 ESPN's "Expert" Predictions Are Out The talking heads at ESPN have released their updated predictions for the Eastern Conference. Only five of the ten polled have the Sixers making the playoffs.
The highest predicted finish comes from John Hollinger - 2nd in the Atlantic, 5th in the East. Don't look at who left, but rather at who's left. Andre Miller may be gone, but Elton Brand returns to join several young studs -- Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Louis Williams, Marreese Speights -- on the East's most underrated squad. And the lowest comes from Chad Ford - 3rd in the Atlantic, 11th in the East. Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams give the Sixers youth and athleticism, but a rusty and aging Elton Brand combined with the loss of veteran point guard Andre Miller means that the Sixers will slip in the East. The overwhelming theme is that the Sixers just won't be able to compete without Andre Miller. No one mentioned a thing about improved defense in Miller's absence, but that's neither here nor there. For the record, Ford has Indiana, Toronto, Chicago, Detroit and Washington leaping over the Sixers in the standings. He actually has Washington finishing 5th, which I find laughable. 
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Has Chad Ford ever been right?
He needs to just stay on the beach and watch Euros on his laptop, his game analysis has always been lacking.
I agree Miller was a huge defensive liability, to the extent that much of the time they had to put in on the SG and had WG guarding the PG.
But to what extent is Lou Williams defense an upgrade? He could develop into a decent defender, but did not show much defense so far in his career.
For the record I think anywhere from 4-11th seed is possible. I'm going with 39-43, but with a strong finish.
Team defense should be much better. No size mismatches, much better rebounding. Essentially, they swapped Brand and Lou for Willie and Miller. That's a huge step in the right direction.
I wonder if 39-43 gets you into the playoffs this year.
I think you are right about better defense by shifting Thad to SF and having a Brand and Sam in the frontcourt. That is a huge upgrade. And log-term Jrue-Iguodala-Thad has the makings of a great defensive backcourt- just not yet.
I'm hoping they eek out a few more wins, because they could be a dangerous team if they are clicking by playoff time.
I'm optimistic for the second half of the year (and moving forward) if everyone stays reasonably healthy. But the overall W/L will ride on how well they do the 1st half when things could be ugly. But maybe the preseaon hints that with their talent they can win without looking pretty.
I really don't think the loss of Miller will show as much as all these "experts" and a lot of fans believe. Sure he was very good at getting to the rim and igniting the break, making clutch shots etc. He wasn't a few things as well. There were so many times last year his play ruined our offensive cohesion. He dominated the ball constantly, if he was outside of 15 ft his defender would sag into the lane and clog everything up because no one respected his shot, for good reason. He couldn't keep anyone in front of him.
If this team stays healthy, plays within the system and continues to motivate themselves on the defensive end, we can be much better w/o Miller. Imo.
October = Optimism
I love when the "professionals" predict any Philadelphia Team. Can anyone tell me when any team was predicted to be decent by the "pros" in either Basketball or Baseball. After watching the Phils win this year, I have no trust at all in the "pros" in knowing about a local team. None.
Now, bottom line, I do not think anyone can predict how the sixers will be this year. I think the sixers could shock the world this year (if all goes right) or be like the Knicks this year (if we have a couple key injuries). Gut feeling, 45-48 wins when all is said and done. If they start out 7-2, then I go to 55 wins. But, if they have only 30 wins, will not be shocked.
I'd be really shocked by 30 wins, and (unless there were catastrophic injuries) I think Eddie Jordan would have to be fired after a season like that.
Yep, most everyone is discounting the Sixers except the most penetrating analyst. Most of the rest of these analysts, like most of the TV talking heads, are very name oriented. All of a sudden Toronto, that had a miserable year last year, is supposed to leap over the Sixers because they have Hedo and Bosch (OK, Bargnani is improved, too). Two of those three they've had the last two mediocre years and they still seem like a soft team even with Hedo. I don't understand all the love for Indiana either. I also don't see how the Bulls couldn't be a little worse without Gordon, one of the best money scorers in the league. Washington finishing fifth doesn't seem like such an unlikely prediction. Last year was a major aberration and they made some pick ups that might really help them.
Apparently, most analysts aren't paying any attention to preseason but it shouldn't be irrelevant. Yahoo predicted the Sixers to be 43-39. I'll go with two wins more than that.
If they only get 30 wins I will be truly disappointed and shocked. I'm going with 45 - 50 wins, 2nd Atlantic, 5th EC.