Even Eddie Jordan can't watch the mess he's made of this team. The Philadelphia 76ers are legitimately one of the worst teams in the NBA right now and with each game played under this buffoon they're moving further and further away from legitimacy. Last night's
Let's kick things off with the graphs and a few notes on each:
Note not one second at SG for Andre Iguodala, not one second at SF for Thad Young (who only played 32 minutes total). Need to get Willie and Lou their burn, right?
Jordan's "offensive" lineup put up a stellar 81.98 offensive efficiency rating last night. The good news is it wasn't their worst offensive performance of the season.
I don't have a lot of specific notes from last night's game. It was pitiful to watch. The team was clearly out-manned and out-coached in the first half, if one was the cause of the other is irrelevant. Whatever special spark this team has had in the past three seasons which made them rise to the occasion and perhaps play above their heads has been systematically beaten out of them and right now we're watching a group of pissed off individuals on the floor. How each player handles the situation may be telling in and of itself, but that's not really the kind of evaluation I care to be making right now.
In the second half, we saw an entire roster say, "Fuck it, I'm getting mine." It was nothing but one-on-one basketball, long jumpers and pretty much zero defense, especially from the starting back court. At one point, Jordan even benched Green and Lou, bringing Ivey and Holiday into the game. The Sixers picked up 6 points, but it was short-lived. Jordan just had to get his guys back in there, and then the onslaught continued.
After the game, the press fanned the flames of Elton Brand's comments, seeking out
Speights for a response. This was the closing line in reference to Brand saying he never passes:
"They know I'm a good shooter and a good scorer," Speights said
about his teammates. "They make fun of me, but they know I can score
the ball, so it's cool."
This farce has gone on long enough. Right now, you've got Andre Iguodala being basically the only regular who you can honestly say still cares. Unfortunately, his desire to win is manifesting itself in too many shots. At some point, each one of these players is going to reach his breaking point. Personally, I think Brand and Dalembert are already there. Thad is closing in. Lou and Speights are too immature to look beyond their own points per game. Willie is just happy he's still got a job and won't say a word to jeopardize is undeserved starting spot. Jrue has to be confused. Absolutely has to be. The only way he's allowed to stay on the floor is when he's scoring the ball, so he takes too many shots, too many bad shots. When he hits them, he gets more minutes. His playing time is in no way tied to the defense he plays nor the way he sets his teammates up for high-percentage looks. Essentially, the strongest parts of his game are shit on by his coach. What kind of long-term damage is that going to do to a 19-year-old kid?
I'd love to know where Ed Stefanski is in this whole mess. We haven't heard anything from him in a couple weeks, since he refused to lay the blame on his coach, saying "top to bottom" they needed to improve. Well, I'm assuming he's watching the same games we are. He sees how his coach has alienated essentially every meaningful player on the roster. And now, as of last night, he's seen how I'd say 10 of the 13 players on the roster have quit. Have cashed in their chips. Have devolved into the worst stereotypes of overpaid, under-motivated NBA players. Yet he still remains silent.
Player of The Game: Deron Williams. The first time I've handed this out to a non-Sixer.
Team Record: 7-22
Up Next: Another loss, in Portland. The debut of the Iverson/Lou back court. Can't wait!
I'd love the full context of that Speights quote. To me it sounds more like he's talking about his 0-8 performance than directly responding to Brand's comments.
Oh. That was in response to Brand's "never passes" comment, not his "doesn't defend or rebound" criticism".
Yeah, you're right. Fixed it above.
The doesn't defend comment was responded to by Speights (sort of) in the post i put up in the other 'game thread', near the end...can find the entire article hear, but the excerpts i read Speights sounds like a little boy and Jordan like a clueless tool
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/80152452.html
Brian, your diagnosis of the team's ills is the only possible explanation for such a pitiful performance by a pretty talented team. Any decent coach would play Dalembert 30 - 35 minutes every game and keep him involved. The guy isn't stupid and he isn't an asshole, I don't care what people say. And Brand is NOT done. The things he's' saying are right on the mark and everybody knows it. Right now, I'd be happy with McKie taking the reins. He might be turn out to be a flop, but he wouldn't be dicking around like Jordan is, embarassing the franchise and alienating the fans (even you).
Good point about Iguodala and Young not spending a second at their natural positions. Jordan must be trying to get fired, as you said in an earlier post. And he's ruining Lou as well as Jrue. I don't think they'll be permanently damaged because they're confident guys, but he's hurting them by letting them do too much in once case and not enough in the other. The way this team is constituted, and with what he's shown so far, Jrue should be getting 25 - 30 minutes a game. He's a good defender - that alone should be reason enough. And he knows the game and the personnel better than Jordan does.
Remember when Theo said how Speights listens and is coachable? There's no reason he should be playing this cluelessly - any decent coach would work with him and teach him rebounding position, passing out of the post, and how to guard a power forward. His talent is being squandered too. You mentioned that both he & Lou were rushed back. I'm not sure that's true (Lou seemed to want to get back on the court as soon as possible), but if it is, it's inexcusable.
Teams are taking it easy against the Sixers because they know they'll get a win somehow. It's infuriating. Cheeks was way better than this guy - at least he had some heart and showed the team he cared. And he never embarassed players through the press. Dileo looks like a genius in comparison, in spite of his maddening passivity. What in the heck do we do? I can't face another winter of discontent. The city deserves better than this.
Another great post Brian.
Eddie Jordan punished Elton Brand for being right by playing him only 8 minutes in the first half of last night's game. Is that professionalism or what?
Elton Brand has been a class-act, taking his unjustified "benching" very professionally and only speaking out (truthfully) when he felt the team, the press, and fans needed to hear it. It was long overdue...these comments about the lack of defense and passing.
It was only when Elton Brand spoke up about these points of defense and passing that the rest of the press (besides Brian of course...he's written about this for a long time now) caught on and called out the coach for it.
Whose fault is it that everyone on the Sixers is "getting their own" and playing as individuals? The COACH of course! It's the coach's job to create a system where guys are rewarded for their teamwork, hard-work, basketball talents and consistency. Right now, Eddie Jordan's rewarding people for fitting into his "princeton offense" and scoring points, regardless of whether they win or lose. It's so sad to see...
Jordan has been pretty horrendous as a coach but those kind of comments from a guy like Spreights really are worrisome. He seems to be fixated on getting his pts a night that he doesn't play hard on defense & on the glass consistently.
Is a big man who scores 20 pts that valuable if he is a defensive liability with shoddy defensive rebounding, turns over the ball a bit too much, and doesn't do a good job of involving his teammates in the passing game? I say no.
I am willing to be pretty patient with a guy like Spreights but having a bad attitude/work habits set in early in his career aren't a positive sign either if he is one of the key guys the 76ers are supposed to build around.
Speights doesn't play defense or pass because he's not rewarded by Eddie Jordan for passing or for defense. That's why he's always out to "get his" and score as many points as he can regardless of whether his teammates are open, have the hot hand, etc.
Jrue plays defense AND passes really well. But since the coach doesn't give a rat's ass about passing or defense, he gets to sit on the bench. His only way of getting more minutes is to shoot the ball as much as he can, like Speights, and hope that he gets enough points to warrant playing time.
Isn't it sad that the coach is hurting the development of both Speights and Jrue? These two guys are both clearly talented...but because the coach is developing their careers this way and conditioning them to play selfishly and lazily...they may never become team players or winners. Both of their talents will be wasted because of Eddie Jordan.
Fire Eddie Jordan! Before he causes more damage to the younger guys on this team who are still very impressionable at their young age...
Good points.
Not to defend Eddie Jordan, but Speights didn't play defense later year, either.
Yeah, well, the sixers haven't defended the three or the pick and roll well for the past few years either, but let's pile on Jordan anyway, he's terrible :)
(Did Speights pass last year, he is truly a black hole this year, like Sam, but he has offensive ability, unlike Sam)
But there weak areas are even worse this year. And they are weak ares historically for Eddie Jordan coached teams (historic as in worst 3pt defense in the history of the NBA.)
I don't know if that is an indictment of Stefanski, Jordan or the team. Probably a terrible confluence of all of the above.
Sort of like having a company that is plagued by corruption go out and hire a new CEO who just got out of jail for embezzlement. Who would you blame when things go from bad to worse?
The people responsible for the hiring because they didn't see the problem in the first place so they made the wrong hire.
This goes beyond Eddie Jordan - firing Jordan doesn't fix the issues that led to Jordan's hire in the first place. Stefanski has to go too and he has to not be 'forgiven' cause Jordan was such a bad fit. He hired Jordan, and that can not be forgotten or ignored.
"There" should read "their" if "there" are and grammar police on "their" toes :)
We were 16th in the league in opponents 3pt% last year. Nowhere near as bad as this year. You can absolutely hold Jordan accountable for that.
And you can hold Stefasnki accountable for hiring a coach notorious for bad 3 point percentage defense when the team already struggles (for 5/6 years?) at it already?
I'm just saying that Stefanski is culpable in this disaster and needs to be held accountable. I think it's time to clean house
But is Ed the guy to clean house, or has his time worn out?
When i say clean house, I meant not just the coach but the GM
Fire Stefanski, DiLeo is the best judge of talent on the team, if moves are offered, let him make the moves, then hire the right coach who knows how to use the roster given
John,
Speights Minutes-Per-Game this year: 23:18
Speights Assists-Per-Game this year: 0.6 (yes, ZERO POINT SIX)
Speights Season High in Assists: 2
Speights CAREER HIGH in Assists: 2
I think that pretty much says it all. Speights is a BLACK HOLE. He doesn't pass, period.
Career high in assists = 2? You're kidding right? And ZERO-Point-SIX in assists per game this year in 23+ minutes? He just simply DOESNT PASS!
Andre Miller never said more than a couple opf words to the press while he was here. Now he's being downright chatty:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/A_few_minutes_with_Andre_Miller.html
Anyone else read that as the Sixers are kind of dumb and a complex system is beyond them?
That's what I got from it sort of. Saying that guys are learning 'passing and cutting' like college basketball. Somewhat inferring that some of the young bucks don't even know basic fundamentals or principles.
It may be the wrong system for this personnel, but his statements do have some truth to them. Athleticism doesn't always translate into savvy play. And he added the caveat that 'you have to be a thinker at the same time'. Damning comments but truthful.
No. People seem to piss and moan about how the players haven't bought into the 'Princeton' offense (or whatever Jordan runs because it isn't anything that Carrill ran at Princeton or at Sacramento) but just count the number of possessions where this team doesn't even run the most basic of offense plays that a solidly-coached high school team runs.
Way too many possessions wasted with lazy long-range jumpers or where somebody tries to drive to the basket wildly out of control & draw a foul call in the process.
Meant to reply "yes" and to me there are a few things that really show this including:
1. Number of FT attempted PG (really down this year to 22.9 a game from 27.0 in '08-'09 and 26.1 in '07-'08).
2. Number of A/TO (at 1.37 this year down from 1.42 in '08-'09 and 1.43 in '07-'08).
3. Number of A per game (19.7 this year down from 20.1 in '08-'09 and 20.4 in '07-'08).
4. Dramatic rise in 3PA even with with addition of Kapono (17.3 this year up from 13.1 in '08-'09 and 11.6 in '07-'08).
I understand some of this is due to the growing pains of having Lou in his 1st year at PG and Holiday playing but Miller's comments about this team are 'dumb' offensively definitely have some merit. There isn't a single player on this roster right now that I would say is "offensively savvy."
You don!t hire a new coach midseason [intermin?] so what happens if you fire the g.m., do Luoko or Snider take over? Deleo?
I don't think you can have an "interim GM." At least I don't think you should. How does an interim guy make moves? Who hires the coach?
Just please promise me they don't bring Nash back...
Simple, you fire Stefanski & promote Dileo! Then, for for some truly radical thinking...the organization swaps Jordan for Ford, making EJ a scout & Ford the HC! I know it's wacky but given our F'd up situation, I think it's an option worth considering...thoughts?
wow 7-22...i seriously never imagined this team to be this bad...the players we have are not bad...we pretty much had the same roster and under DeLio (who's main job is scouting) we did better...
wtf is going on? Someone needs to bring Eddie Jordan's ass to attention...we should all chip in for a full page ad in the paper !
If the 76ers did fire Jordan (worst coach of this team since Doug Moe hands down), who is the interim coach who takes over this job on a half-year basis and what does he hope to accomplish?
Also as important - what coach in their right mind takes over this team with the 'interim' label knowing that he will really take his lumps with a bunch of 'Ls' in the process? Basically it would be Fred Carter redux. At best, you take one for the organization and are rewarded. At worst, your coaching resume likely gets dinged.
Well, two ways to look at it for an interim coach. On one hand, could he possibly do worse than Jordan has? I mean, they've played poorly, but there's a threshold based on the players on the team that you really can't drop below, I'd hope. I'd say anyone brought in will enjoy a bump simply because the players will be glad Jordan's gone and their energy level will increase, not to mention likely improvements in coaching (rotations, system, etc.)
On the other hand, yes, the odds of taking the team to the playoffs are pretty much nil.
Overall, I don't think they'd have a problem getting someone in house to coach the team. This is probably worth a post, actually, writing it right now.
If they did fire in mid-season and DiLeo doesn't want to do it again (for family reasons etc.), get ready for Lynam to run the show. I mean, he has lasted through multiple coaches and staffs. He didn't get canned with Mo, being asked to be DiLeo's sounding board, and he got retained by EJ (was this forced by the FO due to the budgetary constraints?). That seems to be the only way that they don't have to spend any more dough by giving it to Lynam.
Of the two possible "low-cost" options, INHO Chris Ford is twice the coach Jim Lynam is!
Lynam or Ford? Makes sense although it would be fascinating/disruptive to have Ford coach a team with AI still on the roster. Can't imagine there wouldn't be at least one-two flares up between these two.
I guess we'd find out fast then whether we're dealing with a "new" AI or not! But considering how things have changed since then & the "non-disruptive clause" in his contract...who cares! Especially now with LWill healthy & the fact that Jrue needs more minutes anyway!
man it feels like "back to normal" with the sixers. no expectations whatsoever.
Just wondering. Wasn't Dileo brought in to evaluate the personnel on the roster? Based upon that analysis EJ is hired to put his system in with this personnel? Where was the disconnect there?