It's a Tuesday in the middle of August, there's absolutely nothing going on in the Sixers' world (other than dueling UStream broadcasts by Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala). I figured this would be as good a time as any to get your feelings on one of the big questions I have for the upcoming season.
When you look at the moves the Sixers have made this offseason, there seems to be a disconnect. Eddie Jordan is an offensive coach, by all accounts. He's known for his version of the Princeton offense, and no team he's been the head coach of has particularly excelled on the defensive side of the ball. On the other hand, the Sixers drafted Jrue Holiday, they brought Royal Ivey back as a free agent and they let Andre Miller walk. All of these moves should go a long way toward shoring up the defensive side of the ball. Then again, the additions of Jason Kapono and Primoz Brezec probably won't move the needle toward better defense, but I'm not sure how big of a role either will play.
So here's the question, will the Sixers be a better defensive team in 2009-2010 than they were in 2008-2009? Keep in mind that Elton Brand will be back, which should improve the defense at the four, Andre Iguodala is expected to move to the two, which should drastically improve the defense there, while Thad Young will slide into the three, which is a downgrade (nothing against Thad, but anyone is downgrade from Iguodala at the three.)
Last season, the Sixers allowed 97.3 points per game, good for 11th in the league, but that number doesn't really mean a whole lot. The important number is their defensive rating, which is points allowed per 100 possessions (this takes pace out of the equation). Their defensive rating was 107.8, good for 13th in the league. Vote in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
There defense was pathetic last season. Many times they played with no heart and gave zero effort. Also with the quiet guy Andre Miller being gone that automatically makes us better.
yes, amiller was ok defensively in terms of his size (weight not height), but with Jrue at the 1 with his height and athletic ability and desire to play D, hopefully these will point to a better D team based on my observations (as well as the shift in position you have mentioned).
quick Q, i think Jason Smith is a 4, but could he play the 5 with his height and upgrade physique?
If Brand returns healthy and is played at PF (not C) it will far outweigh all other factors. It is a huge upgrade going from Thad at PF to Brand. Their rebounding and interior defense would be much better.
Of course. Rebounding will be such a big difference with Brand and Daly on the court, also having Thad + Iggy at the wings will make it challenging for other teams at the perimeter.
Last season the lineup put out there just wasn't capable of performing defensively like this lot.
I have seen Jrue play but from all sources he seems to be an intense player who loves to D so I'm excited about that.
One thing that frustrated me last season was the Sixer's inability to defend the three point shot and run people off the arc. If they can get their rotations down, I could definitely see some improvement.
If Lou is starting, I would like to see him start playing defense as soon as the ball enters play, pressing the other team's PG and cause turnovers. He certainly has the athletic ability to do this...
I wonder if there will be a philosophical change on the defensive end. I'm also wondering how many of those open threes were a result of Miller not being able to stop penetration, how many were a result of lazy rotations and how many were just Willie Green getting completely lost off the ball.
Caron Butler was the only guy on that team who could spell defense, though. I think we have much better defensive personnel.
This is the main issue for me right now, in a perfect world, this team will be defensive minded and Jordan will squeeze more efficiency out of them on offense. I'm hoping he doesn't sacrifice defense to get the PO running as well as possible w/ the players he's got.
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There defense was pathetic last season. Many times they played with no heart and gave zero effort. Also with the quiet guy Andre Miller being gone that automatically makes us better.
yes, amiller was ok defensively in terms of his size (weight not height), but with Jrue at the 1 with his height and athletic ability and desire to play D, hopefully these will point to a better D team based on my observations (as well as the shift in position you have mentioned).
quick Q, i think Jason Smith is a 4, but could he play the 5 with his height and upgrade physique?
I think we'll see him at the five this season, probably more than the 4. That's just my guess, though.
Jrue won't play the 1, till mid season at best. Till then it's Williams at the 1. What about Dalembert? sometimes he looks lost out there.
Jrue Holiday will probably play the '1' earlier in the season as Louis Williams probably won't average 48 minutes per game...
If Brand returns healthy and is played at PF (not C) it will far outweigh all other factors. It is a huge upgrade going from Thad at PF to Brand. Their rebounding and interior defense would be much better.
Of course. Rebounding will be such a big difference with Brand and Daly on the court, also having Thad + Iggy at the wings will make it challenging for other teams at the perimeter.
Last season the lineup put out there just wasn't capable of performing defensively like this lot.
I have seen Jrue play but from all sources he seems to be an intense player who loves to D so I'm excited about that.
Rebounding should be the biggest difference. After Brand's injury, they got dominated on the defensive glass far too often.
One thing that frustrated me last season was the Sixer's inability to defend the three point shot and run people off the arc. If they can get their rotations down, I could definitely see some improvement.
If Lou is starting, I would like to see him start playing defense as soon as the ball enters play, pressing the other team's PG and cause turnovers. He certainly has the athletic ability to do this...
I wonder if there will be a philosophical change on the defensive end. I'm also wondering how many of those open threes were a result of Miller not being able to stop penetration, how many were a result of lazy rotations and how many were just Willie Green getting completely lost off the ball.
I'm not optimistic. Wizards fans complained about the same issues of conceding open 3's under EJ.
Caron Butler was the only guy on that team who could spell defense, though. I think we have much better defensive personnel.
This is the main issue for me right now, in a perfect world, this team will be defensive minded and Jordan will squeeze more efficiency out of them on offense. I'm hoping he doesn't sacrifice defense to get the PO running as well as possible w/ the players he's got.
http://www.nba.com/sixers/video/2009/08/17/090817practice.sixers/index.html
that is a link to a 4 minute video of sixers practice for anyone who wants to see it
and I think we are going to be one of the best defensive things on the East but I don't understand the rating :0
Ok, now i understand the rating system ;)