SB Nation - Marreese Speights

Celtics blow big lead, fall to Sixers

Jimmy Toscano — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:57:37 -0000

For the fourth time out of five, the Boston Celtics lost a Friday night home game, putting a sour taste in Celtics fans' start to the weekend. The Celtics fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 98-97 in front of the TD Garden crowd. Don't blame the officials, don't blame the cold weather, and don't blame the traffic getting here- blame it on the lack of all around enthusiasm from the Celtics.

"I think our energy sucked all night," Kevin Garnett admitted.

The Celtics were up 59-44 early in the third quarter to a poor Philadelphia 76ers team, but could not hold the lead. Instead of putting the 76ers away for good in the third quarter, the Celtics dropped their energy level and let the 76ers crawl back into it. The 76ers only trailed by four points going into the fourth quarter, and took the lead with 6:02 left in the game for the first time since the first quarter.

"We have to do a better job playing better at home," Paul Pierce said. "I mean, I don't know what it is about us playing at home this year. We have to come out with a little more energy from start to finish. There in the third quarter you know you gave a team life. And when you give a bad team some life they're going to play, and that's what we did."

"We played with this, you know, this swagger- the losing swagger," said Doc Rivers. "It's one thing to have the winning swagger when you go out, you feel great about your team, and you go out and play. And then there's another thing when you just show up and you think the other team's going to lay over because you're the Celtics."

Kendrick Perkins, who scored 12 points and grabbed 16 boards, was quick to echo Doc's sentiments in that maybe the Celtics just assumed they were going to win.

"I thought when we went up 16 or whatever we were up, we kind of let our guards down, Perkins said. "I don't think we executed right. I think sometimes you win a couple games in a row you tend to have this swagger like you can walk on the court and just win games. We played against a hungry team that needed a victory, they played hard tonight and they came out and just got a win- they kept fighting."

The Celtics were forced to play most of the game without Rasheed Wallace, who was thrown out in the second quarter with his second technical of the game. Wallace was on the officials about a previous call during a timeout, and would not let up. The loss of Wallace clearly hurt the Celtics down the stretch.

"It affected us a lot," Perkins said. "We needed Rasheed tonight. We sure could have used him in a lot of ways but we still know we should have won the game."

Rasheed Wallace had to be held back by Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau after being ejected from the game.

"I was more scared for Tom [Thibodeau] than I was for anybody else," Rivers joked. "Tom is tough. ‘Tibs' has been on the weights now for about three months and it finally paid off for him today."

As for Wallace's actions during the game, nobody is really surprised.

"He's been doing it a long time," Rivers said. "He's an expert at it. But we knew that when we got him, and I still love him. I think he's great, he's been great for our team, but he's going to have some of these days."

While it seems that Rivers is somewhat downplaying Wallace's technical fouls, we saw firsthand tonight the repercussions that can occur if Wallace's temper gets ahead of him, like it has done many times in the past. For the season, Wallace has 10 technical fouls. Once he gets to 16 technical fouls, he will be suspended for the next game and every other technical foul after that will result in a one game suspension. Wallace is the first guy off this Celtics bench, and with Marquis Daniels also down, that left two of the Celtics best bench players off the floor.

On the flip side, the 76ers' Elton Brand and Marreese Speights combined to score 40 points and grab 18 rebounds coming off the bench.

The bright spot off the bench tonight for the Celtics was Tony Allen. Allen scored 10 points, all in the second quarter, but then didn't do much of anything in the second half.

"I just think we have to buckle down, make some better decisions, close out games," said Allen.

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.

No More Answers

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

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

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

Brand out? Who's in?

jsams — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:26:35 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Bull - AP

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Earlier today Kate Fagan speculated that there might be a change in the Sixers lineup on Wednesday night. What change? No one is quite sure, especially head coach Eddie Jordan.

Then we asked if that might mean a change to the starting lineup. Here's where it gets interesting. Jordan said, "Ummm," then there was a long pause and he smiled and said, "Who knows? Nothing is going to change until Wednesday, if there is a change."

No surprise there. All we know is, if there is a change, it will most likely involve Elton Brand moving to the bench. This comes after super-sophomore Marreese Speights went down with a partially torn MCL, who some fans wanted to see take Brand's spot anyway. Now that he's hurt, EJ is left with Jason Smith, Bill Green or Rodney Carney as potential replacements.

In the meantime, there are some differing opinions on how much Elton can contribute.

Brand, for what it's worth, said he still thought he was a 40 minute a night player.

Yeah, if he were playing for the LA Sparks.

[Eddie Jordan] was asked if he felt Brand was a 40-minute a night player. His response, without hesitation, was "No."

For what it's worth, I don't Elton thinks you're a 40-minute a night coach, so there.

Here's what I would do:

Bench Elton, start Carney and Iguodala at the two and the three (order doesn't matter), slide Thad to the four and start Jason Smith at center. It sounds crazy, but hear me out.

Carney and Iguodala give the starting lineup two solid wing defenders and insane athleticism to do the whole run and gun thing that has worked for them in year's past (F the Princeton Offense). Jason Smith is an okay defender, and unlike Sam won't commit stupid fouls, turn the ball over on outlet passes, or play outside of his comfort level. In other words, we won't see him attempting to cross-over his man, fight through a double team and throw up a left-handed hook shot while doing a complete 360 in mid-air. (I may have exaggerated a little, but that's exactly how Sam imagines it when he catches the pass.) Smith also stretches the floor with his three-point range. Throw in Lou and Thad (who defends fours better than threes, <--- numbers tell me I'm wrong, my mind tells me I'm right), and the starting lineup is full of:

Athleticism - Fast breaks galore.
3-point range - Everyone on the floor is capable of hitting a three.
No defense - Eddie Jordan will have his opponents right where he wants 'em.

Then, the ever-problematic bench can slow the pace down, rebound well, play solid defense and keep games close. Here's the first five off the bench in my scenario:

PG - Jrue Holiday

SG - Bill Green

SF - Jason Kapono

PF - Elton Brand

C - Samuel Dalembert

Four out of those five guys are average/above average defenders. In theory, Elton and Sam would provide solid rebounding and interior defense, Jrue and Green would stop penetration, and Kapono would stand around like the skinny white guy at the park, wearing matching warm-ups and a head band, hoping the ball doesn't get passed to his man. (Yes, I just described myself.) That's on defense.

On offense, they could rotate between Brand and Green as the focal points and hope Jason Kapono gets open for a couple of threes.

If you have a problem with my suggestion and your argument include the words "de" or "fense", save it, because you know better than that.

That's what I would do, but here's what Eddie Jordan will do: Bench Brand, start Carney at the two, slide Iguodala to the three and Thaddeus to the four. And don't worry, he'll convince Stefanski he's making the right move by conducting a 9-hour "chalk session" before the game.

Sixers beat Nets, barely.

jsams — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:04:00 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

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Until further notice, the Sixers are a below average basketball team and there are very few games they "should" win, but this was one of them. For a team with as many talented players as the Sixers, it shouldn't take 48 minutes to eek out a win against a depleted Nets team, who came into tonight's game with an 0-7 record and only 8 players on their active roster. I'm not taking anything away from the Nets because they are an NBA team and what they lacked in health and talent, they made up with effort and team ball. I guess that's what it comes down to; the Sixers have some good players, but they aren't a good team -- yet.

That said, they still won the game and evened their record at 4-4. But after eight games, their record isn't what concerns me; it's how they've gotten there.

Here are a few things we can agree on after eight games.

According to rumors -- mostly from disgruntled Wizards fans -- Eddie Jordan was tough on rookies. Well, they're no longer rumors. From not playing Jrue during a freakin' pre-season game because he was afraid Nate Robinson would damage his psyche to pulling Jrue after one rookie mistake, and sitting him for the remainder of the game, Eddie has done nothing to disprove the rumors. It'd be one thing if he was sitting Jrue in favor of a legit backup point guard, but he's playing Royal Ivey instead. Come on now. Rookies make mistakes, and Jrue shouldn't be expected to play perfect in order to stay on the court.
Elton Brand is done. I'm tired of waiting. We've made enough excuses for him. It's time to accept the fact that he's a rich man's Reggie Evans, with a higher basketball IQ and less hustle. He can't finish around the rim, and I cringe every time he takes a jump shot.
Marreese Speights needs to replace Sam in the starting lineup. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: M16 is the Sixers most talented offensive player. He's not the best defender -- so what. What he brings to the table on the offensive end heavily out-weighs what he doesn't bring on the defensive end.

The one positive we can take out of tonight was the play of Thaddeus Young. To this point in the season, Thad has been nothing short of awful, but it was only a matter of time before he turned it around. I'm not ready to say he's officially turned it around after one good game against the Nets, but his jumper looked 10 times better than it had at any point during the season. If he can regain his late-season form of last year, paired with the improved play of Lou, Andre and Marreese, the Sixers should start to see improvement.

I'm still holding out hope that Eddie Jordan's abysmal rotations will improve, the defense will improve, and the Princeton Offense will show up sometime within the next 12 games. It's still way too early to make any snap judgements, but if there's no improvement after 20 games, the Sixers are in deep, deep trouble, as is my 47-win prediction.

Player of the game: Marreese Speights

Preview: Suns @ 76ers (Better keep an eye on Speights)

Phoenix Stan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:09:22 -0000

More photos » by Ned Dishman - NBAE/Getty Images

Steve Nash is awesome. That is all.

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Marreese Speights has played 4 games against the Phoenix Suns in his short NBA career. In two of those games he averaged 28 points. In the other two he averaged 7. The two good games happened to be the first time Phoenix saw the young power forward last season and this preseason. The two bad games were the second time the Suns saw Speights last season and this preseason.

The Suns defense might want to pay a little more attention to this big and talented forward when he's in the game. He can shoot the ball a little bit and he's fairly mobile as well despite looking huge when I saw him in October.

Beyond Marreese, the two 76ers that can ruin the Suns shot at a 4-1 road trip are Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Andre Iguodala	6	38.5	7.2	14.7	48.9	1.0	3.0	33.3	4.0	5.8	68.6	0.2	5.8	6.0	5.3	2.8	2.5	0.2	1.7	19.3

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2009 - Louis Williams	6	34.5	5.5	11.2	49.3	0.8	3.0	27.8	3.5	4.2	84.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	5.2	1.3	1.5	0.0	1.8	15.3

Williams is a small but speedy point guard in the mold of an Aaron Brooks. He can get pretty much anywhere on the court and has a knack for scoring the ball. He's not turning the ball over but in large part that's probably because he's not looking to pass it much which is probably why the 76ers are only 17th in the league in offensive efficiency despite their talent.

Dre' is going to present a much different match-up problem for Jason Richardson than the minuscule Randy Foye and the aging and undersized Ray Allen. JRich did a respectable job on Dwayne Wade and he's going to have his hands full once again tonight. I don't think we will be seeing a lot of Jason in the post against Iggy.

What we probably will see is a lot of that zone defense that frustrated the Heat. The 76ers only shoot about 29% from behind the line and they love to get to the rim with their attacking wings and speedy point.

On the defensive end the Liberty Baller Boys are struggling behind the struggles of second year ~~stud~~ struggler Thad Young.

Here's what the home town blog had to say about Young's play so far this season:

I don't know what Thad's deal is, but there isn't a single thing he's doing well right now. He's shooting 41% from the floor and 9% from three. He's not getting to the foul line. He's playing (or not playing) any sort of defense. He can't dribble. He can't pass. Whether we've grossly overrated him, he's off to a slow start, or he doesn't fit EJ's system remains to be seen, but something has to be done if the Sixers are going to be competitive against teams not named the Nets and Knicks.

With Young not playing well and Elton Brand still trying to find his way off a milk carton and back into the elite NBA forwards discussion the Suns should be able to get this win tonight and return home as the heroes who earned the #1 spot in the NBA.com power rankings.

Should win.

Lets not forget this is the last game of a long East Coast road trip, the second of a back-to-back and the 5th game in 7 nights.

I expect Nash to be tired and Hill is supposedly nursing a wrist sore after a fall in Orlando which explains his abysmal shooting over the past three games (9 for 27, 33%).

To get this win tonight is going to take a combination of Amare continuing his great play (he's averaging 20 points on 57% shooting and 11 rebounds on this road trip); Frye staying hot from long range and the bench doing the bench thing especially defensively against Speights!

Daily Links:

Suns vs 76ers coverage
Suns vs 76ers preview
Liberty Ballers
Suns Rise to the Top With Big Road Wins
Now that teams are six or seven games into their season, we can start to get a grasp of their identities. And this season, more than in recent years, we seem to have more teams with very distinct ways of playing.
azcentral.com - members
It is the end of the road (for now) when the Suns play at Philadelphia tonight. Regardless of outcome, this has been a successful road trip at 3-1 so far. But with a win tonight, the Suns would be alone at the top of the Western Conference with only 74 games left to hold on to the spot.
Nurse’s Notes: Draft Summary- Energy Hoopla – Iowa Energy Basketball Social Site
The D-League Draft is now in the books. Here is a look at what you can expect from the EIGHT Energy draftees.
Wizards attempted to acquire Suns' Stoudemire - washingtonpost.com
The proposed deal involved swapping the fifth pick and No. 14 pick, with Antawn Jamison and other conciliatory pieces also mentioned in the discussions. The deal reportedly collapsed when the Suns wanted Caron Butler included.(old news but still...)
Suns listen to Gentry's stern message
Suns coach Alvin Gentry ripped his team and brought clarity to their rebounding woes.

How about them Cards!

Arizona Cardinals Continue Road Dominance as they Beat the Bears 41-21 - Revenge Of The Birds
They are who we thought they were and we let them of the hook, oh sorry wrong game let me fix that. They are who we thought they were and we didn't let them off the hook...

Create A Caption #36: Round 1

erivera7 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:43 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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As Jay-Z once said, "friend or foe yo, state your biz".

Dwight Howard = friend. Marreese Speights = foe.

You fill in the rest.

Rules:

I'm sure everyone here is familiar with a "create a caption" competition, but in case someone here doesn't know what this type of contest is .. basically a picture is provided and you, the reader, attempt to come up with a quick sentence describing what's occurring in the photo. The line can be funny, stupid, witty, etc.

I'll be a judge but I like to have another collective voice determining the winner, that way there's a bit of a consensus among the community. What I prefer for everyone here to do is this .. if you like the caption a fellow member has come up with, "recommend" it. That will be 'your vote', in essence. If you don't know how to "recommend" a comment, go to the comment you like, click on 'actions', then click on 'rec'. You can "recommend" multiple captions/comments, if you want.

So for a quick recap ..

- Write a quick sentence describing what's occurring in the photo.

- If you like a caption/comment that's been written, "recommend" it.

- After you "recommend" a caption/comment, write something (like +1, for example) to indicate you like the sentence a 3QC member has written.

- The contest will last four days, so whichever caption/comment gets the most recommendations, wins. In case of a tie, I'll determine the winner. [NEW]

- There will be two rounds in the competition. In the first round (Friday/Saturday), submissions are made and votes are tallied. At the end of the second day, the submissions that garnered four or more "recs/votes" will advance. In the final round (Sunday/Monday), votes are tallied for the eligible submissions. [NEW]

- Winner will be announced Monday afternoon or evening. [NEW]

- The contest is subject to change.

Let the contest begin!

Orlando Magic 120, Philadelphia 76ers 106: The Morning After

erivera7 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:37:08 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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Behind the Box Score, where Denver has a good one
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie chimes in on the Orlando Magic's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night.

The spacing was so, so pure for Orlando tonight, and that was against a 76ers team that can often frustrate with its length (not necessarily changing shots, but making you think twice about that skip pass). 28 assists for Orlando, who managed a balanced effort that made everyone look good. Everyone.
Box-Score Watching
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus takes a look at the final stat lines and offers his insight from every NBA game. Here's what he said about Orlando:

That headline probably didn't lead you directly to Ryan Anderson and Marreese Speights, but both players had big nights in the opener. The Magic scarcely missed Rashard Lewis in rolling up 70 points by halftime and taking a 31-point advantage to the final period. Anderson was a big reason why, scoring 16 points and knocking down four three-pointers in 25 minutes. As a team, Orlando scorched the nets with 16 triples in 29 attempts. Speights helped lead a short-lived Sixers comeback by scoring nine points in the first five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, but his production was hardly all in garbage time. Speights finished with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, showing why he topped our list of top 10 "NBA prospects."
Williams Proves Worth in Magic Win
Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse talks about Jason Williams and his worth to the Magic.

When the Orlando Magic signed out-of-work Jason Williams this summer to a one-year, minimum wage contract, they made it sound like he was coming merely to be an insurance policy, giving them a past-his-prime, third point guard in case the bottom fell out on the other two.

He's obviously going to be more, a lot more for a real good team.
Orlando Magic: The Orlando Magic opened its regular season schedule with a 120-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers
Brian Schmitz recaps Orlando's victory last night.

The official report will read that the Orlando Magic opened the season by trouncing the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

The Magic actually won this particular game this summer.

General Manager Otis Smith didn't break a sweat in the Magic's 120-106 victory at Amway Arena, but the moves he made this offseason showed up in the franchise's first meaningful game since they trudged off the floor as NBA Finals runner-ups.
This NBA season is about unfinished business for the Orlando Magic
Mike Bianchi states how the excitement has fully returned to the city.

Seriously, how exciting is this Magic season when even a 7-year-old little girl can't wait for the opening tip? Or when the Am is jam-packed with the most season-ticket holders in franchise history? Or when sports radio shows are talking more about the NBA than the World Series or Tim Tebow's red-zone problems?

Can you believe this town is actually revved up about basketball — in October?

"It's usually not until after the Super Bowl when people start getting into basketball," Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy observed.
Jason Williams plays well in the Orlando Magic victory over the Philadelphia 76ers
Josh Robbins also examines J-Will's play, yesterday.
Orlando Magic would love to win title for owner Rich DeVos
George Diaz comments on owner Rich DeVos and reveals how the Orlando Magic organization is trying to win a championship for him.

"As an owner he's done everything he's supposed to do, including opening up his pocketbook," Smith said. "Year after year after year he's done what you want your owner to do: Give you the resources to your business and then step out of the way and allow you to do it. Yes, there's been challenging times but he's been phenomenal.

"And now that he's 83-years-old, I just want him to experience being on top of the profession."
Daily Dime: Defending East champs shine
UPDATE: Tim Legler of ESPN offers his opinions on the Magic's win.
Carter eager to quiet naysayers, help Magic go distance
UPDATE 2: Ken Berger of CBSSports.com shares excellent insight on Vince Carter's impact for Orlando and how he's fitting in with the team. A must-read.

But the stakes have never been higher in Carter's career than they are now. The funny thing is, the situation might just fit his mild personality perfectly. He is not going to be the dominant personality; Howard had better do that, because that's his job. What Carter can do is pass better than people think and score better than any teammate Howard's had thus far in his career. But at this point -- at the ripe old age of 32 -- Carter doesn't need numbers or accolades. He just needs to fit in.
UPDATE 3: Also, don't forget to check out John Denton's post-game analysis and notes - always excellent stuff from him.

Orlando Magic 120, Philadelphia 76ers 106

erivera7 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:44:36 -0000

More photos » by Fernando Medina - NBAE/Getty Images

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In front of a sell-out crowd at the Amway Arena, the defending Eastern Conference Champions faced off against a playoff foe from the 2009 NBA Playoffs and dominated the action for three quarters. Unfortunately for the Orlando Magic, there was still a quarter to play and the Philadelphia 76ers made the final score look respectable, by the count of 120-106, after trailing by as many as 31 points. Balance was the name of the game for the Magic, as six players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando, notching a double-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Marreese Speights played outstanding for Philadelphia, scoring a game-high 26 points (10-11 FG) in the loss.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
76ers	94	112.8	54.5%	26.9	21.6	13.8
Magic	94	128.2	65.4%	17.3	23.5	18.2

Before tipoff, Orlando's pre-game festivities included a riveting performance of the national anthem by Gina Marie Incandela and a new opening night intro of the team - including a look back at last year's run to the Finals - that featured an introduction sequence projected onto the court. It was a moment that all Magic fans thoroughly enjoyed in the building.

Once that was over, a game was played.

In that game, Orlando showed that its pre-season dominance carried over to the start of the regular season.

Jameer Nelson got things started offensively in the first quarter, doing a great job of attacking and distributing at the right times - nailing a three off a pass from Dwight Howard in the post, scoring a layup off the dribble, etc. Mickael Pietrus also got off to a quick start, getting some easy buckets in transition, and hitting his patented corner three for good measure. As head coach Stan Van Gundy stated to me in the media presser after the game, Pietrus did an excellent job of focusing on both ends of the floor. Especially on defense, where Mickael effectively shut down Andre Iguodala from doing much of anything by using his athleticism and speed to aid him when necessary.

Early on, the Magic got into trouble not taking care of the ball and the Sixers capitalized on the opportunities.

However, things began to change once Jason Williams checked into the game late in the quarter. Right away, Williams made his presence felt - making a three off an offensive rebound from Howard, penetrating into the lane for a layup off a nice Brandon Bass screen, and setting up Vince Carter for a three. Jason wouldn't stop there, as the momentum carried over into the second quarter. Early in the frame, Marcin Gortat threw down a ferocious dunk off a 1/5 pick & roll after being a recipient of a nice pass from Williams. After that, Jason nailed two consecutive threes and forced Eddie Jordan to call a timeout for Philadelphia. What was once a 24-19 deficit for Orlando turned into a 41-32 lead (with Williams being responsible for 18 of the 22 points in that span) and the team didn't look back. In the second quarter, the Magic blitzed the Sixers for 41 points.

It started with the entire second unit for Orlando, which helped to expand a lead from two to 11 before Dwight checked back into the game at the 7:43 mark. Once Howard was in the game, he abused Marreese Speights down low on one possession in particular (forcing Spieghts to flop in hopes of drawing a foul, but to no avail, before getting dunked on) and the two got into a verbal spat after Marreese didn't take too kind to one of Dwight's elbows. Howard got hit with a technical foul, of course, for mouthing off. But that minor "inconvenience" didn't deter the Magic from putting on an offensive display that left many people, including myself, in awe. Some of the plays that stood out: Nelson crossing over Willie Green and finding Ryan Anderson for an open three, Matt Barnes with a nifty alley-oop pass to Carter where the latter made the layup from the tip of his fingers, and more.

The ball movement was superb and the execution was crisp.

In the third quarter, it was more of the same as Orlando continued to pile it on Philadelphia. In this particular instance, it was the Howard and Anderson show. Dwight, with his array of easy buckets in the lane, offensive rebounds, blocks, dunks, and tip-ins. Ryan, with his plethora of threes (more often than not, with no defender around).

By the time the fourth quarter came, it became evident that the Magic took the foot off the gas pedal. The entire second unit was back in the game for Orlando against a few of the Philadelphia starters but couldn't sustain the lead, forcing Van Gundy to bring back Nelson and Pietrus in the middle of the quarter - momentarily - before taking them out of the game and letting "nature ride its course", so to speak. In this case, seeing a 31 point lead evaporate to a 14 point lead by the end of the night.

Although the final score wasn't as lopsided as it probably should have been, there's no denying Orlando's dominance against Philadelphia when focused at the task at hand. After three quarters, the score was 100-69. The Magic shot 58.7% from the field and 60.9% (14-23) beyond the arc. The Sixers? 44.1% and 25.0% (3-12), respectively. And it wasn't as if Orlando's superb percentages were the case of lucky shots going in, the team was getting its points within the flow of the offense and via open looks. Simple as that. When opponents allow Magic players to get into a rhythm, as efficient as they are, watch out. This isn't the first time one has seen Orlando go nova, offensively.

And it won't be the last.

Defensively, there was a lot to like. As was mentioned before, Pietrus did an excellent job of neutralizing Iguodala and sticking on him. Elton Brand was completely ineffective for the entire contest. Thaddeus Young didn't do much. Philadelphia saw most of its offensive production from Lou Williams, the aforementioned Speights, and the bench. That was it. Credit the good team defense from the Magic for making life difficult on the Sixers. Many times Philadelphia players were deterred from attacking the basket in half-court sets because of Dwight's presence in the lane; similar to last year in the postseason for Orlando. That's why taking care of the ball was something Stan stressed for the Magic because the Sixers are difficult to guard in transition. Limit the turnovers, as Orlando did for a majority of the game, and a weapon for Philadelphia is neutralized (fast break offense).

Overall, it was a good performance for the Magic. Could have been a more complete effort but a win is a win. Next, Orlando will be embarking on a mini- reunion road trip, as the team will face off against the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors during the weekend. For the Magic players, it'll be a chance to re-unite with the likes of Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, and others.

Should be fun.

Dionte Christmas arrested while driving Marreese Speights car; carrying Speights' loaded gun

jsams — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:35:11 -0000

Philadelphia Daily News

Christmas was stopped by Highway Patrol Officers Dave Marcellino and Ivan Rosado on Nedro Avenue near Broad Street about 7:30 p.m. for driving erratically in a car with heavily tinted windows, said Highway Patrol Capt. Michael Cochrane.
Things got worse from there.
Christmas was driving without a license, and the officers found a Hi-Point 9mm semiautomatic handgun tucked under the driver's seat, Cochrane said. The weapon was loaded with seven rounds.
Christmas was taken to the 35th District's headquarters, at Broad and Champlost streets in Ogontz, where he was expected to be charged tonight with a felony weapons offense, police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said.
Police later learned that the car Christmas was driving belonged to Sixer forward/center Marreese Speights, Cochrane said. The 9mm apparently also was registered to Speights, he said.
Christmas had a passenger in the car, who was not identified by police or charged with any wrongdoing.
Michael Preston, a spokesman for the 76ers, said the team was aware of the situation but didn't have a comment.

Christmas is no longer on the roster so his arrest doesn't directly affect the team, but the fact that he was driving Speights car, carrying Speights loaded weapon might be an issue. I'm not a legal expert, so I have no idea, but it doesn't sound good, and it's definitely something you want your team to avoid on the eve of the regular season. All we can do is wait.