I have to be honest, I didn't believe the Sixers had a loss in them tonight. Not against the Knicks, at home. I mean, this team has been bi-polar to some degree for the past three seasons, so I fully expected them to snap out of this disgusting streak and take care of the Knicks in a laugher. It started out that way, then Edward Jordan said "tank" and Andre Iguodala said "How hard?"
To be fair, Iguodala's effort level was never in question tonight, though his shot selection certainly was. 22 shots is too many for Iguodala most nights, when he can't hit the broad side of a barn, it's doubly so. Jordan's sin (or gift, when get right down to it) was severely limiting Elton Brand's minutes. Brand scored 7 points in the opening 7 minutes of the game, and clearly had an advantage over the string of stiffs the Knicks used to cover him. Brand's work on the defensive end was, what's a nice way of putting this, apathetic. He had no chance on Danilo, but on the offensive end, he was their advantage. Keep that in mind.
The Sixers pretty much dominated the first half, and led by 11 at the break. EFJ must've had some mighty inspiring words in the locker room, because that lead was gone midway through the third, and turned into a 4-point deficit heading into the fourth. It was basically all downhill from there. The Knicks finally put the game out of reach with about two minutes to play, and pushed the final deficit up to 10. The Sixers have made a habit of losing games by double digits ever since Jordan said something like, "We're really not that bad. We never get blown out," right around the All Star break.
The story of the second half wasn't the Sixers defense. Holding the Knicks to 50 points in a half isn't all that bad. The story was the Sixers' complete ineptitude on the offensive side of the ball. After exploiting his advantage early on, Brand sat all but 7 minutes in the first half. In the third and fourth quarters combined, Brand took three shots and only got the ball in the post one time that I can remember. The Sixers took long jumper after long jumper in the half court, they ran no offense. Jordan seemed to think Willie Green would repeat his unconscious performance from the first half, but anyone who knows Willie knew that wasn't going to happen. So instead of using the pick-and-roll, or even minimal ball or person movement to shake free for high-percentage looks, the Sixers settled for long jumpers, usually contested, by guys who simply couldn't hit them for the duration. 14 points in the third quarter, 15 points in the fourth quarter. 29 points total in the second half, that was the result.
Either Eddie Jordan is the worst coach in the league, or he was intentionally trying to lose this game. My vote is for both.
Here's your rotation chart:
A few more notes to tide you over:
- Iguodala played 14 minutes at the 4, 16 minutes at the 2 and 13 minutes at the three. He finished with 17 rebounds, 12 defensive. That's a monster effort. Don't ask about Thad and Brand.
- Jrue played a really solid all around game, 18 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers (one of them was complete BS. He hit Jason Smith in the face with a pass, but Smith wasn't paying attention). He was only 2/6 from three, though. So he dropped his percentage a bit. He needs to learn not to take those desperation threes in garbage time.
- If Lou was available in the second half, I'm about 90% sure the Sixers win this game.
- How stifling was the Knicks' interior defense? Well, they blocked 0 shots all night. Still, the Sixers were content to heave jumpers.
Player of The Game: Jrue. Willie gets the first-half nod for lighting it up, but you knew it wasn't going to last.
Team Record: 23-44
Up Next: vs. NJN on Wednedsay.
I hate rooting for the Sixers to lose but at this point winning more won't help in any fashion. All it does it take away from our chances to get a crack at the top talent in the draft. Jordan has already messed up the development of Thad and Speights. Jrue is showing something but his defense has slipped lately (maybe with all the emphasis on O). May as well keep EJ until the end of the season.
A couple of years ago everyone was pretty hopeful about our young core but it seems those days have passed...
A half assed effort like last night won't get it done against the Nets. EJ will have to marshal all of his efforts to pull out the loss.
Looking for season ticket-holders (full or partial) to ask a few questions (anonymously or with your name) for possible article in paper. Please e-mail me at tmoore@phillyburbs.com. Thanks in advance.
After hearing Phil Martelli's refreshing insight on Postgame dead/live, I'd like the Sixers to interview him for the job after the season. After one year with veteran assistants he could certainly handle it. Good piece in DN from Jasner regarding coaching candidates.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/sixers/20100316_Phil_Jasner__Sixers_should_be_making_a_coaching_list__checking_it_twice.html
Martelli was great last night...i was laughing hysterically when he dead-panned 'Ummm, I won't be able to make it wednesday night for the Nets game. I am having preventative root canal surgery.' Donny Ice and Barkann couldn't contain their laughter either. It was classic!
76ers fans in NYC have three games to watch this week (i'm so glad I didn't drop even the meager couple of hundred on league pass), and for me, these games will be very telling on many levels. I know a lot of you guys have watched most games this season. I thank God that I haven't. So here's the question: at this point, who's mailing it in? And moving forward, is this a factor in who you would like to see on the roster next season?
most of the mock drafts have Xavier Henry falling out of the top 10, and rightfully so. i guess they saw the same things ive been talking about. this is good as the sixers wont be tempted to use a 7 or 8 pick on the guy.
for those of you that want to start analyzing the draft, this THE source. it is linked to every mock-draft website. Many are not updated regulary..... i think the most reliable sites are the ones updated frequently. there are a bunch near the top of the list that I have been following.
http://thehoopdoctors.com/online2/2009/02/mock-draft/
Sadly, I don't think EJ was trying to lose the game. If he were, wouldn't he have substituted Meeks for Iguodala in the 4th? (So much for the "play Meeks" directive.) As it was, Iguodala in this game was a one-man tanking strategy. The Knicks were just daring him to shoot, playing 3-4 feet off him. He would be well-served, no matter who is coaching him next year, to follow Josh Smith's lead and ditch the 3-pointer as a regular part of his offensive game. Also, I don't doubt that Iguodala dislikes Jordan as much as anyone else, but I'm surprised he doesn't care at least a little about his own stats, the way he was chucking up wild jumpers last night. The last 3 at the buzzer, that barely drew iron, captured his night perfectly.
Getting into the tanking spirit, if the Sixers can get "past" these next two games against the Nets and Knicks, they have a clear shot at a 1-16 March ...
Iguodala needs to work with a shot doctor this summer. Just break down the mechanics and rework the whole thing. He's not at Josh Smith's level yet, but he's quickly approaching it 32% you can live with. 29% is just atrocious.
Iguodala needs to work with a shot doctor this summer. Just break down the mechanics and rework the whole thing.
I hope it's possible, but haven't we heard for the last two offseasons now that he was working on his jumper all summer? From a historical standpoint, I really can't remember anyone at this level reworking his jumpshot and getting significantly better. I read a lot about Corey Brewer this year, but I see he's at 42.6% (same as Iguodala) right now (though an okay 35% from 3). It may just be that Iguodala will be one of those players who never has a consistent jumper, like a Drexler (best case) or a Ron Harper (a "star" who became a good role player for the 96-98 Bulls).
The one thing players who don't shoot jumpers consistently can do is to improve their shot selection. Nobody is complaining about Josh Smith's jumper this year, because he's shooting 51% and still getting his points. Or, from Iguodala's own past, his 44.7% in 06-07 was a lot more palatable because he drew a ton of fouls (actually making more FTs than FGs that year) and shot his FTs well. The worst thing for Iguodala would be to continue to try to become a knockdown jumpshooter, to the abandonment of his penetrations into the lane. Actually, that might be the biggest detriment to playing him at shooting guard: the term "shooting" guard makes him thing he needs to shoot jumpers.
Their is a mental issue here- and one that you cannot blame EJ for.
Iguodala sees himself as a superstar. he believes he can be a high volume scorer and can win games with his jumper. He said as much last week, also saying, "he just has not had the opportunity." I respect his self confidence, but I worry he feels he needs to prove that he really can carry a team.
Prior to this season, Iguodala had made a nice progression after assuming the mantle post AI. But the combined effects of EJ and losing Miller have unmasked the weaknesses of this team. And one of them is Iguodala is really a nice complementary player, but not one that can be called on the carry an offense.
Sure, most fans know this, but are you certain that Iguodala does?
I am cofident Iguodala is willing and able "to play the right way" as he is fond of saying. But until they have a scorer/star that he feels willing to defer to, I expect him to be even more willing to try and shoot his way to wins- even if it has the reverse effect.
Hasn't Jordan said recently, "We keep trying to get Iguodala to shoot more?"
Iguodala sees himself as a superstar. he believes he can be a high volume scorer and can win games with his jumper.
Well, I don't remember that he's ever said that he can take over and win games with his jumper. The progression that you speak of in 08-09 was in being able to finish at the rim (on non-dunks). He's taken a major step backward at doing that this year, partly because of a lack of repetition (since the mindset encouraged by the PO and the coach is to take open jumpers). During the playoff runs in 07-08 and 08-09, he was able to take over games by playing the attacking style best suited to his strengths. In fact, he scored 30 in both the playoff-clinching wins in 07-08 (vs. Atlanta) and 08-09 (vs. Detroit). But never, at any time, did he do it by shooting primarily jumpshots.
So, I would disagree with you that Iguodala can't be the #1 scorer on a good team (that's not exactly what you said, but there are very few players who can singlehandedly "carry" an offense), but I definitely agree that he'll never do it by shooting jumpers.