New Season New Challenges

What a way to start Doug Collins second year of his regime, the NBA showed no sympathy for the young 76ers this season when scheduling the 66 game season. The Sixers will begin their season with a five-game road trip starting tonight against the Portland Trailblazers and their rowdy Rose Garden crowd. The road trip will not end until Jan.4 against the new look Hornets. Doug Collins knows that this road trip can ultimately decide the season for the Sixers. If they start out fast they will gain confidence and build chemistry with one another, also build on their momentum and take advantage of playing at home for 13 of their next 16 games. However a rough start could lead to a trade involving their franchise player Andre Iguodala and lead to another “rebuilding” or “reloading” project.

The Sixers will face a Portland team that has undergone immense change. Their franchise player Brandon Roy was forced to retire because of terrible injuries to both of his knees. Former number one pick Greg Oden will miss another season with injury. On the bright side the Blazers got younger at point guard by trading former Sixer Andre Miller for former division rival Raymond Felton and added an excellent sixth man in Jamal Crawford. Also LaMarcus Aldridge is coming off a season where he was one of three players to rank in the top 15 in points and rebounding.

Something to look out for is how Jrue Holiday will run the team in his third year out of UCLA. And if he can take the next step and become an elite point guard. Another thing to look out for is how aggressively Andre Iguodala will play coming off one of his worse seasons (scoring wise) as a Sixer. He has had extra time during the lockout to heal and will have no excuse to not play at an all-star level. Finally, can Evan Turner be more involved more in the offense? Turner has worked on his jump shot with legendary coach Herb Magee and with an improved jump shot he should be a better fit in the 76ers offense.

Why Philly Hates Kobe (via deesixersfan)

Kobe Bryant can straight up ball, he is one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball and he is a winner. He is one of the most mentally tough players and history, just like Allen Iverson Kobe plays through many injuries, but while Iverson is adored by Philly Fans Kobe is hated. Why is it that Philly fans hate  The Black Mamba (Kobe Bryant) as … Read More

via deesixersfan

Dont Call it a Comeback? (via deesixersfan)

Iverson definitely wants to finish his career in the NBA but will he have that chance. Last summer Iverson did not get a single offer from an NBA team. So he decided to take his talents to Turkey, he showed a glimpse of "The Answer" of old scoring a season high 26 points. Unfortunately an injured leg only allowed him to play in ten games the entire season. Maybe the upcoming season can be better for Allen Iverson (assuming that there is not a loc … Read More

via deesixersfan

Dont Call it a Comeback?

Iverson definitely wants to finish his career in the NBA but will he have that chance. Last summer Iverson did not get a single offer from an NBA team. So he decided to take his talents to Turkey, he showed a glimpse of “The Answer” of old scoring a season high 26 points. Unfortunately an injured leg only allowed him to play in ten games the entire season. Maybe the upcoming season can be better for Allen Iverson (assuming that there is not a lockout). The new owner of the 76ers is supposedly a diehard Sixers fan so it will be hard for him to resist signing A.I. Also Iverson can help out the Sixers attendance record tremendously (Sixers ranked 25th out of 30 NBA teams). However the franchise seems to be content with all of their young guards so they do not need Iverson for help.

Ok maybe the Sixers do not sign him again; there is a rumor that Iverson will go to the Chicago Bulls. This seems to make sense in Chicago he may be able to teach Derrick Rose, help him develop a go to move and teach him how to score over taller defenders more effectively. Furthermore he will be able to take some of the ball handling pressures off of Rose and provide instant scoring off the bench (which Chicago desperately needs). 

Conversely many people (mostly the media and possibly David Stern) do not want Allen Iverson to make a comeback. He is pictured as a problem child of the NBA; he is guy who has a “criminal” background; additionally, Stephen A. Smith reporting that Iverson has gambling and alcohol problems.  Also in the past, coaches and A.I do not get along very well, and you cannot forget the infamous practice press conference in 2002.

Nevertheless Allen Iverson seems to be a changed man, when he played for the 76ers in 2010 he was a model citizen. He did not complain about playing fewer minutes than normal. His teammates seemed to like him (which has never been a problem). Iverson was still productive in a limited role and even though he was out of shape after coming back from retirement he managed to average just under 14 PPG.  Finally throughout all of the problems with a divorce and his daughter becoming seriously ill he kept his composure until he had to leave Philly to show support to his daughter.

Allen Iverson is not the same 2001 MVP player that he once was, but he still has something left to give to the NBA and he still wants to compete for a NBA Title. However even if he does not have anything left to give, he has given so much already. He kept the NBA relevant after Jordan retired, also Iverson added new fans to the sport because of his amazing speed, unbelievable moves and his ability to integrate hip-hop culture to the NBA. Iverson deserves another chance because without A.I there are no scoring point guards (Rose, Westbrook, Wall, and Jennings). Iverson has given everything he has to the NBA, now it is time for the NBA to give back.

Related articles

• Allen Iverson eyeing NBA comeback (denverpost.com)
• You: Allen Iverson: Fans Won’t Let Iverson Enjoy a Comeback (bleacherreport.com)
• Iverson eyes comeback, end to career in NBA (sports.espn.go.com)
• Iverson says he wants one more shot in NBA (nbapicksfree.wordpress.com)

Win or Go Home!

The Sixers‘ backs are against the wall they are down 3-0 in the first round against the Heat. If they (The Sixers) do not win tomorrow night they will be eliminated from the playoffs and will suffer their first sweep since 1999. For the Sixers to win Andre Iguodala has to score more he has scored 22 points in the first three games. Even though he has done an excellent job distributing the ball and a honorable job guarding Lebron James, it is a must for him to be aggressive and attack the rim.  He has to be the go to guy especially since the Sixers are only shooting 39% percent from the field for a miserable 85 game. Most importantly the Sixers as a whole have to do a better job rebounding, they are minus 12 rebounds per game. Next the Bench has to score when they are on the court there second unit is better than the Heat‘s bench so they have to dominate that matchup. Finally the Sixers have to sustain their energy for 48 minutes in two out of three games they have jumped to two double-digit leads in the first quarter just to watch it be erased by the end of the second quarter. If the Sixers are able to do those things they will be able to fly back to Miami with the Heat.

Related Articles

• LeBron and Heat eager finish Sixers (theglobeandmail.com)
• NBA Playoffs 2011: Philadelphia Shows the Luv, but Sixers Cant Return the Favor. (bleacherreport.com)

Beat the Heat

 

The matchup is set, the #7 seed Philadelphia 76ers will face the #2 seed Miami Heat. Since the playoffs are all about match-ups I will analysis each match-up.

The point guard matchup will be Jrue Holliday versus Mike Bibby. Jrue should win this matchup he is a great perimeter defender and his pressure should cause some turnovers on the defensive end. On offense he will be able to use his 6″4 200 pound frame and quickness to penetrate the lanes and create points for himself and others. Mike Bibby will be able to get his points from three-point range if Jrue has to help off of him.

Jodie Meeks will versus Dwayne “Flash” Wade. D-Wade will win this matchup he is one of the premier players in the league his combination of speed, power and athletisism will give Jodie Meeks tremendous problems on defense. Jodie could be an x-factor in this series however if he can stretch out the Miami defense with a few three pointers.

Andre Iguodala will face the Lebron “King of South Beach” James. Andre Iguodala has really thrived offensively in his new point-forward position and has recorded two triple-doubles this season. Also he is one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders and will make Lebron work for every point he gets. In the two games Iggy defended Lebron this season, Lebron shot 10 for 27 for 36 points. Offensively Iggy will have to hit jumpers with some consistency, and then that will allow him get in the lane and cause havoc for the Heat’s defense. Lebron of course is Mr. Triple-Double. His numbers have dipped a little bit this season but that is due to the extra help. He will win this match-up if he hits his long-range shots because when he is making three-pointers and mid range shots he is unstoppable.

Elton brand will match-up with Chris Bosh Elton Brand has played very well this season and for him to be effective against the heat he will scrap claw and fight in the paint and hope that his aggressive play might put Chris Bosh on his heels and take him out of the game. If Chris Bosh plays aggressively this will be a long series for the Sixers but if he is taking mid-range shots the Sixers will be able to defend him. Brand will win this match-up.

The Center position is a tossup. Spencer Hawes vs. Big Z this is the match-up with the least amount of combined talent. Spencer Hawes has a nice shooting touch from 20- feet and has shown flashes that he can rebound and score in the post. Big Z will spend most of his time outside of the paint so Hawes will have to step out and guard Big -Z’s outside shot if he can he guard Big-Z and play good consistently he will win this match-up.

The 76ers have one of the best benches in the league with Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, and Marresse Speights. They are third in the league in bench scoring with 39.2 points per game They definitely have an advantage against the Heat’s bench so that depth will really help and maybe tire out the heat’s starter. Also the Sixers are top 5 in fast break points. It may be a bias pick but I think the Sixers win 4-3.

The Sixers stopped the bleeding.

The Toronto Raptors could not come at a better time. The 76ers lost their last 3 games and fell one game behind the Knicks for the 6th seed so facing the 21-58 Raptors. The Sixers were able to stop the bleeding and beat the Raptors, the game was far from easy the Raptors scored 30 points in the third quarter and only allowed 19 points (At the end of the third quarter the Sixers lead 73-72). However the Sixers maintained their composure and scored 25 points in the fourth they won by a score of 98-93. Elton Brand led the way with 22points and 8 rebounds,  Thad Young, Andre Iguodala had 20 and 16 points respectively, and Jrue Holliday had a double-double with 13 points and 11 assist. The Sixers are a  half game back of the Knicks with two games remaining, and they (the Sixers) play the Magic on Monday night.

Related Articles

• 76ers Snap Skid in 98-93 Win Over Raptors (nytimes.com)

Welcome to the Old School:New Background picture

After an extremely talented 76ers team failed to win the NBA Finals…again, The 76ers decided to make a huge signing during the offseason of 1982.They traded for Moses Malone, a dominating center that had a career high 31.1 points per game and league leading 14.7 rebounds per game, the year before with the Houston Rockets. He proved to be the missing piece and the 82/83 Sixers will go down as one of the best teams of all time because of that. They had an inside-outside presence with Julius Erving and Moses Malone (who combined for 45.9 ppg). They also had Maurice Cheeks (who is a nominee for the hall of fame), Andrew Toney an excellent jump shooter (19.7ppg) Bobby Jones (All-Defensive-First Team) also Clint Richardson, Clemon Johnson, and Marc Iavaroni who played vital roles off the bench. With this very talented and deep team the 76ers finished with a 65-17 record in the regular season, best in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers owned the playoffs that year they swept the Milwaukee Bucks, defeated the New York Knicks in five games and got their revenge on the Los Angeles Lakers who beat them in the 1980 and 82 NBA Finals. The Sixers swept the Lakers and brought home the NBA Championship to Philly for the second time in team history. The 82/83 team is one of the best teams of all time and is now the new background of my blog site.

Practice we talkin bout practice!!

Allen Iverson always showed toughness, heart and great scoring ability, but he did not always show up to practice. So on May 7, 2002 when he was asked about missing practice during a press conference, Iverson’s response was one for the ages!!!  He obviously was upset about the question, and his answer covered everything: his relationship with Former 76ers coach Larry Brown, the issue of Larry Brown announcing to everyone that Iverson missed practice, the rumor that he may be traded next year, why he missed practice, and delivered his very own question “How the hell can I make my teammates better by practicing?” The practice press conference is one of the most infamous press conferences of all time and tainted Allen Iverson’s image for the rest of his career.

In this post I could not beat the practice record I said practice seven times(including practicing) Iverson said it 24 ½ times (he also said the word game seven times).

Related

 Articles

• “Not a day that cost anybody any money. I missed practice…. (thetickr.com)

Why Philly Hates Kobe

Image via Wikipedia

Kobe Bryant can straight up ball, he is one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball and he is a winner. He is one of the most mentally tough players and history, just like Allen Iverson Kobe plays through many injuries, but while Iverson is adored by Philly Fans Kobe is hated. Why is it that Philly fans hate  The Black Mamba (Kobe Bryant) as much as the Cowboys, the Mets, Terrell Owens aka “That’s my quarterback” and Santa.

It all started in 1996 when he decided to skip college and a chance to play at LaSalle where his father was the assistant coach at the time to go to the NBA draft. After being drafted by the New Orleans hornets he refused to play for them, as he hoped to be traded to a team with a better market. Then he whined and complained about being the second scoring option for the Lakers, when they were becoming one of the best teams in NBA history.

To seal the deal he said some vicious comments to his hometown team. Back in 2001 the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Los Angeles Lakers; Kobe was going against his home town team. Maybe it was Kobe’s competitive spirit, after the Lakers took a 2-1 series  a Philly fan taunted him Kobe responded by saying he was going to “cut your (76ers and their fans) hearts out” and win the crucial game four. Kobe did just that he “cut their hearts out” he scored  19 points 10 rebounds and 9 assist just one assist shy of a triple double, delivering a crushing blow to the 76ers title chances and becoming a villain to 76ers fans forever.