Sixers have a good chance to become a playoff team this season!
by cowboyny on Jul 3, 2010 6:12 PM PDT
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Let's forget about the high-priced free agents out there on their recruiting tours. What is done is done! Definitely will be alot of turnover around the league, especially in the Eastern Conference. Looking at our Division, Boston is getting up there in age, Toronto is losing their best player in Bosh and most likely the Knicks & the Nets will bring in a few new players, not named Lebron or Wade anytime soon. Boston is still the elite team in the division, but the rest of the teams in the division should be evenly matched. Good or Bad for future success, in my opinion the Sixer's have a realistic shot to make there way back into the postseason:
-A real, experienced veteran Head Coach who preaches defense.
-A franchise type player was drafted in Evan Turner. Time will tell if he will either become just a good player or a all-star in this league.
-Team Depth is better than it has been in many seasons. Who knows how the starting lineup will shake out, especially at PF & C positions, but our bench should be very strong, as well as several players who can fill in as starters when injuries occur.
-Rebounding, Shot Blocking & Long distance shooting is a concern, but if the team plays together, they can more than hold their own.
-Look for several players to rebound from poor seasons and some young players to take that next step in their development.
-Being from the NY Area, I would love to see both the Knicks & Nets at the bottom of the division with all this cap money that they obtained.
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Um…they have no reliable frontcourt players to speak of. Their best rebounder is 6’6. They traded their only interior defender/rebounder/shotblocker for…a hill of magic beans and an extra year of cap problems. Their bench is wafer-thin (and they don’t even have Von Wafer) in terms of players belonging on an NBA court (how much can you really depend on Thad Young and Lou Williams?). There are no particularly attractive trade assets (other than Iguodala) and no longer any large expiring contracts.
Two of the three players they’re counting heavily upon are 19 and 21, with a grand total of 1 year of NBA experience between them (really, more like a half a year, considering Jrue was buried on the bench for the beginning of the season). They might be good. They might not. But let Jrue have a whole season as a starter and let Turner step on an NBA court before you anoint them a contender (beating Boston with no frontcourt? Really?). There is exactly one reliable player on this roster. Iguodala. And he has his weaknesses, as we’ve all discussed thousands of times.
Even if you assume Jrue and Turner are what we thought they were (™ Denny Green), that’s basically three players who belong in the rotation of an NBA team. That’s not a formula for winning the division, making the playoffs, or not having a hideous record.
Maybe 32 wins. I’m willing to think that there could be some positive net effect of losing Eddie Jordan. Although it’s possible that losing Sam might make up for those five wins. But I’ll give them 30-32 wins as an estimate. And take the under.
Call me crazy, but I think this team can win 40 games next season
Yes, there are alot of young prospects on this team, but the same cast of players were in the postseason the last two out of three seasons. Sure the loss of Andre Miller and our Head Coach effected the team play last season, but with an experience, veteran Head Coach, along with a legit top prospect, things are headed in the right direction. The loss of Dalembert maybe an addition by subtraction for this team. I also believe we will see a better Elton Brand next season, playing in a real system that Doug Collins employs.
You’re crazy :)
What you’re missing still is the lack of any sort of NBA-quality frontcourt players on the roster. There are three (making certain assumptions about Jrue and Turner) legitimate NBA rotation players. They can’t even put out a full starting five that can consistently beat a good D-League team right now. I don’t think playoffs are a realistic goal for this season, nor should they be. The only goal for this season should be seeing which of the young players can actually step up and play NBA basketball. While I don’t know what prospects are going to be available in the draft next year, there will mostly likely be a top 7 or so pick again, which means another hopefully halfway decent young player. And they won’t be attractive to top free agents for quite a while (2013, probably).
My hope is that they follow the Oklahoma City model and build through drafting good young players that grow up together. Of course, that would probably involve getting rid of Stefanski and hiring a GM with enough discipline to stick to his model.
I have to agree here...
The list of concerns (rebounding, shot blocking, long distance shooting) were EXACTLY what was wrong with the Kings last year.
Those are important things.
by caseycheesecake on Jul 7, 2010 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions
i really think every player is goin to improve next year, not sayin we’ll be winning alot of games but our players will play better. next year is more of a tryout for everyone besides evan turner and jrue holiday. i think their the only 2 players we dont trade under realistic circumstances. playoffs? maybe, the east does blow and we do have fire power on offense and crazy things can happen but its just unlikely….
Oh boy, another low seed playoff loss….that’s exciting, and will draw the fans back in droves.
Of course, I don’t believe they can make the playoffs with no rebounding.
by jemagee on Jul 4, 2010 9:38 AM PDT reply actions
With this current roster, a lot of things will have to “go right” for the Sixers to make the playoffs or actually compete for a title.
First and foremost is inside presence, as in rebounding, shot-blocking and an ability to post up and score over other teams defenders. You have Speights, Hawes and Smith, three bigs who haven’t impressed anyone with their talent. (Except maybe me, who thinks that Speights can become a monster player a 20 and 10 guy) Even if Speights suddenly becomes that player, they will still need at least another one or two bigs around him who can rebound and play lock-down defense. Possible, but highly unlikely, which is why I wanted Favors.
We should be better at the forward spot, since Thad will have a coach on his side, looking to help him, and a decent back-up in Nocioni.
I still wonder what kind of a line-up Doug will put together, we now that Holiday and Turner are likely to start and Iguodala will be your small forward. If Speights is your power forward then Hawes or Brand or Smith has to play Center.
Unfortunately, I think this team is still short a big player or two and this will prevent them from being a real team. That is to say there are some essential things that successful teams do that the Sixers can’t.
You already know the problems, rebounding, shot=blocking and long distance shoooting, You say if they stick together they can hold their own. I have no idea what that means! No one can believe in their team-mates as good shooters unless they are. No one can think they can rebound and shot-block competitively if they don’t.
An 8th or 7th spot in the playoffs and a quick out is not really a successful season. The Sixers missed the boat by selecting Evans and not Favors. That mistake will cost them for seasons to come! New Jersey is far more likely to challenge for the top of the division. With Lopez and Favors they will have the best young front-court in the East, and may soon eclipse Orlando and Boston.
Derricks over Evans?
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by JasonB on Jul 4, 2010 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
And what if Favors never reaches his potential? Would it still be a mistake? Aren’t you making this decision a bit early?
"I admire his competitiveness. As much as I admire it, I thought that he was trying too hard."- Eddie Jordan
Without a working crystal ball, saying that this player or that player is a mistake is not a certainty but an opinion. Any player who doesn’t reach his projected potential is a bust to some degree, but at this time there is no more evidence that Turner will be more of an NBA player than Favors.
Obviously, if one works out and the other doesn’t, than the former is a far better selection than the later. What is clear is that the Sixers are still short a big man or two, and they made that situation worse, not better with the Dalembert trade. And, if any player in the draft could fill that roll, it was Favors.
How are you all going to feel when NJ is a better team than the Sixers this season, on the strength of Lopez and Favors. Evan Turner might be an awesome player, but we needed a Center/PF more than a wing. And the bottom line is that our pick will produce less wins for us than Favors will in NJ.
there is no more evidence that Turner will be more of an NBA player than Favors.
How about three years worth of games against good competition, as well as winning an NCAA POY?
How are you all going to feel when NJ is a better team than the Sixers this season, on the strength of Lopez and Favors
I will not care at all that Jersey is better than us this season. Let’s get a better pick and continue stocking up.
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by Michael Levin on Jul 5, 2010 6:34 AM PDT up reply actions
>> I will not care at all that Jersey is better than us this season. Let’s get a better pick and continue stocking up. <<
Jruth.
>> on the strength of Lopez and Favors <<
Sigh I don’t know why I’m going to bother with this, but once more into the breach…
This is an staggering assumption about a player who wasn’t especially dominant in college. I think what some have lost sight of is that If he had been the second-best player in the draft, the Sixers would have happily selected him. They didn’t intentionally decide that they didn’t want to have any NBA-quality frontcourt players. They intentionally selected the best available player because they are trying (I think, or at least I hope) to build a team for the future, not this season. There were, and are, a lot of questions about Favors as a player, and about his ability to reach his potential, and whether he will ever develop an NBA-level game, despite his clear talent. The only “questions” about Turner involve his fit with Iguodala (I think they’re going to be fine), not his ability, attitude, or will to constantly improve his already extremely solid game.
>> How are you all going to feel when NJ is a better team than the Sixers this season, on the strength of Lopez and Favors <<
This is a staggeringly short-sighted view. This is an assumption that the Sixers are one player away from serious contention. This is the view that has left them among the worst teams in the league to begin with. That “hey, let’s get Elton Brand” mentality that looks worse and worse in hindsight.
This is not a team that is one player, or even two players, away from title contention. Even if that one player were LeBron James, and certainly not if that one player were Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins. This is a team that needs to be slowly and patiently rebuilt from scratch, by taking the best available young talent and shedding bad contracts. Like OKC (although getting Durant didn’t hurt them a bit with that) did, and the results are starting to come in for them.
Look at it like this. If they were interested in this season, they would have traded the #2 and some extras for veteran players. Larry Brown would have done so. They never would have traded Sam. It couldn’t be more clear that they are looking to build over time, which is the only sane approach they can take, especially considering the cap-crippling Brand contract.
But hey, Favors is tall and stuff.
Sheesh. Sometimes it’s like banging my head against a brick wall.
by dweebowitz on Jul 5, 2010 8:32 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don’t know where you get the idea that i think the Sixers are one player away. Read my first post in this thread.
All I said was that NJ would be better than the Sixers, and I will predict that Favors will be a big part of their improvement, along with their recent moves, like getting rid of Chris Douglass-Roberts and Yi Jinlian.
Now that NY has added Amare Stoudamire, they will be significantly better as well.
The whole point is that adding Favors would have been the smart move for the Sixers. That is my prediction, the same view that I have held since the beginning.
The best available young player this year was FAVORS. Watch and see.
Without a working crystal ball, saying that this player or that player is a mistake is not a certainty but an opinion.
Funny how the person speaking in certainties (“The Sixers missed the boat by selecting Evans and not Favors. That mistake will cost them for seasons to come!”) is warning the person speaking in hypotheticals that their opinion doesn’t have a 100% chance to come true.
Looking around the Eastern Conference, why can’t the Sixers become a playoff team. I am not suggesting that they will be a Title Contender, but landing a 5-8 is very possible. Boston, Orlando, Chicago & Miami or Cleveland depending where the big free agent sign will be in the mix to contend for the Eastern Conference Titile. You also can throw Atlanta to the mix, but that is it. Everyteam after these are bunched together. Our team will be improved, but we just don’t do know how much yet.
Taking Turner over Favors was the right move to make. When you are looking for leadership and a true #1 option, Turner fits the bill. I am not sure Favors can provide this, even if he does develop. A front court stud is still a major need, but it will not prevent the team from having a successful season by not taking Favors or Cousins. Hawes will definitely be a upgrade over Daly offensively, Brand hasn’t given anything to the franchise since he came on board. I am not totally convinced Brand is officially done as a very good basketball player. Probablly not a superstar, but a very good power forward in this league.
It’s too early to tell if Brand is done, but the truth is that he is a little small to be a power forward, and relied on his superior strength and jumping to be effective. In other words, unless his body regains it’s strength his days of being an all star are over.
Successful teams build around big men, not 2 guards or small forwards. It was a mistake not to select Favors. The NBA is dominated by teams with big men, strong physical players. That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. Look at all the teams who made it to the later rounds in the playoffs.
Boston is better, Cleveland is better, Orlando is better, Atlanta is better. Chicago is better. New York added Amare who is a better big than anyone on our roster. NJ will be better, Washington added John Wall. If Miami gets Wade back they will be better. It isn’t clear right now if any of the teams that finished below or just above the Sixers will have improved more than they have, but the loss of Dalembert without a replacement pretty much assures another season where we miss the playoffs. Our interior defense and rebounding will be inadequate most nights.
Brand is a little shorter than your average PF, but he has a 7’5.5" wing span. How many other PF’s have that? That does account for something.
Oh, and I found this to be puzzling:
“Successful teams build around big men, not 2 guards or small forwards…If Miami gets Wade back they will be better.”
"I admire his competitiveness. As much as I admire it, I thought that he was trying too hard."- Eddie Jordan
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