Ball's over, Cinderella. Sixers no longer Be Crazy. It was great fun, but it was just one of those things.

So. The magical, highly unlikely, and wildly entertaining playoff run is over. Did we really learn anything? Do we know who our team is? Are they the iron-tough, gritty, never-say-die bunch of scrappers who knocked off the Bulls and gave the Celtics all they could possibly ask for? Are they the sort of pathetic bunch of disinterested shufflers we saw the second half of the season? Are they the dominating machine that buzzsawed through the NBA in the first half of the season?

I think we know the answer: None of the above. They had an identity, lost it, found another one. The fact is, we don't know what this team is. We don't know what it could be. We don't know who will be on the roster.

OK. We all know that a number of our current faves are available to leave. Who's going to be here, who's going to be elsewhere, who's going to be playing in the Guatemalan Second Division (hint: He's tall, he's soft, and he's been associated with erectile dysfunction)?

Look...this team is hurting for talent in a major way. One go-to scorer could have tipped the balance in the Boston series. That player does not exist on this roster at this time. A rugged post defender/rebounder/shotblocker who can bang down low would have been major. That player also does not exist on this roster. And (I'm going to say it) a real, cerebral, composed, steady pass-first point guard could have made a huge difference. And that player does not exist on this roster. A reliable shooting guard that can actually hit a jump shot would be wonderful indeed. Once again...you know the rest.

Since we don't have any of those players on the roster, what do we have? What should we have from among the guys we do have come October?

Guards: Jrue, Turner, BOSS, Meeks, Silas

Who's Staying: Jrue, Turner.

Who's Probably Leaving: Meeks, Silas.

Who's Up in the Air: BOSS

This was supposed to be their strength. Each of the major guys has had their moments this season, and during this playoff run. Each of these guys also had stretches when they sucked rocks. Our Saviour, Evan Turner, the #2 overall BUST!!!!, can't seem to decide whether he's awesome or horrible. Sometimes even in the same game. There have been some positive developments in his game. He has moments where you say "NOW I get it!" And there are moments you want to reach through the screen of your TV and grab him and shake him until he learns to consistently focus his considerable talents. Jrue was similar, but he seems to have less expectations surrounding him (he was, after all, only a 17th pick), and more positive moments, as befits someone with more experience. But he disappeared for long stretches, suffered from baffling shot selection most of the season, and sometimes didn't play a very pointy point guard ("Keep shooting, Jrue!" - The Dougy).

Silas is a warm body for the end of the bench, and Meeks? I know the Dougy loves him for some reason, but our "designated shooter" didn't shoot especially well for huge chunks of the season, and went from starter to out of the playoff rotation. I don't hate Meeks, he has his moments, and for what he makes, I'd take him back on a two-year deal at a relatively similar salary, or I'd let him go and shed not a tear. Either way is good with me, and a guy who does nothing but shoot threes can be found equally cheaply, so, like, whatever.

That leaves us with Tha BOSS. My feelings about Tha BOSS are beyond well-documented. I think he is the root of all evil (and I'm talking really evil, like e-ville, like the frew-its of the dev-ille), he is my least favorite kind of player (the remorseless volume chucker with crappy shot selection, no defense whatsoever, no real 'second skill' like, say, passing, and and unjustifiably enormous usage rate), and I believe he takes significantly more off the table than he brings to it. He also has his BOSSCON moments where his horrible shots inexplicably keep going in, and he's saved a few games that way, but on a mediocre team, that's a luxury they can't afford. Now, I had assumed, like most of us, that when he said he was definitely opting out of his contract, he was more or less out of here, but last night it sounded a lot like he was hedging and really wanted to stay. Obviously, I hope he doesn't. I hope he either finds his way to a good team where a SUPERDIDOOPERSTAR!!! can put the reins on him and get the right use out of him, or to a really crappy team where he can play Monta Ellis-type Alpha-shooter to his heart's content. Of course, he'll be staying, just to drive me insane.

Forwards: Dre, Thad, Big Chevy, Kraken, Lavoy, Spam Young

Who's Staying: Thad

Who's Leaving: Dre, Kraken, Spam

Who's Up in the Air: Big Chevy, Lavoy

Dre has been my favorite player on my favorite team for years, now. I love his all-around game, his unselfishness, his professionalism and class in the face of massive fan Hateraid (with a side of Hatertots), his defense, his passing, his highlight-reel dunks. I wonder why he's forgotten how to shoot free throws, and wish he did more catch-and-shoot shooting and less off-the-dribble shooting. We all know that he's been woefully miscast as the star of the team, when it's painfully clear he's best suited to be a #2 guy to a SUPERDIDOOPERSTAR!!! We don't have that SUPERDIDOOPERSTAR!!! Dre is also pretty much the only player on the roster with the combination of contract dollars, visibility, useful skills, and reputation to bring back anything even halfway decent in a trade.

As much as it makes me sad, it's time to say goodbye to Dre. If, and only if, a trade brings back some potential building blocks. I am not on the "just make him go away already" train. I want value. And when I mean value, I don't mean the corpse of Pau Gasol (or, as I like to call him, SuperHawes!). I mean young talent and draft pick(s), and hopefully without taking on a cap-crippling contract in return. Of course, they're going to trade him for 20 cents on the dollar, take back the worst possible contract, and get a player who is of no real use, no picks, and no cap relief. 'Cos that's just how we roll here in the PHL.

I also am a Big Admirer of the Big Chevy. As one of our regulars (KB, I think) said last night, "He didn't give us the bang for his buck, but he brought it every night." Which, in this clown car full of misfit toys, is really saying something. The Dougy is right. Elton is the Pro's Pro, and he left whatever he had on any given day all out on the floor.

He's gonna get amnestied, people. Get used to the idea. In a perfect world, he would re-sign for a lot less, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm gonna miss him. Happy Trails, Big Chevy, and may the wind always be at your back.

Thad is Thad. He has his moments, like all the Sixers' younger players, and there have been times when he was the best player on the court for them. And there have been times when he completely disappeared. He does what he does: he turns Garbage into Gold. This is who he is, this is who he will be. Great kid, great attitude, great hustle, great energy, great awkward smoothness, great athleticism, fair talent. He just got a pretty reasonable new contract, and he's a Dougy Favorite, so I expect he isn't going anywhere unless his being included brings back something special.

Kraken, we hardly knew thee. Enjoy the D-League. Spam Young, we didn't know thee at all, pretty much. Laterz.

What can we say about Lavoy Allen that we haven't already said? He stood tall this postseason, mostly in comparison with the Other Guy to whom he was the alternative. For the guy picked to be The Worst Player in the NBA, he was really solid. He is another guy who is what he is, a tough defender who can grab boards and hit an open jumper on the pick-and-pop. He's not a starter on a good NBA team, although I think he's a solid bench big who is capable of meaningful minutes. He's also a totally class dude, as we saw in his recent interview. Not at all bad for the 50th pick (and a horrifically panned pick at that, including by me. I own that). Keep Representin', Voy Wonder. I think they find a way to re-sign him, unless someone is seriously willing to overpay. He's become a Dougy Favorite, and that's a big deal, I think, when it comes to retention as an RFA. And deservedly so. And if he does come back, as I hope and believe he will, I am totally rockin' the 50 next season, jersey-wise!

Centers: Hawes, Nik, Battie

Who's Staying: Nik

Who's Leaving: Battie, probably to be re-signed right before the season, as usual.

Who's Up in the Air: HIM

Ah, the Jekyll-and-Hyde tale of Wight Howard/E.D. Hades, this is the story of the center position this season. Early this season, he fed on a burst of contract-year adrenaline, an offseason spent working out with Reign Man, and an unsustainable shooting percentage on long twos to become the celebrated Wight Howard, the guy who was finally going to lock down our center position for a long time to come. Then, an injury, and the question was "When is Hawes coming back to save us?" The injury dragged on, and some of the more thoughtful of us asked "Is he going to be the same Wight as he was before the injury?"

Our questions were all answered. We got the Other Guy, the Mr. Hyde of E.D.Hades to his Dr. Jekyll of Wight Howard. Horrifically, even comically soft. Constitutionally unable to box out or otherwise contest a rebound. Terrible shot selection of long twos. No defense whatsoever. A marked propensity to stand around looking lost and confused. No, he wasn't the only thing wrong with this team by a long shot, but he was the most infuriating (narrowly edging the steady diet of ill-conceived BOSS ISOs at the end of quarters and the maddening, getting-a-limpy-three-seconds-before-orgasm inconsistency of Evan Turner).

I think he's worn out The Dougy's patience. He's a goner. And I think he knows it. Enjoy playing in Guatemala, bozo. Don't let the departure gate hit you in the ass on the way out, and don't forget to get your vaccinations. See you never.

Battie is Battie. A Veteran Presence to fill out the roster, keep the end of the bench warm, and help in the locker room. We all know he'll be re-signed right before training camp, so why fight it? He isn't hurting anyone, and there are many moments in this particular postseason where I would have preferred him to Hawes, just because he's willing to put a body on someone.

Nik, Nik, Nik, Nik, Nik. Such high hopes we had for you early on, when you looked like a player. Then everyone found out you were soft, and that was pretty much the end of you. Hit the gym, toughen up, stop being a wuss. You have some talent. We all saw it. You have some solid skills. You can play basketball. All anyone asks is that you play it like a man. You can do it. I believe in you. Don't make a fool of me.

Welp. That's my roster wrapup for the season. The screaming you'll hear is when they re-sign BOSS to a huge six-year extension. The strangling you'll hear is when they re-sign Hawes to any contract whatsoever.

Tune in soon for my shameless touting of specific draft prospects that they will never, ever pick. I need to spend some time talking to Derek and reading DX to get a feel for who I really want them to draft yet. Unless Henson somehow falls to 15. Then they need to pick his scrawny ass. And feed that kid a cheeseburger!

Until then, Get the Hell Off My Lawn Before I Call the Cops!!

#SixersBeCrazy!!!

Love and kisses,

Your Curmudgeon

I read Jordan's most recent posting about how Evan Turner is showing improvement during the playoffs with great interest. Frankly, I haven't seen it, other than the first couple of games in Chicago. But I trust our bloglords to have a deeper statistically-based understanding of things, and they generally make sense.

As our regulars know, I am a huge Evan Turner fan. I love his all-around game, his humble attitude, his increasing fire on the court, and his potential to be a really interesting contributor. He has certainly shown real flashes of it this season, as his minutes normalized toward the end, and as his role solidified. I still believe he's going to be a significant player in this league.

That being said, I am finding our rabid defense of his play this postseason a bit baffling, and I disagree with Jordan's analysis. Why? Jordan says it himself:

...from a pure numbers standpoint, his production has been downright awful.

24 guards have played at least 30 minutes per game in these Playoffs. Only two – Ramon Sessions and J.R. Smith – have a lower PER than Evan Turner (10.0), and J.R. Smith is the only player with a lower true shooting percentage. From a conventional numbers standpoint, only Smith and Jason Kidd have a lower field goal percentage than Turner, and Turner is the only qualified guard without a made three-pointer. Points per game: Turner ranks 21st of 24.

I'm seeing the same things Jordan is. I think Turner's more aggressive approach will eventually pay dividends in future seasons. But production is production, and lack of production is lack of production, and Turner has in no way been productive, certainly not on the offensive end, where he has been downright offensive. He's not scoring, what little scoring he's done has been horrifically inefficient, and he's been a turnover factory.

I think it's OK to love Evan Turner and still recognize that he's been miserable this postseason. Of course, pretty much every player on the Sixers' roster has flirted with miserable this postseason in terms of individual performances (except maybe Lavoy Allen, who has shined, mostly because he's in comparison with non-existent Elton Brand and actively-playing-for-the-other-team Spencer Hawes). We all desperately want Turner to be great, to justify his lofty draft position. I believe he's made some real progress this season, to the point where I don't think anyone really believes he's a BUST!!!!! anymore. He's my second-favorite player on the team, after 'Dre. But my dude's been bad this postseason for the most part, and it's OK to admit that.

This postseason has gone from weird to downright baffling and bizarre. I still want them to make the Finals, though, just to shut everyone up. Especially the douchenugget national 'heads who refuse to give the Sixers the tiniest bit of credit for beating either the Bulls (still a super-top defensive team without Rose or Noah, and probably still more talented than the Sixers) or having a tied series with the Celtics (always a favorite of the DN'Hs, not to mention a Der Stern darling).

I have been a fan of this team since 1976, and I will always be a fan of this team, even if they re-sign Spencer Hawes to a max deal (although I reserve the right to complain about it incessantly if they do). But it's OK to love your team, even to love your players, and still think they're playing like crap right now.

Now get the hell off my lawn, dammit, before I call the cops!!!

Love and kisses,

Your Curmudgeon

I'll admit it: I didn't think they would get past the Bulls. Originally, I expected a sweep. Then, after all the injuries, I figured it would be over in 6. I thought they would lose Game 6 and then a Game 7 in Chicago.

I expected maybe one win against the Celtics, and I didn't think the series would be quite this competitive.

So. I was wrong. And I admit I'm glad I am, at least for the moment. I like watching our team give Boston all they can handle. I even enjoyed watching KG finally get called for mugging and general thuggery. And yes, I now want them to win this series.

But in the long term, what does this mean?

I still have the same concerns I did when I was rooting for losses at the end of the season so they would miss the playoffs. It's going to be increasingly hard to break up a team that is having unexpected playoff success. It reinforces the "we're only one piece away" mentality.

Mostly, I'm concerned that each win brings us one step closer to re-signing Tha BOSS and "Spencer Hades" (h/t Derek's phone's auto-correct). Continuity! If it ain't broken, don't fix it!

OK, so, anyway. The question on my mind is: As much fun as it is to see the Sixers doing this well in the playoffs, against all reasonable expectations, is this playoff success worth another five years of BOSS ISOs and ED softness in the paint? Would we trade a trip to the ECF for five years of exceptionally irritating .500 ball?

What do we think?

I haven't done one of these in a while, preferring to share my snark and insanity with you in threads, and recently, on the Twitterz (follow me, dammit! I have people skills!! I'M GOOD WITH PEOPLE!!!). So, I woke up this morning, went through the usual checking of various emails and tweets, and I saw something that really saddened me.

Our good friend and resident #Sixers whore, Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam), was giving away 38 pairs of free tickets over Twitter for tomorrow night's game. This made me sad for a couple of reasons:

First, it's sad that the CEO of a basketball team in a market this large has to take to the Twitterz to hawk tickets to a game.

Second, it's sad that the game isn't a sellout, even though the Sixers have proven that they can beat the Rose-less Bulls on any given evening.

Third, and probably worst, it's sad that I don't know if Aron understands how pathetic it is that he can't get people interested in a home playoff game, because his team is really sort of hopeless, in the grand scheme of things. I think there's a general feeling that even if they pull off the series upset over the Sans-Rose-a-Bulls, it's just another asterisk win in a season full of them, and whoever is next will take care of business (unless it somehow is the Hawks, who I think they can legitimately beat in a seven-game series. They also seem to match up pretty well with Indiana, for some reason).

He doesn't seem to understand this, that his team is average (at best), and people in this town aren't going to turn out to support an average NBA team, no matter how awesome the player intros are or how many rally towels he gives away. This is a place where pro basketball is firmly entrenched in fifth place, after football, hockey, baseball, and college basketball. The only way he will get people's attention long-term is to put a legitimately good product on the floor consistently, one that has a chance to realistically contend for a title year in and year out.

The only way this team is going to capture the hearts and minds of Philadelphia sports fans is to melt the roster down and rebuild it back up around a nucleus of young stars. That's going to take sucking for a few years, in order to gather in said young stars (I love Jrue and Turner, but they're still 2 and 2a options on that kind of team). No one understands bottom-line pressures and the need to bring the profits NOW better than I do. Several of my clients are executives who didn't do just that (although the majority are people who either want to strip-mine their assets at bargain-basement prices, or lend them turnaround money at exorbitant rates of interest). And really, you don't want to have to hire me as your attorney if you're a CEO. It means you failed and you need to raise money fast.

So I'm sympathetic to his desire to jack up the bottom line right now by implementing low-cost, low-impact revenue generators to put asses in the seats without having to spend anything much to do so. I just wonder if he understands that it's not going to work much. And that it's not working RIGHT NOW, since he's giving away free playoff tickets on Twitter and signing off with "plenty of tickets still available." This is a damn playoff game, after they just beat the highly-favored opponent on their home court by 17 points. It should be able to sell out. But it can't. Not even close.

That makes me sad. Thanks for listening.

This is the stuff that goes through my mind when I'm not swarmed under with work stuff to do. Since it's the silly season in the NBA (AKA the trade deadline), I just snarked on someone's thread: "We should trade everyone for expiring contracts and start from the beginning." Which, you have to admit, is the kind of thing I would say.

So it got me thinking (always dangerous): What if we could? What if we traded everyone on the current roster for contracts that expire at the end of this season, or deals with team options to be exercised at the end of this season (which means I think we would keep Noce, unless he gets us a primo expiring contract in return)? Suddenly, we have 15 open roster spots and $58 or so million in cap space. How would you spend it? Could you build a team out of free agents available this summer that would be any better than what we have now? Couldya? Couldya? Huh? Huh? Huh?

I'm going to play around with this later, but right now I have about 35 emails to write. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be lawyers...

Meanwhile, show me whatcha got!

Wow. 8 points in the third quarter? Really? 23 points in the entire second half? This is a serious team? While I admit it was nice to see them play a good half of basketball, it's alarming how fast it all fell apart.

At this point, considering they're having trouble beating the Bobcats, and are losing to good teams left and right, you are going to have a very difficult time convincing me that this is more than the average team we thought they were at the beginning of the season, and that they rode a hot streak to a decent record out of the gate.

Right now, I can't envision this team doing anything in the playoffs, if they can't start beating playoff-class teams. They'll probably make it, by riding their hot start, but this is not a team that's winning a round in the playoffs.

I don't know what's wrong at this point, and I'm not sure how to fix it, but Spencer Hawes isn't the savior.

OK. Rant over...now get off my lawn, you kids!!

David Thorpe had some nice things to say about our own Evan Turner in his ranking of second-year players. It's an Insider article, so I just copied the relevant part...

------------------------

6. Evan Turner, 76ers
If the NBA handed out its Most Improved Player award now, Turner would be a finalist. He has been much closer this season to what Philly expected of him in his rookie campaign; he is doing lots of little things to help his team win.

Can he score 20-plus points in a game? Yes. Can he grab 10-plus rebounds in a game? Yes. Can he control the ball for long stretches and help run the team as an off guard? Yes.

He has also shown much better shot selection this season and is now one of the two biggest bench producers for perhaps the league's best second unit. His herky-jerky style of a dribble attack is roasting defenders, and he's making more rim shots this season than he attempted last season.

--------------------

Nice :)

Ok, they only sucked for 12 minutes last night, against arguably the best team in the league. However, I hope last night served to inject some much-needed reality into people's perception of our beloved team. I'm not sure whether it's youthful inexperience on the part of some of our players, a brain-fart from our coach (who seems to have them sometimes, generally involving personnel use), Miami being in their heads, or simply lack of a 20ppg superstar who can take over the game, but I think last night showed that this team, while admittedly "fun to watch," isn't beating a top team in a 7-game series this year.

Or maybe, just maybe, they were who we thought they were. A mediocre team that got on a good run for a little while (as most teams are wont to do) due to continuity, young legs, and team chemistry (all of which are Good Things, but they aren't beating LeBron, Wade and the Boshtrich in a series), but will inevitably play to the level of their actual talent, which is still not that special, once the other teams get their legs under them.

In the end, talent tells in this league, not chemistry, youth, depth, or continuity. And this team doesn't have the raw talent to go toe-to-toe with the best, not over a 7-game series.

Now get off my lawn before I get the shotgun!!

...when the schedules will be set and tickets will be made available? I think it's going to be the season I indoctrinate my poor son into the hell that is being a Sixers fan :)

I'm even considering a 10-game package. God help us all.

To report me to DHS for corrupting my child with fandom for a mediocre team, go to Philadelphia Department of Human Services :)

Seriously, though, I do want to take him to some games, if anyone has any information about when tickets will be available...

OK. The Eagles unexpectedly suck. After the other night's game, I'm not sure if the Phillies are going to wrap hands firmly around neck again this year in the playoffs. And I don't give a crap about hockey.

So what to do? 

Well, it's been good for my son so far, because he's getting a lot more attention than he would if there were sports I wanted to watch. But I can only handle so much Wonderpets and tickle-fighting. OK, I can handle a lot of tickle-fighting. :) But still. My kid goes to bed at 7:30.

There's always work, but after 22 years, it's not all that exciting anymore. Besides, I just had a damn heart attack in June, and what I don't need is taking on more stress. I got lucky and made a good arrangement a couple of years ago, which is one of the reasons I moved back here, so I don't have to go to the office full-time and don't have to carry a full load. And I like it that way.

What I need is my damn basketball!

I don't care if they play for free, they need to just get the hell out there already so I have something to think about outside my own little world that doesn't piss me off completely, or at least pisses me off in a really enjoyable way. 

OK. Rant over, I'm feeling a little better now :)

I miss you guys. Even you, LeQuan.

...in the heady era of good feeling that will surely be engendered by the sale of the Sixers to an LBO guy, let's take an opportunity to build a team that will make the most fans happiest!

First: The Ellis-for-Iguodala trade has to happen!! We need a guy who scores 20 ppg! The only purpose of a wing player is to score, preferably as inefficiently as possible.

Second: We must re-sign Thad to a huge new contract!! He must be placed at SF, where he will finally show everyone his true scoring ability!!!

Third: We must start Tha BOSS!!!! Because he is exciting and electric and nuclear and gamma-rayed!!! ISOs ROCK!!!

Fourth: FREE SPEEZY!!! He is a 20-10 waiting to happen!!!

Fifth: We must draft a jump-shooter who can score!!!

Sixth: We must trade coaches...straight up, Collins for D'Antoni!!

Starting Lineup:

PG: Tha BOSS

SG: Tha SuperBOSS (Ellis)

SF: Tha-d

PF: Tha Jump-shooting guy around 6'8 that we draft, or maybe we trade Jrue and Turner for one.

C: Tha Speezy

This is a team that will make fans show up in droves!!! There will be scoring!!! The Seven-Seconds-or-Less offense will rule!!!

Make it happen!!!!!!

...I know this is the time of year where we let our imaginations run wild. People are trading us top 5 draft picks for Lou Williams. We're trading Elton Brand for Dwight Howard. Kobe Bryant is homesick for Philly and decides he wants to play out the rest of his career in his hometown for free. We're getting Chris Paul for Tony Battie and the Donger.

Can we go...I don't know...three whole days without anyone proposing a ridiculous trade? It's giving me a headache.

I know no one wants to hear this, but Dwight Howard isn't walking through that door. Chris Paul isn't walking through that door. 

If we want a top draft pick, we're going to have to give up something for it. Probably Iguodala + #16, maybe more. And honestly, as much as I would love a shot at a legit big man, I'm not sure any of the bigs in this draft are worth it. Of course that would depend on how horrible the contracts we would have to take back would be in a potential Iguodala deal. There seems to be a general consensus that someone would give us something really terrific for Iguodala without demanding that we take on horrific contracts as well.

Unfortunately, Kevin McHale isn't walking through that door either.

I know everyone wants to win the championship this year. It's not happening. This is going to have to be a process, whether we like it or not. This team isn't one piece away. What we do have is some nice young players, and a pretty good coach that seems to get them to play hard and get the most out of their ability. There's nothing earth-shattering here that would get a top superstar here at this point. We are still in the phase where we are building that foundation that would attract the big star.

"But what about Boston?" you say. "They traded away all their young players and won a championship! We should do that too!" However, that requires a GM on another team that is willing to take back 10 cents on the dollar for his best player because he cares more about your team than the one he's running. And I don't know that anyone would trade us an in-his-prime KG for Evan Turner, Elton Brand, and our draft pick.

This is going to take time. I think we'd all be happier if we understand that, and enjoy watching our team grow together, instead of screaming for trades involving top superstars that don't cause any damage to whatever we could put in place around that top superstar, and besides would never possibly happen.

So. Can we get at least a brief moratorium on the insane trade suggestions? No? Well, it was worth a shot. :)

Let me suggest mine, then...

Is this good enough for everyone?

I've said this a few times today, but I am looking forward to this draft not at all. This might be the Worst Draft Class in NBA History. Do you seriously see more than maybe three of these guys even as solid NBA starters? I don't even think there's one potential All-Star out there.

And after the lottery? I think there are about four guys who look like they could possibly be in an NBA 9-man rotation. If they play to their potential. And they're all limited-use players who are that guy who comes off the bench and gives you 15 minutes of Something. 

And the Sixers? Not gonna get what they need, an impact big (PF or C, either one). That is, of course, assuming that any exist in this draft at all...one of the Euros, maybe, or Kanter. So they'll take yet another middle-sized athletic swingman with "potential" and park him at the end of the bench next to Turner. And in a couple of years, we'll wonder why he never played, and why when he did play, he sucked. But he was the Best Player Available....

So. What to do?

Continue reading this post »

...or, "Why I love this particular team, even though they drive me insane sometimes"

Yes, some of it is "the laundry," as I've been a fan since 1975. But there's something about this group of players that makes me really happy, when they're not making me rip my chest hair out in frustration. In their own unique way, they're sort of lovable, which for me (I realize that this is not true for 99.998% of NBA fans) is better than if they were a team full of Jordanesque superstars, everyone scoring over 20 ppg, from the starting SG to the ball boy.

Why?

1) They're young: One of the youngest teams in the league, with eight players 23 years old or less. Sure, there are some veterans salted in there, but mostly, other than Brand, they're guys like the personal-injury law firm of Krapono, Dongaila, and Battie (a Limited Liability Corporation registered in the state of Delaware...NOTE: Attorney advertising does not constitute an offer of representation...oops. Sorry. I digress). The guys they go to war with every night are young. Like, say, Young. He's young. Anyway, I digress again. The point is (and I do have one) is that they occasionally do strange, stupid, and incomprehensible things. But so does my kid. And most of these guys are kids. We tend to forget that.

2) They play really, really hard: Pretty self-explanatory. But I love a team with heart that seems to care about what they're doing.

3) They play defense: Last year's DRtg under Eddie the J: 110.3. This year's DRtg under the Dougie: 104.9. Ball don't lie, son. That's a lot of points right there, that is.

4) They seem to genuinely like playing basketball together: That whole Henry V "We few, we band of brothers" thing. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for that stuff. But I think it might be the second-biggest difference between last year's Eddie and the Jordanaires debacle. The first being...

5) The Dougie: Look. I didn't want him. I wanted Thibodeau (who, it turns out, can coach a little, too, although it does help to have Rose, Boozer, and Noah...NOTE: Attorney advertising does not...well, you get the idea). But these kids seem to love the Dougie, and they play their hearts out for him, and take practices seriously, except for maybe Speights. 

Do they get on my nerves sometimes? Of course they do. Anything you love gets on your nerves. Do I hate Tha BOSS with the white-hot fury of a thousand suns whenb he starts in with his Stone Cold BOSSin'? Well, duh :)

But I still love 'em. Here's to the playoffs, gents! Salut!! 

With a reasonable possibility of as many as 44-45 wins (this is a high-end estimate) and a quite possible fifth seed (and almost certainly sixth), do we think this has been a "good" season? I know at the beginning of the season, and certainly when we were 3-13, I had this team pegged for 22 wins and a possible worst overall record. 

I was wrong. Wrong. The opposite of right. I own this.

So now that Dougie and Tha Boyz have made me look stupid, how do we feel about the team overall?

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Yes. Nice record (for us). Over .500 for the first time in ages. Won seven of the last nine games. Look like world-beaters some nights. Seems like players are developing apace. Most of the time.

However...

Who have we really beaten?

Have we won any games at all against good teams? I think one against SA and one against Chicago (without Noah). At this point, I don't consider Atlanta an elite team...they're struggling badly right now. As far as I can tell, this team has gotten fat gorging on victories against crappy teams,  slumping teams, or teams missing their best players.

In the last week, we've choked away late fourth-quarter leads against Dallas and OKC at home. Does anyone really expect anything better against Boston? I expect we'll play them tough until late in the fourth quarter, when Garnett or Pierce will do something gaudy and pull the game out. 

The whole "at least we're playing them tough" thing worked for us when we were 3-13. This team desperately needs to learn how to close out games against good teams, or it is not a good team. It's that simple. It has nothing to do with superstars, or whatever. It has to do with mental toughness. And this team doesn't have it yet. 

Are the Sixers a good team? Not yet. They're a fair team that can beat the bad teams consistently, but can't find a way to beat the good teams.

Is there any good news? Sure. This is also a really young team (other than Brand). Mental toughness is something learned through losing games like this. Or signing a superstar who scores more than 20 ppg and gets the calls :)

Seems like everyone's got an opinion about whether there should be contraction in the NBA or not. LeBron thinks there should. Of course, I couldn't give a rat's doo-doo-maker about LeBron's opinion on...well, anything. But maybe he makes sense here. Maybe Kevin Love would be happier and more productive on a team with other superstars.

More after Tha JUMP!!!

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The talking heads are starting to show the Sixers some respect. Stein has us at 12th. Hollinger has us at 8th(!) I'm not sure what they're thinking. This is the team with no go-to scorer, with no real post presence, with no interior defense. WIth the horrific and evil Andre Iguodala still playing for them and steadfastly refusing to score 20 ppg? :D

What's up with that? I guess I'm worried that expectations will get too high. Or, are they the new 2007 Warriors?

Nah. Same bunch of sorta-lovable schlubs they've been all along. I just wonder what's inspiring all the love from the talking heads? Usually they hate us. I have been looking at the teams "behind" us, and I can't justify a ranking above maybe somewhere between 22-25. About the equivalent of the Pistons or so.