minutes at power forward, Thad needed to rebound for his team to be successful. How does 35 boards in the past three games sound? Message receieved. The only difference has been Thad's effort, but it's been a huge difference. If he keeps this up I see a 20-10 season is in his future. Oh by the way, he's 21 years old.

For those of you scoring at home, that's two future studs at the ripe ages of 19 and 21.

As a Sixers fan, I was pretty happy with what I saw tonight as far as development is concerned. The four guys I'm interested in (Jrue, Andre, Thad, Speights) all played pretty well, and showed glimpses of a possibly bright future for the franchise. Speights was somewhat rusty in his return from injury -- as expected -- but still managed to score 14 off the bench. I don't consider him a stud like Holiday, Thad or Andre, but still a big part of the team's future. Andre was Andre. I still cringe every time he takes a jumper, but once a legit franchise player comes to town (John Wall), Andre will become Robin instead of Batman where he's much better suited, in my opinion.

Just remember, as long as Eddie Jordan is the head coach the scoreboard doesn't reflect wins and losses, the development of the young guys does.

The Bad

Speaking of Eddie Jordan, his coaching skillz lost the Sixers another game. He's the basketball equivalent of a rooster-block. Just when things start to look promising and the players say to themselves, "Let's seal the deal!", he pulls super-rookie Jrue Holiday for Billy Green. Not only did he pull his one of his best defenders/facilitators for free-firing, no defense Green, he took Iguodala off LeBron and gave Green the assignment of Queen James. Really? You decide to put Bill Green, of all people, on LeBron James to end a game? If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd accuse EJ of trying to lose the game. Maybe he's on the John Wall bandwagon? Yes, the Sixers were already losing when Jordan made the switch, but who says the Sixers couldn't have gotten a couple stops with Jrue on Mo and Andre on LeBron? It's not like they were down 10. It was a two possession game, Sixers ball, and 2 minutes and change. Alas. The move perfectly sums up the Eddie Jordan era.

If you're into the +/- stat, Allen Iverson was the worst Sixer with a -11 tonight. Don't worry, it was strictly a basketball decision.

RECAP: Warriors 101, Sixers 117 -- The Answer

Feltbot — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:01:53 -0000

More photos » by Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images

(Is that Mikki Moore waiting under the basket? Tasty!)

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Final Boxscore | Game Thread (820+ Comments) | Warriors Web Links

There was a little intrigue surrounding this battle of Eastern and Western Conference cellar dwellers. Would this be the game that the desperate Sixers broke their 12 game losing streak? Would the short-handed and undersized Warriors have anything left in the tank for the fifth game of a long East-coast road trip? And perhaps most intriguing, who would win the battle of lightning-bug scoring machines, the reigning title holder in that category, Allen Iverson, or the man many have called Iverson's successor, Monta Ellis?

Unfortunately, we got early and decisive answers to all of our questions, and they all came down in favor of The Answer, Allen Iverson, and his Philadelphia 76ers.

FINAL - 12.14.2009	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Golden State Warriors	24	33	11	33	101
Philadelphia 76ers	36	35	26	20	117

COMPLETE COVERAGE >

The Sixers deserve a lot of credit for this win. Their coach, Eddie Jordan, made a bold move by starting a quicker and smaller unit than usual. He took Elton Brand out of the starting lineup, and put Thaddeus Young, normally a small forward, at power forward. T-Young was the Warriors killer in this game. His quickness and athleticism ate up Vlad Rad, and made Mikki Moore look like the old man in the rec league. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds, most coming in the first half. Taking Brand's place in the starting lineup was rookie point guard and defensive specialist Jrue Holiday. Holiday did a nice job hawking Monta, and his length appeared to bother Monta's jumper. And yes, The Answer delivered: Iverson got an efficient 20 points on 10 shots. Have you ever seen Allen Iverson play within a team concept, and take only what the defense was giving him? It happened in this game, and may be the way of the future for the noticeably slower 34 year old legend.

But mostly, this game was about what the Warriors couldn't do. Perhaps exhausted in the last game of their long road trip, they simply didn't show up to compete. Monta Ellis couldn't get anything going, shooting 3-15 from the field, many of his misses coming on open layups. But even if Monta had played well, it wouldn't have mattered in a game in which the Warriors simply surrendered the paint to the Sixers.

Here's a couple of stats that tell the real story of this game: The Warriors total number of rebounds, 26, was only one more than the number of offensive rebounds they gave up, 25. If you had tried to count the number of Sixers layups and dunks that resulted, you would have run out of fingers and toes. Overall, the Sixers outrebounded the Warriors 59-26. Now that's a bloody massacre.

Obviously, this was a game in which the Warriors greatly missed their injured big men, Andris Biedrins and Rony Turiaf. But even more obviously, they missed the comfort of their beds at home. As Coach Keith Smart memorably put it in his post-game interview, the road-weary Warriors played "like a horse trying to get back to the barn."

Sticking with Smart's barnyard theme, I'm going to initiate a new feature, that hopefully doesn't get too much use going forward. This is where I try to find some nice things about the Warriors' performance in a blowout loss. I'm calling it:

Lipstick on a Pig

I liked the play of two Warriors in this game:

Anthony Randolph: The Warriors' version of Where's Waldo? showed up for this game, on a night when no one else did. Go figure. Here are the highlights:

Have you been looking for a clue as to why Randolph's playing time has been so sporadic in the last few games? You may need to look no further than this: Randolph virtually never took a jumpshot in this game. He took the lumbering Dalembert to the rack again and again, finishing beautifully, and drawing fouls. Randolph took 11 free throws in this game.
After a slow start in which he again got burned by leaving his feet for pump-fakes, Randolph settled down and gave a solid defensive effort. I think he got more than the 2 blocks he was credited in the box score.
He played under control at all times, even when leading the fast break. Only 1 turnover.
Keith Smart praised Randolph after the game, and at the same time dropped a few more tea leaves to read for puzzled Randolph watchers. Smart said that Randolph was "decisive," and "tried to compete at a high level." And "even with everything going on with him, he was ready to go." A reference to the family emergency that took Randolph away from the team a few games ago?

Devean George: When George came in for Monta Ellis at 5:25 in the third, we knew the plug had been pulled. But surprisingly, George looked pretty darn good in his first extended action this season. He drained three threes, and really competed on the defensive end, helping turn a sickening 30 point blowout into a "respectable" 16 point blowout. Keith Smart praised his professionalism after the game, and said he hoped it would serve as a lesson for his young players.

It will be interesting to see if the Warriors intend to give George real minutes on the front line going forward. From the looks of this road trip, they may need him.

This is a tough choice. This would be the first Warrior Wonder of Devean George's career! And will I ever get another chance to give it to him? I gotta go with the young fella though: Mr. Anthony Randolph. He needs our support.

Sixers snap 12-game losing streak

jsams — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:10:40 -0000

Box Score

I come away from tonight's game with the same feeling one has after hooking up with a super-hot, really drunk chick at a party. The feeling being, "Man, that was fun and really easy, but I wonder how I'll fare tomorrow night, and I wonder how differently tonight would've went if that girl hadn't consumed 13 captain and cokes." The Sixers dominated tonight, but it was against a free-wheeling, disinterested, discombobulated, defenseless Golden State Warriors -- the same team who allowed a 20 year old rookie to drop 55 on them. So, they're a lot like my drunk sorority chick; everyone score on 'em, even rookies. The dubs were also playing the final game of a long road trip and playing without their head coach. The Sixers showed a lot of positive tonight, both as individuals and as a team, but until I see it against a good team -- one who plays defense and doesn't jack up bad shots -- then I'm going to hold off on the excitement. Is this team beginning to turn the corner or was tonight a product of the hot mess known also known as the Golden State Warriors? The answer will come soon enough; the Cavs and Celtics are up next. On to the positives...

Thaddeus Young was an absolute man. He torched people on the block, converted offensive rebounds and mixed in a couple jumpers. Yes, he was being guarded by Vladimir Radmanovic most of the night, but an impressive showing nonetheless. In the past, Thad would get hot and then not touch the ball for the next 20 minutes. Tonight was a different story, and since I'm in an awesome mood, I'm going to give Eddie Jordan all the credit. Thad's 26 points was impressive, but what impressed me most -- and left me quite thrilled -- was his career-high 14 rebounds. That's two games in a row Thad had double-digit rebounds. If he keeps it up I'll stop calling him overrated.

Tonight, Monta Ellis was 3-14 from the floor. On December 2nd Russell Westbrook was 1-11 from the floor. The common denominator? Both were defended by Jrue Holiday. 'Nuff said. (The reason I went all the way back to December 2nd is because that was Jrue Holiday's last start before tonight.)

I'd spend more time on how much potential this team has when Lou and M16 return from injury, but again, I want to see them do it against someone other than a hammered sorority girl.

Player of the game: Thaddeus Young

Thoughts on Rockets 96 - 76ers 91 (Aka Game Recap)

Xiane — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:02:07 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady is proud to represent the nation of China in the 2009-2010 NBA All-Star Game. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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This game was viewed through the prism of an ill child (nothing serious), so my thoughts are more fragmented that usual. I'll rely more on that last resort of scoundrels, statistics.

When one looks at the 76er starting lineup, it is pretty impressive:

Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Allen Iverson, Samuel Dalembert, Thaddeus Young.

That's a lot of talent, a ton of athletic ability. Elton Brand has in the past, been one of the finest players in the NBA at his position. Iguodala has one of the more well-rounded, athletic and interesting games in the NBA. Iverson, well, he's raging at the dying of the light, at any rate, and he looks to have something left. Yet the Sixers have now lost 12 straight games. Why? I (imagine I) hear you asking. Two words: The Bench.

Players seeing minutes from the Philly bench tonight include: Willie Green (25), Jason Kapono (17), Jrue Holliday (8), Jason Smith (3), Primoz Breszec (5).

Total points in 58 out of 240 possible player minutes? Six. I repeat. S-I-X.

Let's compare that to the Rocket's bench, total points: 46 in 84 player minutes. So Philly's bench scored roughly one point every 9.40 minutes. The Rockets bench scored a point every 1.5 minutes.

This is an object lesson in bench construction (and another reason why "WE © or Ω or √ MOREY" Guess what? No little "heart" thingy.). Houston, with 40% of an NBA payroll, has a bench that, frankly, buried Philly's in this contest.

That is not how the game started. Phily jumped on Houston early, prompting fears of the 76ers once again being a team that's pure poison for the Rockets, no matter how bad they look against the rest of the league. Then the benches matched up, and the Rockets closed a Philly lead that stood at 10 after the first quarter to 3 points at the half.

When outside observers look at the Rockets, I think they often make the mistake of looking at the starting lineup and saying "That's not a high caliber NBA lineup." Well, maybe not (though I disagree). But to understand the Rockets, you have to go 9-10 deep. You could start the Rocket's second unit and give up very little, overall.

The players aren't exactly comparable, with some offering more offense, some defense, so let's look at Win Shares so far in 2009-2010. The typical Rocket starting lineup boasts a 7WS total at this point. The second unit (of 4 players) is contributing 5WS - add an average rating of one starter from the first team and you get a total of 6.4WS for the second unit (as we've yet to see much of Taylor thus far). Point being, the Rockets give up little, or nothing, switching out almost their entire lineup. This, I submit, is a powerful, and under-appreciated, advantage.

Every Philly starter played 34 minutes or more, with the exception of Dalembert, who played 29. Brand logged 43, sitting down 5 minutes of the contest, and Iguodala saw 40. Only Ariza came close to that, going 42.

Notes:

I'm very happy we didn't once again drop a game to the 76ers as we have done so frequently in the past. We need to win every single game against floundering opponents. We're going to struggle to hit .500 against the top teams, so we need to clean up on games against below .500 teams.

Iverson gave young Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks a lesson in drawing fouls and shooting FTs. Lowry is good at it, but AI is the past master, and he put on a "weak contact FT shooting" clinic in the 4th.

Carl Landry is one of the most valuable players in the NBA on a salary/production basis. I'm now surprised when a Landry shot doesn't go in, and the reasons why not usually break down to: uncalled foul on Carl, the shot was a bit out of his range. That's it.

Commenting on the Tracy McGrady All-Star Game "controversy": what would happen if TMac's first 2009-2010 game appearance was in the NBA ASG? Could the Rocket's keep him out of it, if he hadn't played for them to that point, but wanted to play in the ASG?

The Lakers are going for their 11^th straight win tonight. Some Laker apologists have made an interesting argument that LA having 17 of 21 appearances at home to start the year isn't much of an advantage. After their recent run, can this assertion be supported? We'll have to see the record they compile when they actually do leave LA for more than 48 hours at a time to know more.

You know, every time I see those weird Charlie Sheen/Michael Jordan "Haynes Undergarments" ads I think a couple of things:

1. These are terrible ads. Are there two more unlikable pitch men than Pathetic Sheen, and Arrogant Michael Jordan, blowing him off? Who would those pitchmen be?

2. I always imagine Charlie Sheen is the head scout, or cap guru, for the Bobcats. He's trying to get Jordan to pay attention to some mundane franchise detail, like player signings, or budget, and MJ just drives away, late to a tee time.

Surprisingly, the Rockets are not playing a back-to-back on the road Saturday night. Next game vs Toronto in that mysterious and far-away land known as Canada.

Sixers losing streak reaches 12

jsams — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:08:37 -0000

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Box Score

The Sixers continue to find ways to lose. Tonight, they dominated the Rockets during the first quarter en route to a 17-point lead, only to see it disappear by halftime. They hung in there until the very end, but were eventually handed their 12th straight loss by a better team.

Eddie Jordan's rotations are getting a little better -- not perfect -- but better. He tried to have two rebounders on the floor at all times and it was reflected in the numbers.
Elton Brand did well tonight. I refuse to say he "looked good", because numbers or not, he still doesn't look right to me, and it resulted in some awkward, ugly basketball.
A.I. was A.I.
My love/hate relationship with Andre Iguodala's jumper is currently lukewarm.
Thaddeus Young crashed the boards and boxed out like a man possessed tonight -- the biggest positive of the night.
Iverson is clearly the cream to Sammy D's coffee. Either that, or he promises him a Speed Racer action figure for every rebound and block he gets. He's been killin' it since Iverson's return!
Billy Bob Green actually contributed on the glass and in the passing game tonight. Shocking, I know. Go ahead and re-read that sentence a couple times, because it took me approximately 4 and a half minutes to type. My fingers reacted to the keyboard like Fletcher Reede reacts to a blue pen. Unfortunately, Green still thinks defense consists of letting your guy score; he also took bad shots. Same stuff, different game.
What color should I get my John Wall jersey in? Red or White?

Sixers lose 8th straight

jsams — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:37:44 -0000

Box Score

There are two reasons the Sixers lost: no defense and poor rebounding. These have been recurring problems all... season... long. And it's all Eddie Jordan's fault. The Sixers were average-to-good in each area last season, and they have all the same players. The only difference? Eddie Jordan. Unless a small miracle happens, and EJ realizes what he's doing wrong, or gets fired, the Sixers are going to finish as one of the five worst teams in the NBA.

I hate to break it to you, but Allen Iverson will not help either the defense or the rebounding. In fact, he will make both even worse, if that's possible.

On the bright side, Thad killed it on offense, and really looks like he's starting to become a legit scorer. However; he still can't do anything else.

The other young stud, Jrue Holiday, also played a solid game on both ends. He limited dribble penetration for the most part and held Russ Westbrook to 1-11 shooting. Yes, Westbrook did have 15 assists, but a lot of them were results of other Sixers not guarding their guys, not Russ creating for his teammates. Sadly, Jrue is headed bench when "The Answer" arrives.

Thankfully, we'll continue to look ahead to the draft. Only 203 days away!

Game 18 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia

Zorgon — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:32:54 -0000

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Comcast Sports Philadelphia, NBATV

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Liberty Ballers, Sixers4guidos, DepressedFan

Backstory: The 76ers are a surprise dissapointment among all of the good surprises that have happened this year. Someone has to fall, right? Granted, Elton Brand and Louis Williams have been injured....but that's only been recently. The bottom line is that they lost Andre Miller. And with him, they lost the glue that held the team together. Even in the latest 2 point loss to the Mavericks, the team had 4 more turnovers than assists. That isn't a recipe for winning, and it's bad news for a team that thought they could make the playoffs. Indeed, in the last two years they have made the playoffs, but it looks like they'll have to do even more post-Allen Iverson rebuilding. And no, getting Allen Iverson back doesn't count!

Meanwhile, the Thunder are a shade over .500, and they're looking to keep it that way. They've taken care of business against teams like the 76ers in the past, and the game is at home, so things are looking up. Still, injuries to Nick Collison (possibly out tonight), Kyle Weaver, Kevin Ollie, and Shaun Livingston haven't helped matters, so it remains to be seen whether they have the depth of talent to win this game.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Samuel Dalembert

Luckily, Nenad Krstic will be back tonight, along with a possible chance of Nick Collison. The thunder will need all of the help they can get, because Samuel Dalembert is a mean machine in the post, along with being the 2nd greatest basketball player ever to come out of Canada. I'd expect Krstic to be able to score, since both Dalembert and Brand are immobile centers, but I'd also expect Dalembert lay the smack down in the post.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Elton Brand

Yet another mismatch. Jeff Green will have to make sure to stay out of foul trouble, and Elton Brand will have to make sure to guard Green on the perimeter. Expect Green to have the upper hand if he can stay out of foul trouble.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Thaddeus Young

Heh, good luck Thaddeus. He'll have a better 3 Point percentage than Durant, but not much else.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Andre Igoudala

This is yet another tough matchup for Sefolosha, as Igoudala is the primary scorer of the 76ers. Still, he won't walk all over Sefolosha, like Ariza did. Rather, I think Sefolosha will be able to shut him down in some cases and force turnovers.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Jrue Holiday (Possibly Willie Green)

I don't think either one of these guys is any better than Westbrook. Willie Green is a scoring-type bigger guard, and Jrue Holiday is still a Rookie, with not many stats to his name. This is a real opportunity for Russell Westbrook to shine, get those assists, and score well.

Battle of the Benches

I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief if Nick Collison gets to play tonight, as he'll help out a lot down low. Still, despite all of their badness, the 76ers have a solid bench, with young life-long backup Center Jason Smith, 3 Point Sharpshooter Kapono, and solid scoring guard Willie Green. But Royal Ivey sucks. It's not a bench that blows you away with depth, but they don't really take a huge hit in talent when their backups are on the floor, and they all have clearly defined roles. Their bench gets the win over ours, because I'd say Kapono and Green pretty much own their equivalents on our team.

Coaching and Intangibles

The 76ers have just signed Allen Iverson, so the team might go into "cruise control", as they have some sort of savior coming to the team on Monday. On the other hand, they might be motivated to perform well before he gets there, but that's something I'm doubting. On top of that, they've lost 7 straight, and are away from home. The intangibles are definitely on the side of the Thunder.

Bottom Line

The real danger of the 76ers is their big post guys. If they can dominate inside, and out-rebound us, then we might have a game on our hands. Yet, if they just let Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic nail mid-range jumpers all day, then this could very easily turn into a blowout.

Prediction: Oklahoma City 100, Philadelphia 86

I haven't predicted an over 10 point victory since the Kings game....let's hope I haven't jinxed anything.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

24 votes

The Philadelphia 76ers

2 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

No More Answers

aramnath — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:26:29 -0000

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Allen Iverson rarely wanted to listen to anyone and was satisfied playing his way. (Photo by: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

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The Philadelphia 76ers and Allen Iverson are close to agreeing on a one-year deal. If I were Louis Williams, Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights and Thaddeus Young I would be very pissed. The odds of Iverson passing the ball their way at any point this season seems remote.

The 76ers motivation in making this move cannot be motivated by anything else but putting butts in the stands, because in terms of basketball it makes no sense. This is a guy that refuses to come off the bench even though his skills are clearly in decline.

His teammates in Memphis don't seem to be missing him much, playing surprisingly well out in the West so far this year and the Nuggets flourished when they swapped him for Chauncey Billups last year.

When A.I. was in his prime he was simply a great scorer that on any given night could win you a game and on the nights he was off was a disaster. The Sixers tried to put him next to Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Hugher and Andre Iguodala, who all certainly had their limitations, but found it impossible to co-exist next to a player like Iverson who needed the ball at all times to be effective. It's no surprise all three played better without A.I.

Iverson always lacked the ability that Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, Lebron, Duncan etc. have in elevating the level of play of his supporting cast. Iverson maximized his abilities in becoming a great scorer, but creating for others always seemed distasteful to him and frankly may always have been beyond his capabilities.

Now with Iverson dominating the ball, Philadelphia's promising youth will be the ones to suffer. Players like Speights and Young will see less touches in the post and will be resigned to setting picks and rolling to the hoop for passes that will rarely come their way. Williams will struggle playing alongside Iverson and Holiday will see reduced minutes stunting his development as a rookie.

Defensively, Iverson has become non-existant. Before he used to play the passing lanes extremely well and was among the league leaders in steals every year. Now his loss in speed and explosion have taken that away from him too.

There certainly is some kind of justice in A.I. coming back to the team where he made his name and which led to an NBA Finals berth, but at what cost? Bringing back Iverson is simply a desperate gambit to make this team competitive now. I'm not sure if he's even capable of that anymore. I know that I wouldn't take a guy past his prime and incapable of playing any way but his own on my team.

Poll

Would you want your favorite team to sign Iverson?

Yes, he's still got something left in the tank

18 votes

If he agreed to come off the bench and come to practice

9 votes

No, he's finished

7 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed