Not much news to report today, but last night's win over the Suns was a big game for a number of reasons, and because of the late game there wasn't much action in the gamethread, so here's your next day thread to talk about it amongst yourselves. I'll give you a couple bullet points to get you started.
- In games that Andre Iguodala does not play, the Sixers are 3-4, scoring 4 more points per game but giving up 3 more. Evan Turner has played almost 35 minutes per contest in those 7 games, scoring 13.1 points on 49% shooting with 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Jrue Holiday averages 4 more points and 2.5 more assists in games where Dre is on the bench as well. Thaddeus Young is less efficient but brings down more rebounds, which is interesting since he plays more time at the small forward without Andre. Youth movement is just one trade away.
- Is Elton Brand tradeable yet? If the Sixers cough up the cash to cover the rest of this year, he's a 2-year, $35 million contract that can help out right away and is a huge asset as an expiring off the books. He's been so efficient this year, doing it with the lowest usage rate of his career. Brand could definitely be helping out a contender in a big way.
- How about Andres Nocioni!?!
- Louis Williams has the third-best PER on the team, behind Brand and Young, thus demonstrating how useless this semi-advanced statistic really is.
- Remember a month ago when Jordan pondered if Thad's year was a fluke? Well we haven't hit the halfway point yet, but he's still producing efficiently off the bench. His three-point attempts are way down, but his mid-range tries are in line with his career norms. He's still converting at the rim at a 77% clip, and inside 10 feet, he's at 55%. What carries over is how many of his baskets have been assisted. He's getting his looks within the offense, something that didn't happen with previous coaches. Thad's improvement is Doug Collins' biggest win so far.
- Jordan is stuck in Connecticut while Tanner and I hugged it out last night outside of the suburban houses of an Allentown neighborhood where neither of us live. It's clear who had the better Wednesday.
- If we had a Liberty Ballers night at the Sixers game sometime in the next two weeks, who would show up? Home games: Wednesday 1/5 Washington, Friday 1/7 Chicago, Tuesday 1/11 Indiana, Friday 1/14 Milwaukee. Ball = Rolling.
Discuss and may your Thursdays be blessed with New Year's Eve Eve Day cheer, if such a thing exists.