Season in Review: Marreese Speights
by Jordan Sams on May 8, 2010 1:30 AM PDT
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PrintMarreese had an interesting season. While it was evident that neither his defense nor work ethic improved over the summer, Speights came out guns blazin' on offense. In the nine games prior to his knee injury Speights was averaging 14 points (60 FG%), 7 rebounds, and 1 block in 24 minutes off the bench. Then he sprained his knee, rushed back, gained 15 pounds, and was never the same. He finished the year averaging 9 points (48 FG%) and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, and his field goal percentage dropped to 44 after the all-star break.
It's easy to look at those numbers -- especially 15 pounds -- and assume Speights had a disappointing season, but that wasn't necessarily the case. Sure, he had a slight drop-off in offensive efficiency, but his defensive rebounding quietly improved to impressive levels (see '3 stats') and his defense remained fairly constant.
We all know Speights has the tools to be a terrific player, but the knocks on him are his attitude and work ethic. Beat writers claim they've never seen him stay after practice, Stefanski has admitted he'd like to see him work harder, and coming back from his injury absurdly out of shape confirmed all suspicions.
Red flags aside, Speights is as talented as they come. There's no doubt in my mind if Speights started and averaged 35+ minutes a game he'd put up 18-8-1 on 50% shooting, easily. From both a production standpoint and a development standpoint, I thought Speights should've started alongside Sam last year. Sam and Speights are perfect compliments, and the difference between his and Elton Brand's defense isn't significant enough to warrant starting Brand instead. Unfortunately Speights and Dalembert played less than 50 minutes together this year, and less than 200 the year before.
My hope for M16 is that the Sixers hire a coach who lights a fire under him to play defense and work hard. If he plays average enough defense to earn a starting job Speights could play a very prominent role in the Sixers future, and I'd feel pretty confident with a core of Jrue/Lou/Andre/Thad/Speights/Top 8 pick.
3 Stats + one
1. Speights' stats per 40 minutes: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 1.4 assists, .477 eFG%, 14.7 Reb%
Amare's stats per 40 minutes: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 1.2 assists, .557 eFG%, 14.2 Reb%
2. 56% of Speights' shots were jumpers (up from 48% last year).
3. Speights shot a better eFG% on jumpers this year (39%) than last year (36%).
4. Speights' defensive rebounding percentage improved from 16.3 to 19.7 (which ranks 40th in NBA, ahead of Millsap, Nene and Brook Lopez.)
Grade: B-/C+
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Amare was always an interesting comp for him. The question is does M16 have it in him to become at least passable defensively and more consistent on the boards? If you brought a defensive taskmaster in here, could he get through to Speights? Or at least put him in a position to neither help nor hurt you defensively. Amare has looked much better since they started putting him next to legit defensive bigs regularly(i.e Lopez) and not having HIM be the anchor. Which is why I’d love to see Speights next to Sam for a ton of min next year.
IMO, if Speights ever “gets it” defensively(enough to be mediocre), that could be one way this team becomes good much faster than expected. Especially if they are lucky enough to draft top 2 this year and pull Turner or even if they stay at 6 and get Johnson. I’d would love to see a Jrue-Dala-(Turner/Johnson)-Speights-Sam lineup.
BTW, was I the only one really annoyed at Stefanski for whining publicly about Speights’ work ethic? If he is not staying voluntarily, Stefanski should’ve had his coaching staff enforce some mandatory work until the team is satisfied with his performance & progress. Pull a Pat Riley and put him through a Hoops Boot Camp. Not that hard. Better then acting like an eunuch to the Season Ticket Holders and the Press.
Yeah, not a huge fan of anything Stefanski says or does.
I think Speights gets a bad rap because of his work ethic. Is there any one thing Thaddeus does better than M16? They’re both bad defenders, fine. But Speights is better offensively, and he’s a better rebounder. Yet everyone loves Thad, because he’s such a great kid and he works hard. He also gets a ton more minutes than Mo — especially at the four — and I don’t get that. Even when Thad was out, Speights didn’t get enough PT, IMO.
I agree that Speights needs to play next to Dalembert next year. I think he should start unless they draft a big who’s ready immediately (Favors, Cousins).
A Jrue/Turner/Andre/Speights/Sam lineup would be nasty — a nice mix of scoring and defense.
Thad passes better. And Thad’s a very average passer. Keep dreaming about that lineup though, I sure am.
by Michael Levin on May 8, 2010 4:57 AM PDT up reply actions
As DX put it about Speights: “With that said, we can see why he isn’t there right now considering what we saw and know from the rumblings about his overall approach to the game, as opposed to his talent. What we want to know is: how bad could his work ethic be if he went from barely being considered a top-50 high school recruit to one of the most skilled big men in the draft and a potential lottery pick in the span of just two years?”
M16 just needs a Drill Sgt. Like a lot of young players, he worked harder on his O and let his natural physical gifts handle his D, which was fine at lower levels but not in the L. Give me a Thibodeau, Collins or any type of taskmaster who is willing to make him sweat for it and he could become at least serviceable, which would be enough if you play him next to a Sam/Noah/Robin Lopez type.
I think they tried to make Speights more of a full time center because they know Brand will be here for a while but Sam is likely gone after next year.
I agree it makes ,more sense to play him at PF next to Sam. But that means Brand will end up on the bench and they would still need to go out and get a new center. Realistically, that is what they need to do, but I’m not sure Stefanski is willing to admit Brand is a 16M+ per year bench player.
True. But I think Speights playing so much center this season was more about our very mistaken head coach than any real organizational plan. Speights is a pure PF.
Brand is actually more effective defensively than Speights whether at PF or C despite his poor rebounding. Thad is more effective offensively at PF than Speights, So the sad reality is that if we bring in a coach who tries to win now(whether an offensive or defensive minded coach) then Speights will probably find himself on the bench again this season.
If the sixers were about ‘earning’ minutes then why the hell does willie green get any?
He’s earned a bus ticket to the nearest NBDL city
by jemagee on May 8, 2010 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions
poor planning and evaluation of team needs. Obviously willie should not be getting so many minutes in this league. But the horrible truth is that the team is better wit him starting at sg because they have no one else and he does at least play reapectable defense when he understands that is his role.
the only player on the roster right now who might be able to take his starting spot is meeks.
Willie Green doesn’t play respectable defense
by jemagee on May 9, 2010 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions
The team’s def reb % dropped from 71% to 66.5% when Speights was on the floor. Even worse, pts given up per 100 pos jumped from 110 to 117 while he was on the flor (without the offense doing better.)
So basically the team was -3 pts while Speights was on the bench, -10 pts while he was on the floor, and they rebounded as a team much worse. Not sure how much this is a criticism of Speights, or just reinforces how important Sam was to the team.
Yeah, me and John have discussed this. I don’t think that reflects as poorly on Speights as it does Sam. If you’re going from a guy who grabs 30% of DRebs to a guy who grabs 19% of course the rebounding is going to be worse.
And we all know Sam is a better defender.
Yeah, it shows how screwed this team is if Sam is gone and they do not replace him.
That’s partly why I see this team as many years away.
True, unless they can get lucky in the draft and can pull off both a scoring wing and a potential Sam replacement. Buy a late pick, win #2 and walk away with Turner & Alabi/Orton.
The thing with drafting Sam’s replacement is the same as drafting Jrue as Miller’s replacement. It’s going to take a couple years for Jrue to reach Andre’s level, and it’s going to take a couple years for someone like Favors to reach Sam’s level.
I whole-heartedly agree with TK about them being many years away. That’s why I’m not dead-set on keeping Iguodala. Love the guy, but by the time the rest of the core hits their prime, Iguodala will be on the back end of his.
Oh definitely, I am not saying pull any short cuts or cutting corners. The bottom line is that Jrue is a major piece to the equation who won’t be “ready” for at least 3 years.
I am saying they need to have the piece in house so his developmental clock starts ticking(especially if you get a coach known for big man development, like Thibodeau).
Regarding Iguodala, that is a potential concern. The beauty is that the decision doesn’t need to be made today. Unless you get real value(i.e. Top 3 pick), it doesn’t make sense to move him just to move him.
Yeah, definitely, a Sam replacement is high on the priority list.
Also, regarding Iguodala, you don’t trade him unless you get value either. I consider a top 10 pick value, if that’s what someone’s offering.
to take his contract for an expiring, I’d do a top 15 and a future first. I’m a huge Andre fan but we’re not winning for 2-3 years so what’s the point?
by Michael Levin on May 8, 2010 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions
That depends
You think his career is over in 2-3 years?
by jemagee on May 9, 2010 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions
No but his contract will be winding down and we still won’t be winning a championship. Realistically, if everything goes right and then some, we have one shot with Andre to win a title and that’s his last year. I’d rather cut salary now and try to rebuild from the bottom up.
by Michael Levin on May 9, 2010 9:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Nothing says the sixers can’t re-sign him at the end of his current contract or that his career will be over.
You don’t just TRADE Iguodala unless you get A LOT of value…while (idiot) fans and radio personell (and putzes on ESPN) may dislike his game – he’s a very valuable piece and could be for more than the next 2-3 years
by jemagee on May 10, 2010 10:11 AM PDT up reply actions
But what will his value bring the next 2-3 years? 2-3 40-45 win seasons?
by Jordan Sams on May 10, 2010 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Speights probably deserved more playing time. He was a good player and one that deserved at least 25 minutes per game, but he just didn’t get that.
Is there a reason why nobody here uses the “Subject” bar when posting comments?
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by Michael Levin on May 9, 2010 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions
because we treat each other as objects
by Tanner Steidel on May 9, 2010 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Hmm…a one dimensional player who showed little interest in playing defense or passing the ball doesn’t deserve much.
Is there a reason why your signature is actually longer than the words you wrote (and you didn’t use the subject thing either, it’s part of the weeding out process)
by jemagee on May 9, 2010 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions
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