Liberty Ballers: All Posts by Rich Hofmann

Jrue Holiday Invited To USA Basketball Men's National Team Mini-Camp

2013-06-13T02:49:42Z

Sometimes, the headline really does say it all. Here's what the Sixers' website had to say about another of their All-Star point guard's achievements:

Today, Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday was announced by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo as one of 27 players confirmed to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp which will be held July 22-25 at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

This bit of news may be treated as only a blip on the Sixers' offseason radar, but it's actually quite important to Holiday's future prospects with USA Basketball. While the culmination of the Las Vegas mini-camp is only an intrasquad scrimmage and not an international competition, these practices will play a part in determining the serious contenders to make the United States roster at next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup (née World Championship) in Spain.

While the core members of the "Redeem Team" won't be present in Sin City, plenty of noticeable names will partake in the mini-camp. USA Basketball, which has been a well oiled machine since Jerry Colangelo took over the reins in 2005, is afforded luxuries that all other countries simply don't have. A mini-camp with 27 above average NBA players hungry to make a non-Olympic team is one of them.

The point guard group is comprised of Ty Lawson, Mike Conley, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and the "Quick Ain't Fair" triumvirate of John Wall, Damian Lillard, and Holiday. So yeah, Coach K probably won't resort to calling Stan Podolak into action.

A four day mini-camp also feels like the perfect amount of official offseason competition for Holiday, who noticeably wore down late last season after dealing with a much expanded role. The plan should be simple: Get a few days of intense practice against some excellent competition, and then revert back to preparing your body for the upcoming season.

So all and all, while not an overly major deal as far as the Sixers are concerned, the Las Vegas invite is definitely an important measuring stick for Jrue Holiday.

Defensive Report Card: Jrue Holiday, Part One

2013-05-31T15:50:06Z

Over here at LB, I talk a lot about offense, for a myriad of reasons. Offense is fun, offense is sexy, and offense is generally quantifiable, to name a few. Even in the cases when offense is lifeless and quantifiably bad – I’m looking at you, Philadelphia 76ers – it’s an easy enough thing to complain about. Why are you no fun, offense? New York’s offense is up for anything!

Alas, defense constitutes half of the game and should be given its proper respect. Now that we’re in the offseason and subject to a plodding news cycle, it’s as good a time as ever to focus on defense, specifically that of a few individual Sixers. The end goal of this exercise is to supply a loose evaluation of the specific player in question's 2012-13 defensive performance. Not an easy task, mind you, as individual defense is much more difficult to evaluate than individual offense.

We’ll work from the top on down, and truth be told, probably won’t make it very far. This of course means starting with Jrue Holiday.

Conventional Wisdom

Note: I figured we'd use this section as a jumping-off point. How is the player's defense perceived?

Holiday is generally well-regarded as a defensive player, and has been since college. While the offensive development of Ben Howland’s guards was questionable during the coach’s tenure at UCLA, there is no mistaking that he taught the Bruins how to guard. In Holiday, he coached a player with excellent physical tools; his size, wingspan, and lateral quickness are all above average for the point guard position.

Some NBA observers have lauded Holiday's sound fundamentals (i.e. lack of gambling) when effectively pressuring opposing ball-handlers. His versatility, the ability to guard both backcourt positions, is often mentioned as well.

A Statistical Look

For a frame of reference, I only looked at statistics from Holiday’s last three seasons. His rookie campaign, marked by fluctuating playing time and Eddie Jordan's LOL-worthy defensive tactics, didn’t seem very pertinent to this exercise. Holiday spent his last three years playing in a defense constructed by Doug Collins and Michael Curry.

If you were to chart Holiday's Synergy defensive numbers on a line graph (and why wouldn't you?), the resulting shape would resemble the letter V. Years one and three are pretty similar and year two is the outlier amongst the group. With regards to Holiday’s defense this season, it's a negative trend: Year two is the outlier because it was better.

While it’s well documented that Holiday struggled mightily in Collins’ ultra-conservative 2011-12 offense, he conversely excelled as part of the team’s stifling defense. According to *Synergy, he surrendered only .72 points per possession when he was the primary defender. This number was good enough to rank 29^th in the league out of all players who qualified.

*A quick note about these Synergy numbers: Basically, they’re flawed. They only record how the play ends, so if Holiday were to get blown by on an isolation, causing Evan Turner to help and leave his man, who then would convert a three, Turner would receive the "credit" when really the play was more Holiday’s fault. I don’t think they're useless numbers, far from it, but making value judgments solely based on them – Holiday is a better isolation defender than Player X because Synergy says – is incomplete. Regardless, there's no doubting that Holiday played a big part in the team's defensive success.

As a team, the Sixers sported the league's third best defensive efficiency in '11-12. While the season was largely painted as a disappointment for Holiday, I’m not so sure. Yes, the offense was severely lacking, but if you value defense as half of the game, then Holiday received a very high grade on 50 percent of his fictional report card. The A in Math and B+ in English helps take a little of the sting out of the the C in History and D+ in Chemistry.

This year’s defensive numbers resemble those from two years ago. Holiday's overall (.90 PPP in ’10-11, .87 this year), pick and roll ball handler (.84, .81), and isolation (.83, .81) numbers are all fairly similar, and all of them are a decent bit worse than ‘11-12.

Did Holiday's defense regress? Not necessarily. Charting individual defense is an inexact science, one NBA teams spend millions of dollars on to try and improve. Truth is, most individual defensive metrics don't spell out if they're indicative of a regression on Holiday’s part or a lack of defensive talent around him. They give you the what but not the why.

Some of the On/Off splits suggest the personnel changes may have in fact have the largest effect. In ‘10-11, the Sixers were actually 2.7 points better on defense over a full game with Holiday off the floor, per 82games. In ‘12-13, they were almost a full four points worse with him off the floor. Holiday played a ton of minutes this season with very different personnel combinations – Nick Young went from getting 25 minutes a night to "The Artist Formerly Known As Swaggy P" – and he mostly went against other starters.

Still, it's hard to truly know what happened unless you also watch the tape, and even then, it's still pretty hard. I fired up Synergy and did my best.

Video Observation

The plan here is to review the three major areas of Holiday’s defense, which make up over 80 percent of his possessions: Isolation defense, when he’s guarding the ball-handler on a pick and roll, and when he's guarding spot-up shooters.

Isolation: 149 possessions, 14.5% of defensive possessions tracked, .81 points per possession (159^th ranked), 43-109 field goals (39.4%), and 6-25 (24 %) threes.

Even though Doug Collins dismissed advanced statistics, his "house-yard-fence" approach to defense was right up the alley of analytics everywhere. The mandate was simple: The shots we want to give up are two-point jumpers. We want to welcome our opponents inside the fence, but not into the house. We want to keep them in the yard.

When you're out on an island against an NBA point guard, it can be a tough mandate to follow. Holiday's mediocre numbers are evidence of that. If you’re pressuring the ball enough to discourage a jump shot, NBA point guards are difficult to keep out of the lane. In Holiday’s case, it was especially difficult considering his major responsibility.

Like Andre Iguodala before him, Collins* challenged Holiday on the defensive end in the sense that he was given no help. If you listened closely during the game, sometimes you could hear an assistant coach yell "On your own, Jrue." The underlying message is clear: We expect you to handle the player you’re guarding by yourself. Holiday didn't always succeed, and was inconsistent at times, especially late in the year.

*A quick word about Collins: I've always had trouble identifying the distinguishing factors of his defensive scheme, but I would never dare question him on the subject. Forget the top three finish last year; This season's defense was slightly above average, which I still have trouble believing. The Sixers seriously overachieved in that respect.

It's not all bad, though. Holiday still has defensive possessions where he, to borrow an football scouting term, "jumps off the screen" at you. This one from early in the season against Kyrie Irving is probably the best example. It's a pretty extraordinary play. Only a handful of guys in the league even have the ability to pull that off.

It's also not sustainable. More times than not, Irving is going to beat extremely high pressure like that and get into the lane. This is where my main complaint with Holiday's defense comes into play: Sometimes he gets hurt by trying to do a little too much.

Take this play for instance, which the Atlanta Hawks broadcast was kind enough to shoot from the 2K camera angle. What Holiday does in beating Jeff Teague to the spot and "turning" him is impressive. Here’s the problem, though: He goes too far, and in doing so, gives Teague a lane to the basket. Why not work a little less hard, stay on Teague’s right hand and position yourself between him and the basket?

Part of Holiday's motivation is clearly to take away the option of Teague passing to Kyle Korver running off staggered screens, which he does. I’m just not sure that’s Holiday's responsibility. Part of the reason the help defense is so bad on the play is that the three defenders on the left are very concerned with the stagger action. It looks like they have things under control.

Here are two other plays where Holiday gets beat trying to stop what is going on behind him:

As far as Holiday's isolation defense goes, cheating, and trying to do too much in the process, is my biggest complaint. Still, he does a lot of great stuff defensively, especially creating turnovers without fouling.

Coming Tuesday: Pick and roll defense, spot-up defense, and (hopefully) a final conclusion.

What Does The Hiring of Sam Hinkie Mean For The Sixers' Offense?

2013-05-16T14:49:23Z

As numerous informed NBA observers – including mysterious ones in high places – can attest to, the Houston Rockets were a pretty fun team this year. A good hang, if you will. Those willing to look past Daryl Morey and focus on the product that he put on the floor were treated to very exciting basketball. The Rockets didn't do anything super-complicated, either. All they wanted was to take a good shot every time down the floor, and were remarkably simple in trying to achieve this goal. The final product was the NBA's sixth best offense.

Will the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers mimic Kevin McHale's spread pick-and-roll attack down to every minute detail? Probably not. They don't have the personnel to make the "pace-and-space" offense work. Sam Hinkie also has some housecleaning to do before we can speculate about the specifics of an offensive scheme. Picking a coach and making a decision on Andrew Bynum top the list.

Still, we can talk about some aspects of next year's offense. No, Hinkie won't be the coach, but he made clear at the introductory press conference that his choice's basketball philosophy will match his own. Here are three principles he might be looking for the next coach to implement on offense:

1. Playing faster. The Rockets averaged a blistering 96.1 possessions per game, the fastest pace in the league. While playing fast is something that can be dictated by personnel (Ty Lawson's blazing speed, for example), it's also a mindset. Houston's determination to run off of both makes and misses stood out; it was apparent that the coaching staff emphasized creating early offense in transition. Also, the Sixers aren't totally bereft of players with the ability to thrive in an up-tempo system. Thaddeus Young and Arnett Moultrie, two guys whose job security seems on the safer side, are athletic and capable of running the floor. Jrue Holiday has the ability to push the tempo.

Obviously, bringing Bynum back into the fold would limit the Sixers' ability to run. How much, I'm not sure, but regardless I imagine the Sixers play a decent bit faster than this year's pace of 91 possessions per game.

2. Use the corners. As I've talked about ad nauseam, corner threes are a very efficient shot. Hinkie understands this as well, but the major difference between him and myself is that he runs an NBA team. Only Miami shot more corner threes than Houston this season, per NBA.com. This was by design. Here's a screenshot of what I'd describe as the Rockets' base halfcourt offense:

It resembles an extended flex set, except you almost never see a baseline cut – the flex's main action, which in this case would involve Greg Smith (5) screening across for Carlos Delfino (3) – from the Rockets. There's a lot to like about the options this type of set provides, but most of all, the floor is spaced. Jeremy Lin (1) can elect to drive down the right side of the lane and play drive-and-kick with Chandler Parsons (4), wait for a high ball screen from Smith, execute a dribble handoff with James Harden (2), etc. Whatever Lin decides to do, the defense has to be sharp with their rotations because Houston already has them stretched. If a Rocket beats his defender off the dribble, the help most likely has to come from a long way off of a three point shooter. Pick your poison.

Notice how Houston has a three-point threat stationed in each corner. Because teams were deeply concerned with the Rockets' willingness to take and ability to make these shots, driving lanes opened up for their penetrating guards. All it takes is one blow-by, one missed assignment, and then the defense is at Houston's mercy. They'll drive and kick until a layup or open three presents itself.

Regardless of the offense that the Sixers run, Sam Hinkie will not hire a coach who doesn't recognize the value of corner threes. This is a good thing.

3. Exploiting mismatches. Houston's offense wasn't perfect. Towards the end of games, they relied too much on the isolation talents of James Harden. But at least when Harden was going good, they tried to get him isolated on a mismatch late in games (At least in the few games I watched, which was admittedly a pretty small sample size).

When a team's offensive philosophy is so predicated on getting to the rim, like the Rockets' was this season, creating mismatches is at a premium. 1-2 pick and rolls (or any combination, really) at the top of the key, basic "horns" sets, a staggered screen play on the baseline they used to free Harden or Delfino for a three, can all be used to force switches and create mismatches.

This is how I expect the Sixers to play, whoever the coach, whatever the system. Maybe they initially won't be very talented, but they're going to try and work for good shots. That and that alone will be a welcome change of pace.

Is Evan Turner Out of Time?

2013-04-26T16:00:07Z

When looking back at Evan Turner’s 2012-13 season, I can’t stop thinking about a single quote.

"I stopped focusing on it," he said. "That was it. I stopped focusing on it. I worry about my mid-range [game], my driving and my free throws, and that’s it. Honestly, I don’t shoot threes before games. I don’t practice threes anymore."

There it is, via Gordie Jones, in all of its glory. Turner, a limited shooter coming fresh off a season where he only hit 22 percent from deep on less than one attempt per game, had basically removed the three-point shot from his game. When he (very) surprisingly started this season by making 16 of 36 three pointers in the Sixers’ first 20 games, reporters were naturally curious. "How did you make such a drastic improvement, Evan?"

The above quote was his response. It’s classic Evan Turner in so many ways. The honesty, a sense of defiance, the challenge of a preconceived notion (in this case, that he must have diligently practiced on threes to improve his three-point shot), just a general "WTF" aura, they’re all in there. And the reporters probably expected just a throwaway remark on his improved marksmanship. Then again, maybe they didn’t.

Improvements were scarce in what can mostly be described as a very disappointing season for Turner. The third-year player was still a plus defensive rebounder for the small forward position (and a great one for a shooting guard). As mentioned earlier, he also made the three-point shot, specifically the corner three (basically The Fountain of Youth for improving long-ball shooters), a part of his offensive arsenal.

But even in the areas what might feel like positives, there are qualifiers that can easily downplay any talk of progression. For example, his rebounding, which was the major shining light during an up-and-down sophomore season, dropped from darn near historic levels to only "very good for his position." With the increased minutes Turner took on, this was to be expected, but his greatest attribute still dropped from exceptional to very good.

Going forward, I’m not sure what role Turner is best suited for. He’s an interesting player in that he’s shown the ability to perform at generally the same level (not particularly high, but still) with varying degrees of offensive responsibility. If Turner is given Holiday’s role from this season, he could put something like a 16-6-6 line together, but it seems like the team's offense would falter as a result.

Ironically, the statistics from this year suggest the exact opposite. Even though Turner’s individual offensive numbers were by-and-large worse with Holiday on the bench, the team’s offense was better. So basically in the sense of Evan Turner's game being hard to figure out, these numbers are consistent. The only thing I would be wary of is that many minutes with Holiday on the bench were probably against backups, as both players were in the starting lineup. Nonetheless, the Sixers did perform better offensively in these situations.

With Holiday (per-48): 2114 minutes, 17.1 points, 48.4% ts%, 8.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.7 turnovers, 1.2 steals, 3.2 personal fouls drawn, 98.9 off rating, 102.8 def rating.

Without Holiday (per-48): 778 minutes, 20.9 points, 46.6% ts%, 8.6 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 4.3 turnovers, 1.2 steals, 3.8 persona fouls drawn, 102.6 off rating, 105.0 def rating.

Above all, Turner is still an extremely inefficient scorer. Finding a source of sustainable offense has been a struggle for him since he started out in the NBA. Despite adding the three-point shot, which regressed to about league average (still a good thing!), Turner relies heavily on a mid-range jumper that he only makes a little more than a third of the time. He also takes a fair share of PUJITs (pull-up jumpers in transition), which isn’t typically good team offense. The PUJITs are most likely the product of often having to work very hard in the halfcourt to free himself for a shot. It probably feels a lot easier to take an open pull-up jumper than to try and shake a defender with a series of crossovers and hesitation moves.

Subjectively, Turner is a frustrating player to watch. The constant over-dribbling, the wasted use of ball screens, the off-ball defensive lapses, they are all problems. But there’s nothing more frustrating then watching him complain for a call on what seems like 80 percent of his missed shots. In fact, I believe his tendency to gripe may be hurting Turner when he actually does draw legitimate contact, maybe significantly.

It’s cliché, but a focus on the little things might help Evan Turner in the long run. Refining his catch and shoot three-pointer (which is doable, as his form is solid, so much improved from two years ago), paying extra attention to defensive rotations, and harnessing that competitive fire for use on the defensive end of the floor, these are things that could make Evan Turner a valuable commodity. Some added strength wouldn’t hurt, either.

In closing, I’ll say that if Turner’s $6.7M option wasn’t picked up in the offseason, I’d probably be in favor of letting him go. A change of scenery seems like it would benefit both parties. But the option was picked up, and I think he’ll be back for at least one more go-around. Hopefully he proves me wrong.

What do you guys think? Would you like to trade him if possible? Or do you think he still has something that he hasn't showed us yet?

Poll

The Villain?

Toot It

120 votes

Boot It

153 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

The Sixers Should Hire Mike Budenholzer, or What He Represents

2013-04-23T17:30:05Z

In the infantile stages of the Sixers' coaching search, a host of names are being mentioned as possible candidates to succeed Doug Collins. They mostly fit into two categories, established names like The Brothers Van Gundy, or top assistant coaches (i.e. would-be rookie head coaches) like Mike Malone, Brian Shaw, and even Aaron McKie. A few wild cards like Larry Brown have been mentioned, and let's not even joke about that.

In the midst of all the rampant speculation (OK, maybe not so rampant), allow me throw my support behind a name that is being floated. His hiring is not necessarily of life or death consequence, especially for reasons I'll touch on later, but let's talk about Mike Budenholzer.

Well, let's talk about him in a minute, after touching on the Sixers' current situation a little bit first. It's pretty safe to say that the organization needs to rebuild in some way, shape or form. And for the Sixers, their rebuilding process will start in earnest with the selection of a new coach. Looking at recent history, the franchise's last four full-time coaching hires had previous NBA head coaching experience. Jim O'Brien, Maurice Cheeks, Eddie Jordan, and Doug Collins were all at least on their second stop (I hate the word "retread"). Obviously, none of them really worked out.

The lack of top-level success wasn't completely any of these guys' fault, with the possible exception of Jordan. In what is of course a little bit of an oversimplification, the Sixers' problems were due more to an organizational failure, specifically a lack of direction. Despite drafting pretty well in the last decade, picking in the teens and eventually signing these players and B-Level free agents to long-term deals hasn't worked. They clearly need to start doing things differently.

I personally think this means starting over and building from scratch. It's a plan that would require playing young players like Arnett Moultrie heavy minutes to try and develop their skills. It might entail trading Thaddeus Young in an effort to gain a future asset of equal value. More than anything, the organization would need to come to the realization that they're a long way from contention, and conduct their business with that in mind.

Which brings us to Budenholzer. I really, really don't understand how he hasn't received a head coaching gig yet. If this were the NFL, he would have gotten one by 2005. What does he have going for him? Well, he's only been an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs since 1996. There's not much else to add to that statement. It's like, like... it's like being a Spurs assistant coach for almost two decades. Is there any comparison?

But there's a rub. Budenholzer is rumored to be very attached to the Spurs organization. When we asked, Matthew Tynan of the Spurs blog Pounding The Rock for a take on Bud's current mindset, he offered this:

It's become a ritualistic right of summer that Mike Budenholzer be named in coaching searches around the league, and then, unceremoniously, nothing happens. He's been Gregg Popovich's right-hand man for two decades basically, and Pop sings his praises at every opportunity.

He's also damn near a lock to succeed the grumpiest coach in the league once the 64-year-old does decide to retire or assume a front-office position, KINDA LIKE DOUG COLLINS!!! Bud has lasted this long, I wouldn't be surprised if he waited it out for the long haul. Also, I kind of picture the following scene.

Bud: "Hey Greggory."

Pop: "Hello there Michael."

Bud: *drags toe on the carpet* "You…you 'member when you said I could talk to other teams?"

Pop: *looks up from 'Ulysses' and peers over spectacles* "Have a seat Michael."

Bud: *sits*

Pop: *stands* *grabs knife and starts cleaning it* "Did I ever tell you about my days in the Air Force?"

Bud: *stares*

Anyway, despite his close-knit relationship with this organization, I'm certainly surprised he hasn't taken a head gig elsewhere. He's got the corporate knowledge and great player relationships, and Pop has lost droves of assistants over the years. But not Bud. My gut feeling is he'll stick around and become the next Spurs head coach when the time comes years from now (who the hell knows when?).

I feel like his attachment to Pop and the Spurs sort of prevents teams from being overly aggressive in their pursuit of him. But, if a team in the right situation is able to pry him away from San Antonio, they'll be getting a hell of a coach. Basically out of the mold of Popovich, except younger and a little less grumpy.

This makes sense. If he's been with the organization for so long and is under the impression the coaching job is his once Popovich retires, then why wouldn't he stay? That doesn't mean the Sixers shouldn't be extremely aggressive in trying to pry him away, just that there's a good chance it might not work.

If the Sixers can't land Budenholzer, that's ultimately alright. But they should be looking for what he represents, which is a radical departure from Doug Collins' emotionally draining coaching style. The understanding of the process of improving, smart and efficient gameplans on both ends of the court, an open mind towards analytics, and a commitment to the whole organization being on the same page. These are attributes that the Sixers should want in the next coach.

Is it easy for someone like me to name positive characteristics and tell the Sixers "Go get the guy who puts a check mark in all of those boxes"? Of course it is, and their task is much more difficult. But if the Sixers are rumored to be chasing someone like Mike Brown, you have to wonder: What's different around here?

Sixers Defeat Pacers 105-95 in Season Finale

2013-04-18T02:58:27Z

With about three minutes and thirty seconds left in Wednesday night's season ending tilt at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Gerald Green caught the ball in the left corner. Green, he of a .451 true shooting percentage, took one lazy dribble behind the three-point line and launched a fadeaway three with 11 seconds left on the shot clock. Dorell Wright, frankly terrified of surrendering any type of look to Green, met him at the summit and blocked his jump shot.

Within the flow of the game, all of this felt extremely normal. A weird time was had by all in Indiana, and the Sixers won 105-95.

Then again, there was no reason to expect a ho-hum, grind it out 10-15 point win from the home team, about what the usual result would be when these two teams match up. That's because George Hill, Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert were all in suits on the bench, resting up for the playoffs. The lone Pacers starter who drew the short straw and played was Lance Stephenson, whose "Born Ready" nickname was changed to "Born much later than West, Hill, and Hibbert" for the night. Oh to have young legs!

So the Sixers, who were playing their regular starters, had an advantage. And for most of the game, the play on the court looked very much like the Sixers had an advantage. They were quicker to every ball, creating and making open shots, and you know, looking a lot like a starting unit going up against bench players. Almost everyone contributed and played well.

Then the Pacers made a second-half run. Green (14-23 shooting for 34 points, 6-12 from three) started heating up, Evan Turner started over-dribbling, and the Sixers as a team started getting a little careless with the basketball. The lead was whittled down to single digits, only a couple of possessions. But Dorell Wright (23 points, 8-15 shooting) and the oft-maligned but surprisingly decent Damien Wilkins (15 points, 6-11 shooting, a timely three-point play) wouldn't let the Sixers be denied.

A couple of quick notes:

Jrue Holiday and Spencer Hawes played a combined 13 minutes. Collins said something about Jrue not wanting to play in the post-game presser. It didn't sound like there were a lot of hard feelings, but who knows? I'll just operate under the assumption that Holiday is dead tired, because it's a known fact that he's dead tired.
Arnett Moultrie and Lavoy Allen both had double doubles, doing a ton of work on the offensive glass with nine combined offensive boards. It seemed like both of them had zero problem getting inside position all night. The 14 point, 12 rebound effort was Moultrie's first career double-double. Yippee!
With the clock running out, Moultrie showed poor sportsmanship in shooting a 21-foot jumper with 2 seconds left. This was a fitting way for the season to end. Not the poor sportsmanship part, but the fact that it ended on a long two-point jumper.
This was funny:
Thought Kwame Brown was heading to the scorer's table to check in. Instead, he returns to the bench with a piece of candy. #BenchWoes
— Christopher A. Vito (@ChrisVito) April 18, 2013

That's it for the season, everyone. Now never speak of it again.

76ers @ Pacers GameThread, The End of the Road

2013-04-17T23:40:05Z

Game 82
	vs
April 17, 2013
Bankers Life Fieldhouse
8:00 PM EST
Comcast SportsNet
Probable Starters
DJ Augustin	PG	Jrue Holiday
Lance Stephenson	SG	Damien Wilkins
Gerald Green	SF	Evan Turner
Tyler Hansbrough	PF	Thaddeus Young
Ian Mahinmi	C	Spencer Hawes
2012/13 Advanced Stats
90.1 (25)	Pace	91.0 (20)
104.3 (19)	ORtg	101.9 (26)
99.7 (1)	DRtg	105.7 (15)
Game Officials
David Letterman
Norman Dale
Ricky Roe

The Pacers are smartly resting most of their starters for the playoffs. Expect a lot of Psycho T. Also expect a lot of Psycho B. Good times!

Game 82
	vs
April 17, 2013
Bankers Life Fieldhouse
8:00 PM EST
Comcast SportsNet
Probable Starters
DJ Augustin	PG	Jrue Holiday
Lance Stephenson	SG	Damien Wilkins
Gerald Green	SF	Evan Turner
Tyler Hansbrough	PF	Thaddeus Young
Ian Mahinmi	C	Spencer Hawes
2012/13 Advanced Stats
90.1 (25)	Pace	91.0 (20)
104.3 (19)	ORtg	101.9 (26)
99.7 (1)	DRtg	105.7 (15)
Game Officials
David Letterman
Norman Dale
Ricky Roe

The Pacers are smartly resting most of their starters for the playoffs. Expect a lot of Psycho T. Also expect a lot of Psycho B. Good times!

Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers: Confessions of a Recovering Sixers-Watcher

2013-04-17T17:19:53Z

First off, Levin summed up the Andrew Bynum Experience pretty well. If you haven't checked out his post, go read it. That is by far the most important thing you will read on this site today.

Now I have a little confession to make: For the last two weeks or so, I haven't been watching the Sixers a ton. Sure, they've been on the TV most of the time, but I couldn't find the focus for two and a half hours like I usually do. With the obvious exception of DougGate, I couldn't read much coverage of the team. And apologies to everyone who was looking for the post breaking down that awesome down screen play they ran to get (the surprisingly decent) Damien Wilkins a 20-footer, but I know that I sure as hell didn't have the will to write about them.

If the Sixers aren't the saddest on-court product in the NBA, then they're pretty close. It's not just that they're bad. I actually hope they remain that way, at least for next year. It's that they're bad with players that by and large will have no impact on the team's future. So I have two suggestions:

1. Watch this game. It will be the last time the Sixers will play a regular season NBA basketball game for six months. While I certainly won't argue that this absence will mostly be a good thing (because the offseason provides a period to make an extremely necessary roster overhaul), six months is a long damn time.

2. Watch the playoffs. It doesn't have to be a ton, but watch some of the games and remind yourself of what good basketball looks like. Watch LeBron play at an insanely high level. Watch Houston run their spread pick and roll. Watch Marc Gasol play defense. Watch how Chris Paul controls an entire basketball game. Watch Golden State run elevator screens for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Sixers are bad, but they play in a great league. Try and take some of it in, even if you're only changing the channel because you need to take a break from Sarge's hitting analysis for a minute.

You know what you probably shouldn't watch, though? Pacers-Hawks, if form holds and that ends up as the 3-6 matchup. From a fan base that knows full well what ugly playoff basketball looks like, this should be very ugly playoff basketball. No offense to tonight's opponent, a solid and likeable team that should at least make the second round for the second straight year, but I LIKE DA POINTZ.

Indiana has nothing to play for tonight. They're locked into the number three seed. The Sixers, on the other hand, are currently tied at 33-48 with Portland and Toronto for the league's 10th worst record. The Blazers are playing at home against a Golden State team playing for the 6th Seed (Count on a loss) and the Raptors are at home playing against a Boston team with nothing to play for (Come on Rudy!).

Oh yeah, this is Doug Collins' last game as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip is at 8:10ish. Let's see if they can fire up 40 shots from 16-23 feet for old time's sake.