 One Year Ago Today This season was meant to be more. Depending on who you ask, much more, but even the doubters thought the Sixers would best last season's 40-42 record and climb the ladder in the East to some degree.So far, that hasn't been the case. As the holidays (and a game in Boston) loom, I thought this would be a good time to look back at where the 2007-2008 Sixers stood on this date. On December 23rd, 2007, the Sixers stood at 11-16. They had fired GM Billy King, they hadn't traded Kyle Korver just yet, and they were coming off a thrilling win in Memphis. You remember it, Andre Iguodala hit the game-winner over Mike Miller. Those were simpler times as a Sixers' fan. There were no expectations, there were no dreams of titles. There was only a young roster with no identity and a couple of potential bright spots. It's funny how much things can change in one year. This year, on the same date, they have a 12-15 record. One game better, but the outlook seems so much more bleak. Let's take a look at the numbers through 27 games, we'll use the four factors (see explanation here).
One thing jumps out at me here, the Sixers have been a better team on the glass on both ends of the floor this season, even though Reggie Evans' minutes have been cut from 25 per game all the way down to 10 and Sammy playing 7 fewer minutes per game. The eFG has dropped by almost a full percent (which could be partially explained by Kyle Korver's absence), but the opponent's eFG has gone up, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Every other factor is trending up for this season. Here's the problem, though. Around this time last season there was a big change for the better. When Kyle Korver was traded away, Thad Young started getting more minutes and the team began to run. They came together as a team and you know the rest. This year, they're heading into their 28th game with Elton Brand on the shelf and a big question as to whether they can return to the style of play that made them so successful last season. On top of that, they have a unbelievably tough stretch of games coming up. So while the numbers aren't that ugly, as compared to last season at this time, and they do have one more win to this point, the road from here is going to be difficult. Who knows, maybe Speights will be this year's Thad. Maybe by the time Brand gets back the team will be running on all cylinders and he'll be easily incorporated into the team's style, rather than trying to force-feed Brand's supposed style to the rest of the roster. The 2007-2008 Sixers finished the season 29-26 from Dec. 22 on. Will this year's version be able to come close to that? What do you guys think? 
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Sure, I imagine we'll play slightly above .500 the rest of the way unless we trade Miller. But I do kinda see us going 1-5 (and maybe even 0-6) on this road trip, so it could be tough.
This trip sure looks like a killer going in, doesn't it?
Who knows, maybe they fixed Iggy's shooting mechanics over the past couple days of practice.
Brian, what specifically are you noticing about Iggy's mechanics when shooting? I don't seem to comprehend how he gets such high arc on his shots, with "bad mechanics"? I feel like his shot is his shot, he gets streaky like most shooters do. He isn't a pure shooter so he will never put up numbers like that. I feel like it comes down to his aggressiveness/assertiveness. When he is in attack mode, he scores in bunches and if he cant he makes the team better with his all around play due to his passing/rebounding/defending skills. Hes an above average passer/rebounder/defender so I think its all about getting him into that attack mode as much as possible. When he is in that mode even if his shot is not falling it will give us the best chance to win.
Just to be clear, I really like Iguodala as a player. His all-around game is excellent.
I'm not a shooting coach, but I think the fundamental flaw with his jumper is his footwork. He rarely squares his feet up to the hoop, and he almost never has his feet underneath him when he shoots. Often his left foot is in front of his right and he almost seems to walk into jumpers with his lower body. The proper way to do it is to have your feet underneath you with them spread about shoulder width. His follow-through is often thrown off by his sketchy footwork.
There was an article earlier in the year about the work Mark Price did with Thad this Summer and it talked about how he starts from the ground up to rebuild shooting mechanics. I think that's what Iggy needs. His foundation needs serious work.
As for scoring, his aggression is key and we're also seeing his FT% soar (over 90% recently), both good signs. He definitely seems more comfortable at SF.
Good point Brian on Iguodala's left foot being in front of his right foot. I have some old fundamental tapes at the house with Bill Walton and Red Auerbach teaching on them, and for a right handed shooter the right foot should always be positioned more forward than the left one while remaining square.
Although he plays for the enemy with tonight being a good example to watch, check out Paul Pierce. He has his right foot more forward than anyone in the league right now and he has always shot like this. Others shoot properly, it is just that his is so obvious and pronounced.