The prevailing thought running through my mind as I saw the Sixers B lineup fall behind by double digits to the Nets in the second quarter was, "There's no way Jordan is going to survive a blowout loss to the Nets." It actually cheered me up, momentarily.
This was, without a doubt, the worst basketball game I've ever attended. The Nets are a woefully bad team, the Sixers played like one. Eddie Jordan spent the bulk of the first half sending a message to his starters and then trimmed his rotation to seven after the break to squeak out a win over a team that is chasing the record for most losses in a single season.
Don't let the 83-79 final score fool you, this wasn't a defensive game. In fact, it was decidedly offensive. Meaning it should've offended anyone watching. Two NBA teams, both over the salary cap, should never put on that type of display.
The Nets were missing arguably their best player and they've done pretty much everything in their power to ensure a 25% shot at John Wall. I'm not sure what the Sixers' excuse is. Apparently, the first half was entirely Jrue's fault, because Eddie's big adjustment in the second half was to remove Jrue from the starting lineup in the third. I believe this is the second time he's done that this season, so good for you, Jrue. I hope you enjoyed your 8 minutes of glory.
I haven't had the stomach to go back and re-watch the game on DVR yet, but I will tomorrow night and I'll post the rotation chart at that time. I only have a couple of casual observations concerning the on-court activities:
- There wasn't a whole lot of communication going on out on the floor. After Brand hit a jumper in the first quarter, I heard AI say, "Yeah, EB." Iverson followed that up by yelling, "Shit, man!" at the ref when he was hammered on a drive to the hole and there was no whistle. I saw this on DVR and you can hear it, you can also hear me yelling at the ref right after him. In the second half Sammy got called for a phantom foul jockeying for position with Lopez and he said, "What did I do?" Otherwise, Jordan did a lot of unintelligible yelling, mostly trying to get the attention of guys who didn't seem to care what he had to say.
- Andre Iguodala had his third straight sub-par game, and tonight I really noticed that he's just not part of the half-court offense anymore. More and more, Jordan is calling isolation sets for Iverson or Lou. Brand is getting infrequent touches in the post, and they're running a little bit of weave and heave, but for the most part, Iguodala is camped in the corner on the weak side waiting for the ball to be swung, but it never is. He gets the ball when a play is called for him, and it was usually a back-down or dribble drive that he used to draw two men and kick to an open shooter, who missed the shot. He doesn't seem like himself, I'm not taking the blame off his shoulders, I'm just pointing out that Jordan either realizes this and he's intentionally cutting him out of the offense, or he's exacerbating the situation with his play calls.
- Willie Green hit the side of the backboard twice on open shots. Can't say that I've seen that done at the NBA level before.
- I stopped counting missed layups by the Sixers when I reached 10, sometime in the first half.
Now that we have the game notes out of the way, I'd like to talk about the Izod Center for a second. If you haven't been to a Nets game, I have to say I recommend it. First of all, I got unbelievable seats for about a quarter of face value. You can actually see me in the picture at the top of this post if you squint. Second, the entire game is like a bizarre freak show that builds its momentum until the break between the third and fourth quarter when the floor is stormed by a troop of the freakiest characters you've ever seen.
It's like a
Hieronymous Bosch painting, and that is not an overstatement. Here's the cast of character:
- A fox carrying a gun (t-shirt cannon).
- An overweight dwarf in a fox suit running around antagonizing referees (wearing number 1/2). And I'm not being insensitive, I'm pretty sure he was a dwarf as opposed to a midget.
- A group of diminutive male tumblers with either dreadlocks or Nets-colored mohawks.
- A group of heavily muscled female tumblers with five o'clock shadows.
- An emcee who is apparently named "Glorious" and doubles as the PA announcer (He announced the lineups standing on the court, something I've never seen before).
- The Nets dancers, dressed head-to-toe in black lycra to hide...well, there's no nice way to put this. One of the dancers had to be 6-months pregnant.
- And finally, the most Rubenesque Nets dancer was on stilts for the entire affair.
This group invades the court as soon as the buzzer closes the third quarter and spends the next three minutes dancing, tumbling, falling as the case may be and cajoling the fans to show some interest in the terrible product the Nets are putting on the floor. Oh, they also throw t-shirts wrapped up like burritos. It's quite the scene.
Player of The Game: Null? I mean, does anyone really deserve it? OK, I'll give it to Sammy for keeping his string of 10+ rebound games alive, despite only playing 28 minutes.
Team Record: 16-31
Up Next: The Bulls on Wednesday at the Wach.
By the way, if ownership was on the fence about firing either or both of the Eds, this "win" should've pushed them over the edge.
The game was dreadful. So I hope you at least got some photos of the freak show.
And it looked like the Nets were keeping pace both with missed layups and with the general failure to give -- by force of will -- a f*ck.
Until the trading deadline concludes and Iggy learns his fate; i expect Iggy will continue to put out these 39-cent stamp performances. i can't blame him though; his coach is terrible, and most of the fans regard him as a overpriced glue guy with an albatross of a contract...
Brian, I was at the Sixers vs Nets game at the Izod center earlier this year, and I couldn't agree with you more about the freak show entertainment they put in. I never thought I'd longingly wish for the Wachovia Center, but I did.
I laughed out loud at your description of the freak show. Thanks for that. Your accurate comparison to the painting was about the only thing positive you can take from this game.
Has a coach ever been fired after a win?
You can tell it was a horrible game from the photo! I've never seen 4 players clumped together like that when a shot's being taken. Lopez & #8 look like they've never seen a shot before.
Did you see the piece in the Boston Globe yesterday?
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2010/01/31/spirit_of_76ers_again_is_hitting_rock_bottom/
The writer assumes that the players "just don't fit". I'm so sick of this cliche. Sometimes it's true, but a good coach will find a way to get the right players on the floor. Jordan cannot do this.
I think tonight is the meet & greet(players, coaches & GM) with season ticket holders at the Franklin. Maybe, once past this they will move on and change the coach and possibly GM.
Was surprised that after a 4-for-5, 9-point, 4-rebound second quarter, Carney only played 33 seconds in the second half.
You've watched EJ all year. I doubt you were "surprised." Just because it made little sense does not make it surprising where EJ is concerned.
I first noticed Iguodala's lack of involvement in the halfcourt offense in the road Indiana game on 1/23. I said then, and still say now, that it's a waste to have him stand in the corner while Iverson and Brand do their thing, but that's really what his role is now. It's eerily similar to what he was in 05-06 when Iverson and Webber were around. Ironically, the role Iguodala is in right now is the role that 90% of Sixer fans want him in, 3rd option. There may be something to it: the Sixers are 4-16 this year when Iguodala has 15 FG attempts or more, 12-15 when he doesn't. (However, he only attempted 15 FG once in 15 games in January.)
The one piece of bad body language I've noticed is that when Iverson has the ball, whether on the break or in the halfcourt, Iguodala immediately runs to the weak side, as if he's not expecting to get the pass (and he usually doesn't), and he doesn't attempt to get open for a pass unless Iverson gets into trouble on his dribble. Generally, I think it's fair to say that Iverson, Iguodala, and Brand all need the ball to be effective on offense, and there's only one ball to go around.
This was one of my exact fears when they added Iverson, Iguodala back to the 'Iverson days' where he just deferred and stayed out of the way.
Trade nonsense don't help
Lou had a decent game. Carney was nice off of the bench.
Yes Lou, you did have a good game. Kudos to you but just remember that it was against the worst team in the history of the league and your still a scrub.
Greek. Lou isn't a scrub. to say he is makes you look like an idiot.
No little C, Lou is an overpaid loser who doesn't play defense nor does he care about playing defense. This is really you right Lou? Your a god awful player, your like a younger speedier Willie Greene!
Hmmm you're use of your is impressive
Lou is not overpaid and he is not a loser. He plays good team defense but is not a good man to man defender. I see no evidence that he does not put forth the effort to be a good defender. In fact he has improved as a defender as the year has progressed. He will continue to get better at it. He will never be able to defend 6'6" guards effectively. In those situations you have to switch the match up or bring the help.
...or not complain when the GM demands Jrue become a starter over him because he's a terrible defender.
I don't know why you think he's even capable of playing good team defense. It sounds more like you can admit the fact that point guards over power him or blow by him, but you're still trying to support his overall game by insisting he plays good team defense.
As I said in a previous reply to one of your comments, you can see he is terrible in all aspects of defense through game by game observations:
1.) Watch next time how often he loses track of his man.
2.) Also watch how he doesn't know his opponent - oftentimes he gives too much space to good shooters.
3.) Struggles to get through screens or doesn't rotate effectively (Although it also has to do with a poor defensive system and an inability to communicate. However, if he wants to be a starting PG, he needs to possess the latter of the two).
Right now he has a better offensive game than Jrue, but there is a reason the guy got benched - defense
Also, I'm actually in favor of him not starting over Iverson simply because I don't think he's a starter in the NBA. At best he's a sixth man.
Spot on analysis Jeff, couldn't agree more. Good team defender bad onball defender is a metaphor for shitty defender. His contract sucks as bad as his court vision.
ive never seen a team look so miserable after a win; watching them on the bench, youd think the sixers were about to be marched off to their own executions
Discovered this blog a few months ago, read it everyday, love the conversations on this page...but Brian I just had to say your description of the Nets mid-quarter shenanigans had me in stitches...truth really is stranger than fiction, so it would seem. :)
I know that we all are assuming that were going to get bent over on our impending trade, just because we always get bent over on trades dating back to the days of Moses. But if there is a bidding war on Iggy, doesn't that put us in a position of power? Not here to debate whether or not Iggy should be trades, just saying that if he is we should get something good for once.
It really depends on what the team values. If all they value in this deal is the almighty dollar, then the bidding war is a bit of a joke. If they're looking for the best package of expiring deals, we're screwed. We're also talking exclusively about playoff teams so the picks we could get in return are essentially useless (excepting utah, who owns NYK's first round pick this summer).
If the team is looking for multiple young pieces that fit team needs, I'm not sure I see those types of guys available from any of the teams we've hear mentioned.
Even though I wrote that optimistic post, I think that we will get hosed. I have zero confidence in anything the three headed clown system of Snider-Stefanski-and Jordon do.
I heard that Sacramento is another team that's in the Iggy mix and get this, there sniffing around Sammy!
Let's go to the trade machine shall we.
Philly trades to Sac.
Iggy
Sammy
Sacramento trades to Philly
Kevin Martin
Spencer Hawes
and prodigal son Kenny Thomas
I would do this deal, would you guys? Hawes has been on the Kings managments shitlist ever since he skipped out of playing in the summer league. And the Kings haven't had a shot blocker/rebounder since Webber was in his prime.
kevin Martin, injury prone, shooter, not passer, not rebounder, not defender - not a step up from Iguodala - stupid contract length
How is Spencer Hawes better than Speights right now?
Kenny Thomas - I never ever want him on the sixers again - not even for a little while - one of the few 'good moves' bil King accomplished (after signing that god awful deal) was to get rid of him for a shorter contract
You mean "three Ed'd."
No, I just want expirings and picks. I don't really want Kevin Martin on my team unless it's clear that he's the second option, or at least the second best player on the team, the way Joe Johnson is the second best player on Atlanta. He's not really that efficient and he doesn't defend or do anything but score. And I'm not sure if we'd be able to afford a first option with him on our team.
Wait, Kevin Martin's not efficient?
Maybe if you're only going based on this year, which has been mostly injury riddled. And even then he's as efficient as Igudoala is on average.
His previous 4 years he posted a ts% above 60% with a usage % in the mid to high 20's.
By comparison, Iguodala's career TS% is 55%.
(On a more straightforward example, last year he averaged 24.6 points on 15.9 field goal attempts, or 5.8 more points on 1.9 more field goal attempts than Iguodala).
I have concerns about Kevin Martin, mainly staying healthy and defense, but he's ultra-efficient. He gets to the line a TON, hits in the upper-80's, and makes 2+ three's per game and above 40%. He's pretty much the definition of efficiency, actually.
He'd be great next to Iguodala, unfortunately that'll never happen.
Efficient Scorer or non efficient scorer isn't really my concern (though nice to see he's efficient) - it's that he doesn't do much else does he?
No, not really But I was only arguing his offensive efficiency.
that part i got - just checking if my impression of scoring but not much else was accurate :)
The Sixers want to dump contracts. Primarily to save money and avoid the tax. Secondarily to rebuild.
But if rebuilding was their primary priority they would not be looking to trade Iguodala, who is their best young player. I could see them maybe having to trade away a good young player like Iguodala in order to find a taker for Brand- but from all accounts Brand will remain on the roster.
So my expectations in this type of trade are very, very low. Absolutely best case scenario is that they get back a young player who is not that well regarded now, but develops into a good talent- sort of like how the Grizz landed Marc Gasol in the Pau Gasol trade.
At the time of the trtade Marc Gasol was just drafted with the 48th pick (2nd round) and was pretty much a throw in. he has developed into a solid starter. So it would be similar to if the Sixers get Buddinger and he develops into a starter.
But given the Sixers are unwilling to take back much salary, odds are we get nothing more than player or picks in the late 1st/2nd round vicinity. But maybe Dileo can identify players at that range with potential.
Of course, after the AI trade the Sixers sold one of their 1st round picks for cash.
At the time - people thought the Grizzlies got gang raped by the Lakers - everyone knew it was a cash dump and the fact that jerry west at one time worked for both franchises didn't escape my notice.
The Grizz got lucky that Gasol panned out, no one expected that from him.
So our best hope is that the sixers seemingly get treated like a girl at a ZBT party but somehow found out afterwards that they got lucky and struck gold?
If the best the sixers can hope for is a pau gasol type trade, we as fans should just give up
How is a cash dump being raped, though? I never got that. They got a lot of cap space, which enabled them to trade for Zach Randolph, got really bad and were thereby enabled to take Mayo (and Thabeet, who may still pan out, and now they're an up-and-coming team. Trading Gasol for talent would have gotten them where, exactly? Best case scenario, no better than they are now. And probably not that good. Dealing Gasol for nothing got them Randolph, Mayo, and Gasol's brother. That's way more than what they could've gotten in talent up front. We're not going to turn Iguodala into better talent - at best you get equal value and that makes us no better than we are now. So you get worse, and in doing so, have the money and the picks to get a lot better.
A cash dump for one of the best PF in the league, lottery luck and then six months later you're trading for a PF anyway?
The stunk before they traded Gasol - why not just keep Gasol (and come on, Thabeet? Seriously...let's not talk about him like he's good or something).
The grizz got lucky that Gasol panned out and that Randolph behaved this year (which no one expected him to do either)...hindsight is awesome - but at the time people thought the trade was awful and it was always suspicious that no other team got to 'make an offer' - kind of like how the phils dealt cliff lee away too quickly (also involving to a team involving a former GM)
I just think that by definition, cash dumps are never awful. Unless you don't plan on spending the cash. They got worse, they got lottery picks, they got money to spend and spent it. That team was never going anywhere with Gasol. Today, they're a defensive philosophy and another piece away from maybe contending.
Another piece plus a replacement for zach randolph plus hoping thabeet develops past what's expected and re-signing Rudy Gay
I see MAYBE one of those happen.
Why can't they re-sign Zach? He's overpaid now, as well as he's playing. Of course they'll have to give much more money to Gay. But I think Gay's the guy that might be the most replaceable. I mean, how much worse will Sam Young be than Gay in two years? Is Gay ever going to get much better? I'm not so sure.
Explain the difference between where Memphis is right now and where the Sixers have been the past two-plus seasons. I don't see how they're any better off than we've been even after their cash dump. Are they beating anyone in the playoffs, if they even make it? No. Do they have a superstar? No. They're going to have to make a decision on Rudy Gay this summer. Then they're going to have to make a decision on Zach Randolph next summer. If they keep either or both of them, they're locked into this roster, which really has a ceiling of a first round exit, and probably wouldn't even reach that most seasons. So again, how has the cash dump transformed their franchise. They were woefully bad for two seasons following the deal, now they're up against the cap and pretty much at the top of their potential. Yay. So we can trade away Iguodala for nothing and be right back where were last season, if we're extremely lucky, in 2012.
Okay, maybe Memphis isn't the greatest model. I just don't think that dumping Gasol for nothing was a horrible move, anymore than dumping Iverson for nothing instead of Andre Miller would have been a horrible move. What a team goes on to do with its money and lottery picks once it gets them is the hard part, and Memphis obviously could've drafted better last year, and perhaps would've been better off not bringing in Randolph this year, though he has made them a decent team for the moment. Basically, I think we draft very well and believe that if DiLeo were given top 5 picks to work with the next couple years, we'd end up with a pretty solid foundation. That and free agency.
Fuck, Memphis isn't even in the playoffs if the season ended today. That's even worse.
You value Zach Randolph over Rudy Gay?
I'll ignore that
Heisley wants to sell, he's positioning to sell, you don't give out long term contracts when you're trying to sell your team. I don't believe Memphis is more than a one year blip because they'll let Rudy and Zach go...and then go with youth until they become restricted free agents and then let them go again (or hope the NBA can really screw over the union in the new CBA, I'm looking forward to that year long lock out) - they're the Marlins of the NBA, you just can't win a title that way
Things could be worse (or from the drafting perspective, better):
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/basketball/nets/83225372_Nets_notes__Team_has_visit_from_motivational_speaker.html
I would rather be NJ than us.
Even if you'd have to live in New Jersey? Eeeww
Well, no.
I'd pay for league pass.
If you want a laugh - Sam Smith ahs a new article about how Elton Brand could end up in Washington DC
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_100201.html?rss=true
We should trade for Leandro Barbosa, he is a part time Navi from avatar....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8D9ksRJ5PY&feature=player_embedded
I saw that earlier today - i still don't wanna see the movie - but nice pardoy by mr nash
You should see the movie, it's more enjoyable then watching our shitbird Sixers play. My favorite part was when he scared the shit out of Lopez
I'm sure a lot of us don't want to acknowledge last night's game, but I feel that Jordan's rotations were amazingly poor. Jrue obviously didn't shoot well, but 9 minutes (per ESPN)? Willie got 29 minutes and he was 3-10. Thad and Speights were a combined 1-15, wow. That's on them, but how does Sammy not get 35-plus minutes? He only had 3 fouls at the end of the game so that couldn't have been the problem. He usually does a nice job with Lopez too. It sounds like he did a bad job with this game as well. Carney played well in the 1st half, but Willie gets the nod.
Good post! I really like it! Thanks
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