last night against the Sacramento Kings, and the formula wasn't all that complicated. After the jump, we'll take a look at the rotations, the contributions, the trends and the quotes of a destructive head coach.
There's one thing that's been responsible for the Sixers recent success (6-4 in their last ten games), defense. The problem is, our coach either doesn't realize that or he's so wrapped up in his precious offensive system that he simply can't see it. Here's a quote after last night's game from
Martin Frank's blog:
"We've just been working on it (defense). We spend a lot of time on it, and maybe that's why our offense is suffering a little bit ... I don't like our offense to struggle like it's been doing somewhat. But the defense was imperative that we improve."
I read that as Eddie Jordan saying, "Hey, my boss told me we had to get better on defense, so that's what I'm doing. Just wait 'til I get my ball back, then we'll go right back to the way we were doing things." You can read it however you choose.
Anyway, here's your rotation chart. You already know what pisses me off about it:
The Sixers played two stretches of really great basketball in this game. From about the 3:22 point in the first quarter to the 6:50 point in the second. And then from 10:06 to go in the fourth until the end of the game. Over that 18 minutes and 32 seconds of game action, they allowed 22 points and scored 40. What's the common denominator? The lineups. For all 18 of those minutes, the Sixers played big. They had two bigs in the game, and at least one guard who was capable of defending a paper bag.
In the first half, Jrue was absolutely stifling the Kings guards and he was running the hell out of the offense. In the fourth quarter, Andre Iguodala took over on Tyreke Evans, and I do mean took over. These big lineups were keying the offense by getting stops, creating turnovers and getting the team into the open floor.
If reading that last paragraph gave you a sense of deja vu, it's because this is what we've been talking about forever. This is the potential of this team. This is the direction they need to be moving in. This is how they can compete, I believe, in the long run. If only everyone would buy in. And by everyone, I obviously mean Eddie Jordan.
Jrue had a bigger impact than anyone on the first half of the game, on either team, and he didn't take his warmups off in the second. If you think back to a post I wrote not too long ago, moves like this are what worry me most about Jordan's tenure as the Sixers HC. What kind of message does it send to the kid if playing exceptional defense and running the team on the offensive end earns you nothing but splinters?
I don't know what possessed Jordan to go big for the entire fourth quarter, but when the game is over he spends time lamenting how his precious offense is being hurt by this silly focus on defense (Which is crap, by the way. The Sixers were better than their season average on offense last night, and they've been better than their season average in 7 of the past 10 games).
Anyway, I've had enough of this coach. Let's get to the players. I'm going to start with Andre Iguodala, our "non-leader" who had to leave the game with a sprained ankle in the first quarter. Went to the locker room, got his ankle x-rayed, re-taped and came back on the floor 7:10 off game time later. He wouldn't sit again. In 41 minutes, Iguodala scored 12 points (on bad shooting), grabbed 10 boards, handed out 7 assists, to go along with 3 steals and two blocks against only 2 turnovers. He also manhandled whoever he was guarding on the defensive end all night long, even on a gimpy wheel. Forget about the injury for a second and look at the production. This is the invaluable thing about Andre Iguodala. Even on a bad shooting night, he's still the best player on the floor, affecting the game in every facet.
Sam was a beast, yet again. 7/7 from the floor for 17 points, 12 boards and 3 blocks in only 28 minutes. Brand only needed 8 shots to get his 14 points and while the defensive rebounding numbers were mediocre (4 in 30 minutes), he was the guy who was stifling the Kings on traps out on the perimeter. He finished the game with 4 steals and a block. Thad broke out of his shooting slump with a 9/14 effort for his 20 points. His rebounding was pitiful, but he played more of his minutes at the three. He did block a pair of shots.
Lou played a horrible, horrible offensive game in just about every facet, but the effort was there on the defensive end. Iverson was steady, as usual, 17 points on 14 shots and 6 assists to 2 turnovers. Maybe too many minutes, but he was a plus when he was on the floor.
Big picture, this game was decided by the defense of the Sixers' big lineups. How many of the 26 losses would've gone the other way if Jordan had used the big lineups more? No way to tell. In fact, I'm not even convinced he's learned his lesson yet. I mean, look at the Knicks game, or any of the four they've lost in this ten-game stretch. How often did he use the right rotations in those games?
One final note, Sacramento did indeed use a zone defense late in the game. The Sixers beat it by hitting a couple of threes, and using their own defense to key transition buckets. The first part can't be counted on, but the second part can.
Player of The Game: Dalembert. He's the anchor and really playing like an All Star right now.
Team Record: 13-26
Up Next: @ Minny on Monday afternoon.
ooh Jordan and defense in the same sentence.
still cant believe Holiday sat for the whole half after that performance. AI plays the entire 3rd quarter with Lou Williams not far behind.
even in a win like this you still come out with negatives.
great overall team defense on Evans. they really stifled his drive-to-the-hoop game. he needs to work on his put-the-ball-in-the-net-by-shooting-it game.
Thompson is a beast. even with our effort he still pulled 14 boards down.
Last night provided one of my favorite photos of the year, from Getty Images, shown in my write-up:
http://www.phillyarena.com/archives/2010-01-16/Kings-vs-Sixers-Recap-Mixed-Bag
BTW, i almost died of laughter when Eddie Jordan talked about "balance" between offense and defense. He finally had it, but he's too oblivious to anything other than his offensive system to see it.
Back in H.S. we used to call that the "Ha!" defense. Even works sometimes, just not against the likes of Kevin Martin. Probably would throw a guy like Thad out of rhythm...
You saw it the same way I saw it. I can't understand Ed Stafanski tolerating Eddie Jordan's total disdain for defense. If the team had staarted with a defensive emphasis, then worked on the offensive system, they would have had defense to fall back on when shots wouldn't fall.
As well as Jrue played in the first half, he should have had at least 10 minutes in the second half. As poorly as Lou Williams played, Jrue should have gotten most of Lou's minutes in the second half.
It is unfortunate neither Smith nor Brezec seem to be able to compete or they could be used to almost always have two big players on the court.
I'm still going to the internet every day hoping to read that Jordan has been fired, but I guess it's not going to happen now.
"This is the invaluable thing about Andre Iguodala. Even on a bad shooting night, he's still the best player on the floor, affecting the game in every facet."
Sure, although Dalembert probably was the best player on the floor last night, but I don't think that anyone would argue that he's not our best player most nights. I just don't think that we'll be a very good team so long as he's our best player. On a good team, Iguodala would probably take 9 shots a game, mostly in transition, quit taking all the jump shots that he still can't make after 6 years in the league, and focus on the stuff he does well, like perimeter defense and rebounding. (Just as RJ, a very similar player - although a much better shooter than Iguodala and not quite as good a finisher - has seen his shots drastically reduced now that he's on a good team with real scorers.) He'd probably grab fewer rebounds because, on a good team, there would be more than one other good rebounder. So basically he'd be a 12, 5 and 6 player, at which point the notion that he's really this franchise player in disguise would become totally untenable.
I'm sorry, but this entire statement is nothing short of idiotic. Even though he's probably been asked to carry too much of the scoring load for the past 3+ seasons, he's still remained an extremely efficient scorer, by any team's standards. I'm also a little curious as to why you think his assists would drop if he was surrounded by more talented offensive players.
He's averaged between 13 and 15.6 shots per game over the past 3+ seasons, with a usage % between 22.3 and 23.8, Iguodala has put up TS% of 56.2%, 54.3%, 56.0%, and 52.7%. Kobe's career TS% is 55.2%, Wade's is 56.3%. To say Iguodala hurts his team by shooting too much is laughable, and to say "Well, if he was on a good team, they wouldn't want him to take shots" is, as I said, idiotic.
well Brian, i dont think the notion of Iguodala hurting his team when he shoots more is idiotic. if you're thinking jumpshots, that is. am not affirming it, but there is a case.
Tray: Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined Lakers teams that year with Shaq and Kobe. it does not diminish their ability if they play lesser roles on a winning-er team than their previous ones. no one knows yet what Iguodala would be on another team bcos he has not been on any other yet. the fact that RJ is a 12,5,6 player now, is on him not anyone else. remember he was also on a Milwaukee Bucks team and didnt exactly explode either, so much so that they traded his ass away after a test drive.
personally I think that most superstars, when then don't play, their team struggles to win many games. they might put up similar production but may come up short since they lack the necessary 'oomph' to get it done.
Iguodala is the kind of player that if he does'nt play his team will win and lose games, but their level of play will drop significantly.
it may not make complete sense but thats how I look at him. so when Brian declares that he's still the best player on the floor, I wont argue.
I was saying it was idiotic to say Iguodala would be limited to 9 shots/game if he was on a good team. Tray is making him out to be this gunner who takes way too many shots for a bad team to inflate his scoring numbers, and nothing could further from the truth.
I actually don't think the statement is all that idiotic. 9 shots/game might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but as I posted in the thread breaking iguodala down, Iguodala's effectiveness on his field goal attempts is fairly mediocre. His overall TS% isn't all that relevant, as he's perhaps the best transition player in the game. In the half court he settles for too many jumpers, which really isn't his strength.
On a great team, I definitely see Iguodala's half-court usage dropping, but his half-court ts% increasing, as he's not asked to carry as much of a load. I also do see his assists dropping, but mostly because if he's on a contender, it means he's probably on a team with a pg good at creating opportunities for others. There's a reason Igudoala's assists are at an all-time high. Because we don't have a point guard (that plays major minutes) that's really proficient at that, at least not before Iverson signed here.
Per-game stats are very reflective on time and situation. Put Iguodala on a great team, where he's asked to create for himself less in the half-court, and I see his attempts go down, his half-court effectiveness go up, and his turnovers down. Maybe not as drastic, but I think on a contender with an established #1 scoring option and a legitimate pg, I see Iguodala as a 16-6-4.5 player. With great defense, is that a slight on Iguodala? Not at all. I just wish we had a team where that's all he was asked to be.
This season is starting to remind me of the season when ES got hired part way into the year. We where playing bad and he told Cheeks to play the young guys and look to run, Mo was on the last year of his deal so probably figured I better listen to the new guy if I want an extension.
Now Stefanski tells Jordan to tighten up the rotations and start emphasising defense. In both cases it helped the teams record. The problem is that once the coach starts to feel secure in his job he goes right back to doing it his way. This got Cheeks fired and will eventually get EJ fired but unfortunatly some short term success may buy him some time at the expense of our teams development.
Heh. The Wizards just beat Sacto. Can't wait until we start hearing about how Evans/Martin can't play in the back court together.
I actually think they're going to be very good together. People just have unrealistic expectations, and if it doesn't gel IMMEDIATELY, they'll overreact (even though Sacramento is still a very flawed team).
that doesnt' mean their skillsets don't have a lot of potential going forward.
I think they have complementary skill sets, definitely. People were saying they couldn't play together after five games, though, before Martin got hurt. If their record drops off, which it should regardless, people are going to lose it.
Wow!!! 13 minutes at small forward by TY