Yes, tonight's nemesis was sloppy play. 19 turnovers and just a pitiful shooting performance in the fourth quarter short-circuited what was otherwise a well-played game by the Sixers. I feel like I've been beating a dead horse regarding the Sixers inability to defend the three-point shot. Tonight, I thought I'd document their troubles and see where the fault really lies.
Obviously, the night that I choose to keep track, the Pistons shoot 5/18 from downtown (27.8%), but I still think there's a lesson to be learned, and I took the time to track it during the whole game, so here goes.
Billups (Made, uncontested, 1/1) Andre Miller tried to go under a screen and cut Chauncy off from circling under the hoop. Billups instead faded to the three-point line where he was wide-open to hit a three.
Wallace (Missed, uncontested, 1/2) No one picked up Rasheed in transition, missed a wide-open three.
Billups (Made, contested, 2/3) Off inbounds pass Chauncy catches the pass about 4 feet behind the line, Miller is on him. He hits anyway.
Billups (Made, contested, 3/4) Billups hits with Reggie Evans in his face as the shot clock expires. Good defense, better shot.
Hayes (Missed, uncontested, 3/5) Pick and roll at the top of the key, Dalembert doubles Billups, Wallace leaks to the three-point line, they pass to him, Thad closes out on Wallace quickly, they swing the ball to Hayes in the corner, Jason Smith is late in rotating. He misses a wide-open three.
Stuckey (Missed, uncontested, 3/6) Lou Williams helped on penetration by Rip Hamilton. Sam was slow to rotate to the open shooter in the corner. He missed a wide-open shot.
Prince (Made, uncontested, 4/7) Thad picked up Maxiell on the low blocks, fronted him and locked up with him to stop the entry pass. Prince cycled through the lane and Jason Smith didn't follow him. Wide-open look, converted. Thad probably should've released on Maxiell and turned him over to Smith, or Smith should've run with Prince. Bad communication, either way.
Afflalo (Missed, contested, 4/8) Thad didn't leave his man on penetration by Billups. Was right there to contest the three and it was missed.
Afflalo (Missed, uncontested, 4/9) High screen and roll, Dalembert comes out and they double Billups, swing to high post, Giricek leaves Afflalo to cover the high post, Detroit swings the ball to Afflalo wide-open in the corner, but he misses. Dalembert never left the double on Billups, never found a man.
Billups (Missed, contested, 4/10) Miller stays at home on Billups, forces a bad shot from three and he misses.
Prince (Missed, uncontested, 4/11) Iguodala left Prince to help on a drive by Billups, never got back to his man. Prince missed a wide-open three.
Wallace (Missed, contested, 4/12) High screen and roll, ball kicked into the corner, the Sixers rotate to it, back to the top for a three from Wallace, Iguodala closes out and contests the shot. Wallace misses it.
Hamilton (Missed, uncontested, 4/13) Double on Wallace on the right blocks, skip pass directly to Rip for a wide-open three, Lou Williams is late to show, but Hamilton misses the shot.
Billups (Missed, contested, 4/14) Mismatch with Jason Smith on him, Billups decides to pull up for a three, but Smith gets a hand in his face. He misses.
Wallace (Made, uncontested, 5/15) Rasheed chases down a loose ball, gathers it and hits an open three from the corner.
Billups (Missed, contested, 5/16) Lou was on him like a glove. Chauncy tried to draw a foul, forced up a bad shot and missed.
Billups (Missed, uncontested, 5/17) Miller leaves Billups to double Wallace on the blocks. Immediate kick out for a wide-open three. Billups missed.
Hamilton (Missed, uncontested, 5/18) Willie Green doubles McDyess off the ball, for some reason. Leaves Rip wide open, but he misses the three.
All told, the Sixers dodged a bullet here. The Pistons shoot 37% from downtown on the season. Tonight, they were 3/10 on their wide-open looks from three, 2/8 otherwise. The main reason behind the open looks, and the real point of this exercise, is poor play on the pick-and-roll, and poor communication. Sammy does a great job of showing quickly on the point coming over the screen, and he aggressively doubles, but then it takes him a little time to get back into position. The Sixers are good at getting the the first guy, but the second rotation almost never gets there in time.
Some of this you can chalk up to young players' inexperience, but as the season wears on the experience excuse holds less and less water. Mo needs to be working on this every day in practice with the young guys. I'm going to keep track of the opposing team's threes for a couple of
games, just to see if the same themes occur, and if the Sixers make any
adjustments.
Tomorrow is an off day before the Sixers head to the Garden to face the worst franchise in professional sports. Check out Stop Mike Lupica for Knicks coverage.
Player of The Game: Jason Smith, 6 points, 8 boards and 2 steals in 22 minutes of action. Team Record: 16-27
Not related (and by the way, you're crazy if you really think we're going 24-15 the rest of the way), but what if we dealt Miller for more cap space, thereby ensuring ourselves a really high pick, and signed Calderon in the offseason? With TJ Ford out he's really proven himself to be more than a backup. He leads the league in assist to turnover at 5.58 (the highest figure this century if you throw out Terrell Brandon's injury-shortened 32 game season in 2001) and he's shooting the three real well this year after struggling his first two seasons. He also shoots a ridiculous 50% from the field and I doubt he'd be too expensive.
I love Calderon, but he's a restricted free agent which means anyone who pries him away from Toronto is probably going to have to overpay to get him.
I'd rather not trade Miller, I think another year with him will only help guys like Thad and Lou Williams develop, but if you can get an expiring contract back for him, I think you have to at least explore the option.
And I may be crazy, but last season at this point the Sixers were 13-30, from this point on they finished 22-17, and their schedule was harder down the stretch last year.
Well, assuming we could get Calderon, and I'd rather overpay a little for him than throw all our cap space at Elton Brand, would it really hurt Thad and Lou's development to lose out on playing 30 or so games with Miller? They'd get to play with an equally gifted passer at the start of next season, and it would give us a chance to try Lou out at the point. 12 assists and 1 turnover tonight for Calderon.
I'd love to assume we could get Calderon, but he's a restricted FA, how much are you willing to overpay to get him?
I've been against trading Miller, but I'm starting to nudge a little bit in the opposite direction. Even if you are for trading him, now might not be the best time to do it. If use him in a deal in the offseason you can basically trade him and picks for any player in the league (because of the cap space the Sixers will have) It might be better to keep him until then.
Of course, if someone like the Lakers call offering Kwame Brown's expiring deal and a pick, then I'd have to at least consider it.
I'm a huge Sixers fan, and I don't have the time to get into detailed analyses about them, like you do and that Ricky on that guidos site, but usually you guys pick good points to pore over, so keep up the good work.
But I have a nit to pick with you about your Jason Smith evaluation, like I do with most Jason Smith evals - why does he have to play in the post? Why is it that it's that part of the game he has to work on? I don't know if you've read the draftexpress.com profile of him, but they don't exactly stress his low post skills; instead, they talk about how guard-like he is. So why force him into the low post like we did Van Horn? Personally, I think it's a kind of stereotype this town has about size - big people gotta play down low.
I would give him the same rating that you did, but instead of deducting points for not banging more down low, I'd knock him for not playing to his strengths, which is his unusual speed, quickness and ballhandling ability for a big man. He'd do more damage on face-the-basket isos on slower frontcourt players. I hate that the Sixers coaching staff doesn't see this.
Is it his skin color? Do people equate white with slow? I could make a similar argument with Korver, too. Here's the short of it - why wasn't Korver told that he needed to work on his handle and driving ability, when black players who can drive and handle but have no jumpshot are constantly told to work on their jumper? Could you imagine how much more dangerous Korver would be if he was a threat to drive? But I'll save that for another day, don't wanna get too wrapped up in that argument for now.
My comments on Smith were more geared toward team needs than him as a player. They desperately need someone to go down there and maybe, God forbid, draw a double team once in a while. It seems to me like he should be able to work with his back to the basket a little bit. I may be wrong, but I'd at least like to see him try it a couple of times. They never give him the ball in the post.
You're absolutely right, his strength is in his agility and his touch away from the basket, but if he can go down low as well he's pretty much always got a mismatch. Guard him with a smaller, quicker player he takes them down to the blocks. Guard him with a wide body, he takes them away from the hoop and uses his quickness.
I'm not sure it's a race thing with either Korver or Smith. At least I hope it isn't, on my part. It's more of a size thing. He's that big, and he has such quick feet and such a soft touch, he just seems like he should have moves in the post.
Thanks for the comment, you brought up some good points.
1.Every time Reggie Evans grabs an offensive rebound, and is directly under the rim, he brings it back out to reset the offense. A lay-up is better than a 18 foot jumpshot, Reggie. The Pistons commentators were talking about it. We were killing them on the offensive glass but our second chance points were low because the offense was reset each off. rebound. Our half-court offense isn't that good for that strategy yet. Just goes to say that Reggie Evans is not a starter on a bad team.
2. The lineup of Lou-Will, DreDala, Carney, Thad and Jason always go on a run, without fail. Mainly because they are young and teams can't keep up with them on the fastbreak. Mo avoids to ride the hot hand, or hot lineup for that matter.
As soon as Andre Miller steps in the energy gets sucked out. He is becoming more of a half-court point guard only which isn't good news. The first-team is getting away from the running and the point guards are out of whack because of it.
Louis tries speed up the first team and they just won't do it. Andre Miller slows down the second team and they become ineffective with Rodney Carney taking jumpshots.
There's another problem with the running game for the first unit. Reggie Evans. Every time he grabs a defensive rebound he starts dribbling it up the floor instead of getting to a guard right away. The he stops after two dribbles and looks for someone to pass to. If he just grabbed the board and hit someone with an outlet pass they could run off a lot more misses.
How many shots/minute do you think Giricek averages for the Sixers?
"1.Every time Reggie Evans grabs an offensive rebound, and is directly under the rim, he brings it back out to reset the offense. A lay-up is better than a 18 foot jumpshot, Reggie"
Uhm Aarick you know I appreciate your bball knowledge but here I have to disagree with you. A lay up by Evans results in a block 90% of the times, I think kicking it outside to reset the offense is one of the few smart things he does on the floor
I agree with Brian that is more disturbing that he always takes a dribble or two after grabbing a defensive rebound, which slows the offense.
Speaking of Evans finally we seem to have cut the isolation plays run for him (...). Remember for most of the first part of the season we were giving him the ball a couple of times per game so that he could happily be rejected or destroy the glass with an unlikely shot...
guys that I discussed this with were explaining me that he has to be "rewarded" for all that he does under the boards, the dirty work bla bla bla... and I dumbly thought that he was getting paid 4 mill per year to do that (and only that), not exactly a bad "reward"
Completely agree. Rewarding Evans is completely pointless. Even if he does somehow manage to get good position, and they don't feel like blocking his shot, they just hack him and watch him airball a couple of foul shots. He's just a mess. (He's actually not this bad, I've just seen WAY too much of him this season)
Yea, I guess it's just wishful thinking that a guy that is in the NBA solely to get rebounds would be able to finish down low. It's just a little frustrating to see the offense reset for a fade-away as the shot clock expires when your are right under the rim. I guess that's why the pistons are the Pistons. They lock you down defensively and clog the paint.
P:S- I was just watching the Nets on TNT. They may give the Knicks a run for worst in the state. Vince Carter's knees are completely gone and he is moving at Kyle Korver speed, no exaggeration...maybe a little. It's kinda sad, he was the best dunker I've ever seen and people were comparing him to Jordan in Toronto. It's time to rebuild in New Jersey but Ed Stefanki now has a rebuilding project of his own...
Carter isn't even that old. Whenever I watch the Nets these days I can't tell if Carter's hurt or he's just dogging it out there. Probably a lot of both.
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Q: What killed the Sixers tonight?
Not related (and by the way, you're crazy if you really think we're going 24-15 the rest of the way), but what if we dealt Miller for more cap space, thereby ensuring ourselves a really high pick, and signed Calderon in the offseason? With TJ Ford out he's really proven himself to be more than a backup. He leads the league in assist to turnover at 5.58 (the highest figure this century if you throw out Terrell Brandon's injury-shortened 32 game season in 2001) and he's shooting the three real well this year after struggling his first two seasons. He also shoots a ridiculous 50% from the field and I doubt he'd be too expensive.
I love Calderon, but he's a restricted free agent which means anyone who pries him away from Toronto is probably going to have to overpay to get him.
I'd rather not trade Miller, I think another year with him will only help guys like Thad and Lou Williams develop, but if you can get an expiring contract back for him, I think you have to at least explore the option.
And I may be crazy, but last season at this point the Sixers were 13-30, from this point on they finished 22-17, and their schedule was harder down the stretch last year.
It'll be fun to watch, either way.
Well, assuming we could get Calderon, and I'd rather overpay a little for him than throw all our cap space at Elton Brand, would it really hurt Thad and Lou's development to lose out on playing 30 or so games with Miller? They'd get to play with an equally gifted passer at the start of next season, and it would give us a chance to try Lou out at the point. 12 assists and 1 turnover tonight for Calderon.
I'd love to assume we could get Calderon, but he's a restricted FA, how much are you willing to overpay to get him?
I've been against trading Miller, but I'm starting to nudge a little bit in the opposite direction. Even if you are for trading him, now might not be the best time to do it. If use him in a deal in the offseason you can basically trade him and picks for any player in the league (because of the cap space the Sixers will have) It might be better to keep him until then.
Of course, if someone like the Lakers call offering Kwame Brown's expiring deal and a pick, then I'd have to at least consider it.
Brian,
I'm a huge Sixers fan, and I don't have the time to get into detailed analyses about them, like you do and that Ricky on that guidos site, but usually you guys pick good points to pore over, so keep up the good work.
But I have a nit to pick with you about your Jason Smith evaluation, like I do with most Jason Smith evals - why does he have to play in the post? Why is it that it's that part of the game he has to work on? I don't know if you've read the draftexpress.com profile of him, but they don't exactly stress his low post skills; instead, they talk about how guard-like he is. So why force him into the low post like we did Van Horn? Personally, I think it's a kind of stereotype this town has about size - big people gotta play down low.
I would give him the same rating that you did, but instead of deducting points for not banging more down low, I'd knock him for not playing to his strengths, which is his unusual speed, quickness and ballhandling ability for a big man. He'd do more damage on face-the-basket isos on slower frontcourt players. I hate that the Sixers coaching staff doesn't see this.
Is it his skin color? Do people equate white with slow? I could make a similar argument with Korver, too. Here's the short of it - why wasn't Korver told that he needed to work on his handle and driving ability, when black players who can drive and handle but have no jumpshot are constantly told to work on their jumper? Could you imagine how much more dangerous Korver would be if he was a threat to drive? But I'll save that for another day, don't wanna get too wrapped up in that argument for now.
Anyway, what do you think?
My comments on Smith were more geared toward team needs than him as a player. They desperately need someone to go down there and maybe, God forbid, draw a double team once in a while. It seems to me like he should be able to work with his back to the basket a little bit. I may be wrong, but I'd at least like to see him try it a couple of times. They never give him the ball in the post.
You're absolutely right, his strength is in his agility and his touch away from the basket, but if he can go down low as well he's pretty much always got a mismatch. Guard him with a smaller, quicker player he takes them down to the blocks. Guard him with a wide body, he takes them away from the hoop and uses his quickness.
I'm not sure it's a race thing with either Korver or Smith. At least I hope it isn't, on my part. It's more of a size thing. He's that big, and he has such quick feet and such a soft touch, he just seems like he should have moves in the post.
Thanks for the comment, you brought up some good points.
2 disturbing things I've noticed....
1.Every time Reggie Evans grabs an offensive rebound, and is directly under the rim, he brings it back out to reset the offense. A lay-up is better than a 18 foot jumpshot, Reggie. The Pistons commentators were talking about it. We were killing them on the offensive glass but our second chance points were low because the offense was reset each off. rebound. Our half-court offense isn't that good for that strategy yet. Just goes to say that Reggie Evans is not a starter on a bad team.
2. The lineup of Lou-Will, DreDala, Carney, Thad and Jason always go on a run, without fail. Mainly because they are young and teams can't keep up with them on the fastbreak. Mo avoids to ride the hot hand, or hot lineup for that matter.
As soon as Andre Miller steps in the energy gets sucked out. He is becoming more of a half-court point guard only which isn't good news. The first-team is getting away from the running and the point guards are out of whack because of it.
Louis tries speed up the first team and they just won't do it. Andre Miller slows down the second team and they become ineffective with Rodney Carney taking jumpshots.
There's another problem with the running game for the first unit. Reggie Evans. Every time he grabs a defensive rebound he starts dribbling it up the floor instead of getting to a guard right away. The he stops after two dribbles and looks for someone to pass to. If he just grabbed the board and hit someone with an outlet pass they could run off a lot more misses.
How many shots/minute do you think Giricek averages for the Sixers?
"that Ricky on that guidos site"
LOL !!!!
I hope you do keep up with the 3 point attempts. It will be extremely interesting to see how they look in their next few games.
Good work
"1.Every time Reggie Evans grabs an offensive rebound, and is directly under the rim, he brings it back out to reset the offense. A lay-up is better than a 18 foot jumpshot, Reggie"
Uhm Aarick you know I appreciate your bball knowledge but here I have to disagree with you. A lay up by Evans results in a block 90% of the times, I think kicking it outside to reset the offense is one of the few smart things he does on the floor
I agree with Brian that is more disturbing that he always takes a dribble or two after grabbing a defensive rebound, which slows the offense.
Speaking of Evans finally we seem to have cut the isolation plays run for him (...). Remember for most of the first part of the season we were giving him the ball a couple of times per game so that he could happily be rejected or destroy the glass with an unlikely shot...
guys that I discussed this with were explaining me that he has to be "rewarded" for all that he does under the boards, the dirty work bla bla bla... and I dumbly thought that he was getting paid 4 mill per year to do that (and only that), not exactly a bad "reward"
Completely agree. Rewarding Evans is completely pointless. Even if he does somehow manage to get good position, and they don't feel like blocking his shot, they just hack him and watch him airball a couple of foul shots. He's just a mess. (He's actually not this bad, I've just seen WAY too much of him this season)
Yea, I guess it's just wishful thinking that a guy that is in the NBA solely to get rebounds would be able to finish down low. It's just a little frustrating to see the offense reset for a fade-away as the shot clock expires when your are right under the rim. I guess that's why the pistons are the Pistons. They lock you down defensively and clog the paint.
P:S- I was just watching the Nets on TNT. They may give the Knicks a run for worst in the state. Vince Carter's knees are completely gone and he is moving at Kyle Korver speed, no exaggeration...maybe a little. It's kinda sad, he was the best dunker I've ever seen and people were comparing him to Jordan in Toronto. It's time to rebuild in New Jersey but Ed Stefanki now has a rebuilding project of his own...
Carter isn't even that old. Whenever I watch the Nets these days I can't tell if Carter's hurt or he's just dogging it out there. Probably a lot of both.
Aarick, Brian, imagine I picked the Nets to win the division over the Celtics this year... so much for my bball knowledge, LOL