Sixers take care of business at MSG

by jsams on Oct 14, 2008 9:59 PM PDT

Well, now we are 3-1 in the season that doesn't care what your record is, but tonight we got revenge on the division rival who recently handed us our only loss, the New York Knickerbockers. Yes! Again, I was forced to follow the play-by-play via Yahoo and watch the first half highlights (thanks NBA.com) rather than watching the game. Here's the box score and as always, here are my thoughts.

P.S. Obviously these recaps will be much more substance-filled when I can actually watch the games.

Things I liked:

-Mo Speights

-Mo Speights. What a flat out stud. I've been extremely high on him since watching him in person during the Summer League and now everyone else seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 dime, 1 block on 4-7 shooting. Not to mention the fact that he had no turnovers and only 2 fouls. For some perspective on people who actually watched the game, here are some quotes.

From the resident SBNation Knicks blogger:

What I’ve learned from having visual: Marreese Speights is a goddamn beast, and Thaddeus Young may be poised for a breakout year.

And he spelled his name right! We'll get to Thad in a minute.

Depressed Fan:

I have to say, Speights is quicker than I thought he'd be, has a much better touch than I thought he'd have (he hit 2 deep jumpers, probably from about 20), and he has a better feel for the game than anyone could've expected. I think the Sixers brass may have found another gem in this year's draft.

I'm telling you, Amare 2.0.

-I continue to confess my man-crush on Speights. In the meantime another one of our young studs continues to impress. Thaddeus Young dropped 16 points including two more three's. So much for addressing the three-point need in the off-season, looks like we've developed one in-house, this summer.

-We beat the Knicks.

-A 3-1 record.

-Won the rebound battle and had a whopping 17 offensive rebounds. Sweet!

-DNP for Ivey. Don't get me wrong I like the dude in certain situations, but no way he should get regualr playing time behind Miller and Lou-Will.

-Iggy 18-5-6. The emergence of Thad and the addition of Brand will take a ton of pressure off him come regular season.

-115 comments in the open thread. Woooooooo!

-Only 10 turnovers.

Things I didn't like:

-Lou-Will with 3 more turnovers. He's averaging 3+ this pre-season in 20 minutes. Not cool. He was also 3 of 9 from the field. I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come in the regular season.

-Brand 3-12 from the floor, but still contributed with 13-11. The good comes with the bad I guess. The important thing is he still found a way to contribute. Unfortunately, I don't have the "Things I kinda, sorta, might have liked" section.

-Willie Green was the first player off the bench and managed 13 shots. This has to stop.

-Again, the world of technology continues to screw me. I need to at least listen to these games. I'm asking again, if someone finds a link for these games please post it! Please?

-The Knicks hitting 15 threes. The perimeter defense has to improve.

Player of the Game: M16 (Speights new nickname). Welcome to the POG section Mo!

Pre-season record: 3-1

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The sixers still need to be better on the defensive glass, they don’t get enough of the available rebounds, that costs you against teams that don’t stink when the games count.

The 3 point shooting percentage, still atrocious.

The perimeter defense has needed to improve since Larry Brown left (no I don’t miss brown)

Not enough assists, I don’t like this type of offense, not enough movement, not enough passing, it again won’t do well in the playoffs…the addition of Elton Brand should mean for more assists as the sixers now have a big man who actually knows how to play in the post.

The sixers are no lock for anything this year except a playoff appearance, they could end up 3rd in the atlantic (don’t sleep on the rosters) and there will be growing pains for Young and Speights, and Mo Cheeks still thinks Willie Green should play in the NBA

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 6:49 AM PDT 0 recs

idk why but i kind of like willie green

http://www.libertyballers.com

by Remis on Oct 15, 2008 2:59 PM PDT up 0 recs

At times he looks like he could be pretty solid, but

All the other times, he has horrible stretches of missed shots and turnovers. I think he’ll be fine with 8-10 minutes a game, any more? No thanks.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 3:05 PM PDT up 0 recs

yea, this kind of shows how long a way we’ve come from a year ago where willie green was a starter, now he’s probably our 8th or 9th best player….

http://www.libertyballers.com

by Remis on Oct 15, 2008 5:04 PM PDT up 0 recs

Wille Green was NEVER an NBA starter, he may have STARTED on the sixers but he wasn’t a starter, he’s a dime a dozen fungible player who shoots a lot, at a crap percentage and doesn’t draw fouls…he’s one of the worst point per shot shooters in the league, he doesn’t pass and I find him weak defensively, he does nothing Louis Williams couldn’t do better…people like willie green cause every once in a while he scores a lot of points, but he shoots a lot and he just sucks…go out there, read the articles and ‘research’ from the unbiased 3rd parties about how bloody awful willie green is.

John Salmons can at least defend

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 5:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

I completely agree

but you don’t think he’s worth 8-10 minutes?

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 5:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

Willie Green isn’t a rotation player, unless your rotation is going 10 deep…his minutes last year should all have been louis williams, and now kareem rush is here, and he’s better than willie green too

So willie green is behind louis williams AND kareem rush – and in my world the sixers realize that Williams is not a point guard – so where would you find 8-10 minutes for willie green?

There’s a reason guys like eddie house never get multi year deals – and willie green ain’t even eddie house

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 6:14 PM PDT up 0 recs

I haven’t done the math, but something like Lou with 29, Rush with 15 and Willie with 8.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 6:39 PM PDT up 0 recs

If we’re talking two positions, I’d rather see royal ivey get minutes at the one – can you give him those 8 minutes?

Keep in mind, Andre Igoudala can run the point (at least I think he can) with L Will on the floor

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 6:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah

we talked about that Iguodala thing last night.

Trust me I’m the biggest Willie G hater out there lol, but I don’t think he should ride the bench the entire year.

Would you settle for 8-10 minutes every once in a while?

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 6:46 PM PDT up 0 recs

In games that are over already willie green can play, but that’s it.

Trust me, I got into arguments on boards from whence I’ve been banned that given the same contract, the sixers would be better off signing John Salmons instead of Willie Green (when they were both free agents)…I’ve been anti willie almost as long as I’ve been Pro Iguodala (6 months before he got drafted by the sixers :)

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 6:49 PM PDT up 0 recs

There's no doubt in my mind

Salmons is way better.

Maybe we’ll have a LB Willie Green exclusive stat when the season starts and me and you can discuss his role haha.

I smell a jemagee weekly Willie G FanPost.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 7:10 PM PDT 0 recs

Willie Green is minor to me compared to the walking disaster that starts at center for the sixers :)

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 7:13 PM PDT up 0 recs

lol

Sammy’s my boy, but within three years Speights>Dalembert.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 7:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

shhh, don’t tell sammy so he can teach speights some stuff at the defensive end ; )

http://www.libertyballers.com

by Remis on Oct 15, 2008 7:20 PM PDT up 0 recs

What can Sam teach Speights at the defensive end? How to be out of position, to goaltend, to not know how to box out?

Sam can’t teach anyone anything about basketball

ASB in the 09/10 season – Speights supplants sam – at the LATEST

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 7:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

What can Sam teach Speights at the defensive end? How to be out of position, to goaltend, to not know how to box out?

not to sound like a homer but…. i’ve seen sammy shutdown the opposing team’s best post player on countless occasions and can be flat out dominant sometimes…IMO by the way

http://www.libertyballers.com

by Remis on Oct 16, 2008 3:46 PM PDT up 0 recs

+1

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 16, 2008 7:39 PM PDT up 0 recs

idk man i like dalembert, he’s incredible at defense and i don’t think we can take that for granted in this league (that was a cliche)

http://www.libertyballers.com

by Remis on Oct 15, 2008 7:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

No, he’s not incredible at defense, people just get blinded by the blocked shots (almost as over rated in basketball as the save in baseball)

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 7:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

So, do you think Sammy has reached his ceiling?

I ask myself that all the time.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 8:35 PM PDT up 0 recs

The only thing Sam Dalembert seems to be getting better at is not fouling and less goaltending, and the things he does work on piss me off – why the HELL is working on a 19 foot jumper when he has no post moves, can’t dribble, and can’t pass.

I feel sam hit his ceiling a couple years ago…and ‘picking up the game late’ stopped being an excuse the moment he became a full time starter

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 8:45 PM PDT up 0 recs

I see where you're coming from

but I still think our team is better off with him at center for at least this year. Next year might be a different story.

Unless Speights just completely blows people away, which is possible.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 8:47 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well yeah, because the only other real options last year were Calvin Booth and nobody.

Sam is the best option, but I have no trouble seeing him supplanted by Speights sooner than most people think.

Iguodala started from day one
Young took about 3/4 of a season
If Speights takes a seeason and a half he’ll be ‘slow’ developing

Speights upside in natural ability and potential is AMAZING, it’s all about him committing and doing the work and I have no doubt he will do it.

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 9:24 PM PDT up 0 recs

Is M16 a good enough nickname?

That’s the question.

Where will you be when the Sixers hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy? Hopefully Liberty Ballers.

by jsams on Oct 15, 2008 9:26 PM PDT up 0 recs

I like the no nicknames

Iguodala doesn’t have one that I like and refuse to use (AI2? Iggy?, no)

Does Thaddeus Young have one?

It’s Philadlephia baby, the phillies just won the NLCS and no one gave them any chance or focused on a single player…we are a city of ‘doing the job’ (not blue collar, please)…in philadelphia we do our job, we get it done, and don’t care about the recognition, just get the job done, and thus, screw the nicknames, just get it done.

by jemagee on Oct 15, 2008 9:53 PM PDT up 0 recs