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Friday, Nov 21, 2008, 4:00 PM PST
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Off-Day Poll
by jsams
on Nov 20, 2008 6:00 PM PST
P.S. Check out the newest FanShot. It has nothing to do with the Sixers, but I bet it will brighten your day.
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'It was kind of weird,' Carney said. 'I was sitting at home when [the Sixers] called and said I had been traded. I asked who I got traded for and they said they couldn't tell me. The way I look at it is, I got traded for them to get Brand. I got traded for money.'
about 15 hours ago
jsams
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Will the real 76ers please stand up?
by jsams
on Nov 19, 2008 9:37 PM PST
I understand that even good teams have let downs here and there, but the Sixers seem to have them every other night. This team is confusing; they really are. One night they'll beat down a team from start to finish and other nights their play horrible basketball--even in victories.
Tonight the Sixers went into Minnesota and came out strong, building a 13 point lead behind their two best players, in order, Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand. Then Maurice Cheeks made yet another questionable substitution, as he has been doing all season. With four minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter the Sixers had a 9 point lead. Then Cheeks brought in everyone's least favorite player Willie Green for Thaddeus Young. Shockingly, the lead evaporated and the Sixers never recovered.
We've seen 11 games and I still cannot single out one specific problem with the Sixers, since they seem to have so many and a different one costs them a game on a nightly basis.
Mo Cheeks is the first person I blame. I've always been a big fan of Mo. I think he's a great dude. He seems to have a good feel for his players and does wonders with the team chemistry, but all of this does us no good if he cannot A) Motivate this team to play quality basketball every night or B) Make good decisions when it comes to the rotation. Willie cannot continue to be the sixth man. The team usually suffers when he enters the game, especially if he replaces Thaddeus Young. Thad has been our best and most consistent player this season. There's no reason to take him out after watching him dominate the first 7 minutes of games. Give Lou-Will more time, and make sure he has a true point guard on the floor with him. He cannot run the offense, but he can score with the best of him. Stefanski did not give Lou a 27 million dollar contract to play 10 minutes a night. I know he's had a bad season so far, but he is better than Willie Green. Marreesse Speights also needs more time, whether it be at Sammy's expense or Reggie's expense, or both. Speights is a rookie and he will commit some stupid (not Sam stupid) fouls, but he also does a lot of good things on the court. And for the record, I am not on the "bench Sammy D" bandwagon. He's a good defender and rebounder. He does a lot, and I repeat, a lot of stupid things, but benching him would be like waving the white flag on the season.
Another reoccurring problem is the disappearance of Thad throughout the game. I don't know if this is Cheeks' fault for not playing him enough/not calling any plays for him, Thad's fault deferring to his teammates or the veterans' fault for thinking they are so much better than the 21-year-old and they need to take their shots to show everybody that it's their team (Elton, Iggy and Miller). Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed. Thad's M.O. has been to come out of the gate and dominate the first six or seven minutes of the game, only to be taken out by Cheeks. Then when he returns the the game, he barely touches the ball. Keep the beast involved!
Andre Iguodala's jumpshot is another problem; it is horrendous. I have never seen an NBA player throw up so many bricks on wide open shots. Andre has started to come around as of late, but his jumpshot, his attempt of fancy passes and the mindset that he's a lot better than he really is has been getting on my nerves. I still love the guy, but he needs to realize he's not the team's go-to scorer and be satisfied contributing in other ways. He's still a playmaker, solid defender and great rebounder for his size.
This team needs a shot in the arm. They might not be championship contenders, but they are a lot better than they have been showing. If the season continues this way, either someone like Andre Miller or Samuel Dalembert needs to be traded or Coach Cheeks has to be fired. A team with this much talent cannot play below .500 ball and expect to just mosey though the season. Nine more games and I'll have definitive solutions. Until then, the Sixers need to turn it around and it starts with the head coach.
Player of the Game: Thaddeus Young.
Record: 5-6
Favorite Open Thread Comment: "Why do the timberwolves cheerleaders even bother? Just wear tops and show your underwear"--jemagee
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Sixers: Mediocrity at it's finest.
by jsams
on Nov 19, 2008 8:22 PM PST
Umm, yeah. The now 2-8 T'Wolves just beat the Sixers. I'll have my thoughts up in a little bit.
Just stare at our fabulous coach until then.
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Sixers at T'Wolves open thread 11/19/08
by jsams
on Nov 19, 2008 4:16 PM PST
Easy win.
Don't worry; I'm jinx proof today. I'm normally not this confident, but our boy "Stop-n-Pop" over at Canis Hoopus posted some harmless trash talk regarding tonight's game. I had to return the favor.
Big game for M16 tonight. I feel it.
This is an open thread.
Go!
163 comments | 0 recs
Thad gets some love!
Good article.
2 days ago
jsams
0 comments
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Sixers at T'Wolves tomorrow
by jsams
on Nov 18, 2008 4:56 PM PST
The Sixers had quite the week last week. They reached .500 by winning three games in three completely different ways. The first game against the Raptors was a game I wasn't very optimistic about. At the time the Sixers were 2-5 and were about to play a team that had already beaten them, on their home court, in the opener. Surprisingly, the Sixers played inspired ball for the first time all season and pulled out a tough win. The big win against the Raptors was supposed to launch the season in the right direction, but the Sixers came out with a lackluster performance two nights later. The Sixers found themselves down by 26 to a much lesser team, the Indiana Pacers. This game was painful for two reasons. Number one, I hate Jim O'Brien, the coach of the Pacers. Sorry Jim. Number two, I taped the game and planned on coming home to watch it, only to check my phone with a ton of texts to ruin the game for me. And there's nothing less enjoyable than watching a game when you already know the outcome. The problem was, the Sixers ended up coming back from 26 down to beat the Pacers. A huge win to say the least, and I missed it. Then they destroyed the Thunder the very next night--an exciting game to watch.
Tomrrow the Sixers will try to extend their winning streak to four against the 1-8 Minnesota TimberWolves. Again, the Sixers should win, but the way their season has gone so far, nothing would surprise me. If the Sixers are ever going to be considered a legitimate contender, they need to beat bad teams, especially those of the 1-8 kinds. They need to win tonight to keep things rolling.
Check out Canis Hoopus for T'Wolves extravaganza.
What to look for:
-All Sixers' fans, including me to take their man-crush of Thaddeus Young to another level.
-I can't wait to get a good look at Kevin Love.
-Al Jefferson is the T'Wolves best player by far and last year Sammy D had 9 blocks (mostly against him) including the potential game-tying jumphook.
-The Sixers had trouble keeping Jermaine O'neal and Chris Bosh off the glass, especially offensively. Jefferson and Love could have a field day.
-Rodney Carney, Kevin Ollie and Calvin Booth's return! I miss you Rodney.
-Andre Iguodala to continue to resurrect his disappointing start to the season.
-Andre Miller to stop shooting so much.
-M16 to be a factor. I just feel it.
-Lou Williams to put together a solid game, hopefully.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Record: 5-5
Prediction: 102-93 Sixers
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Sixers lower ticket prices
I don't understand how the Sixers are 28th in attendance. Maybe people are still suffering from Phillies hangover?
It's disappointing, nonetheless.
3 days ago
jsams
12 comments
0 recs
Hello .500
by jsams
on Nov 15, 2008 9:29 PM PST
Great win tonight, but it was expected. First off, I'd like to congratulate myself on coming insanely close on my pre-game prediction. My prediction was 112-86 and the final score ended up being 110-85. It's about time one of my predictions was close; hopefully it's a sign of things to come and brings good karma to the Sixers.
If you asked me in the off-season if I would be happy with a .500 record after 10 games, I would've told you absolutely not, but in this case I'm stoked. The Sixers have now rattled off three impressive wins in a row, showing they can win in different ways. First, they went blow-by-blow with a very solid team in the Raptors. Then they stormed back from 26 down to beat a team they were supposed to beat anyway and tonight they destroyed a bad team.
The first half was a little too close for comfort. The Thunder were keeping up with the Sixers and were only down four points at halftime, but then as every good team should, the Sixers came out with that killer instinct in the second half and within a matter of minutes had built the lead to 20 points. They never looked back and won in style, dunking, running, stealing. It was a beautiful brand of basketball.
Random Thoughts:
-Andre Miller had only five shots and nine assists! Awesome.
-Thaddeus Young is my new favorite player.
-Lou continues his sorry season.
-Sammy D bounces back with a nice game.
-Andre Iguodala had a nice jumpshot? Yes sir. Hopefully he keeps it up.
-Jeff Green is good.
-Russell Westbrook is exciting.
-M16 rarely disappoints.
-Elton Brand doesn't like to shoot a high percentage any more.
-Mo Cheeks still makes questionable decisions.
-Next game is Wednesday against Minnesota.
Player of the Game: Thaddeus Young
Record: 5-5
Favorite Open Thread Comment: "I want Thad to father my children"--SexualTyrannosaurus
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Thunder at Sixers open thread 11/15/08
by jsams
on Nov 15, 2008 12:38 PM PST
I still haven't had a chance to watch the tape of last night's game. I'll try to watch it before tonight's game, but from the sound of it, no one else saw the 26-point comeback either, so here are the highlights.
Tonight we could get back to .500.
The Thunder should not beat us.
We're at home.
Let's take care of business.
I expect nothing less than a blowout.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Record: 4-5
Prediction: 112-86 Sixers
This is an open thread.
63 comments | 0 recs
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Atlantic Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Boston
|
11 | 2 | .846 | 0 | Won 3 |
|
New York
|
6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Lost 2 |
| Toronto | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Won 1 |
|
Philadelphia
|
5 | 6 | .454 | 5 | Lost 1 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 6 | .400 | 5.5 | Lost 1 |
(updated 11.21.2008 at 2:19 AM PST)
Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
Los Angeles Clippers
|
Fri 11/21 | 4:00 PM PST |
|
Golden State
|
Sun 11/23 | 2:00 PM PST |
| @ Charlotte | Mon 11/24 | 4:00 PM PST |
|
Orlando
|
Wed 11/26 | 4:30 PM PST |
|
@
Boston
|
Fri 11/28 | 4:30 PM PST |
Last 5 Games
|
@
Minnesota
|
Wed 11/19 | L 96 - 102 |
| Oklahoma City | Sat 11/15 | W 110 - 85 |
|
@
Indiana
|
Fri 11/14 | W 94 - 92 |
| @ Toronto | Wed 11/12 | W 106 - 96 |
|
Utah
|
Tue 11/11 | L 80 - 93 |
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