 Wow, Sacramento Is Bad The headline is the biggest takeaway from this 34-point massacre. As currently constructed, this Kings team is putrid. They have a few bright spots, I was impressed by their two young bigs, Spencer "Hee" Hawes and Jason Thompson. After the jump we'll take a close look at how the Sixers attacked the Kings early on, how they combated the zone and also a new rotation from Mo Cheeks.
First things first. From the tip, I decided to see what plays the Sixers ran on their first ten possessions. In the past, Mo has gone to Sammy and Willie Green early. For Sammy, it was to get his head in the game. For Willie, I think it was to see if he was going to be hot that night. Tonight, Mo did something very smart, he went to his real players early and often. Here are the first ten plays and the results:
With a 21-12 lead and 4:12 left in the first quarter the Kings switched to a zone out of a timeout. It lasted about 5 trips down the floor, this is how the Sixers attacked the zone:
I was much, much happier with Mo's rotation tonight. Mainly because he got Speights on the floor in the first quarter and gave him some burn when it actually mattered. Saying Speights needs to be starting instead of Sammy at this point in his career is just silly. He's young and he needs a lot of polishing. What I saw tonight, however, is a guy who just may be the future at center for the Sixers. He displayed his soft touch from 18 feet and in, but more than that, he displayed the athleticism to be a disruptive force on defense. He only had 4 points in 22 minutes of work, but his 3 blocks and 2 steals illustrate how he was all over the floor on defense. One steal came on an inbounds pass at the end of a quarter. He stole the pass and hit Lou for a three. Big play by a rookie in that situation. Two of his blocks were monster rejections as well. Perfect timing, excellent height and body control to get the ball and not the man. The other new guys, Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall, put on a show from three-point land in garbage time. They hit 6 of 7. On the game, the Sixers shot an unreal 10/13 from three (76.9%). It was garbage time, and neither team was playing defense, but that fourth quarter really should've opened Mo's eyes. If teams decide they want to play zone against the Sixer, he needs to get those guys in quickly. They can absolutely knock down the open three and they need to play a bigger role on this team. When teams start to aggressively double Brand, which they will do, all it takes is a couple of threes from those guys to loosen the D up. Speaking of threes, how about Thad? 2/2 from deep tonight, just a drop in the bucket of his 18 points on 8/14 shooting. Thad's offensive game is really improving day in and day out. I actually thought he forced up a couple of shots in this one, but he still shot 57% from the floor so I don't know how you can argue with that. One more thing I need to point out. Early in the first Kevin Martin was having his way with the Philly D. He dropped 10 quick points with Iguodala on him. After a timeout, Mo made a move. He switched Thad onto the lightning quick two guard. From that point on Martin scored 4 points. You really can't say enough about the kid, he's going to be great, like perennial All Star great. Player of The Game: Thad Team Record: 2-2 Up Next: The Miami Heat, in Miami, on Wednesday. 
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Should we be worried about Sammy yet?
No more than usual, I don't think. We only really need to worry if he starts to pout because he's been marginalized. As long as he's playing hard, there's nothing new to worry about.
Hard to get excited over a win over the Kings...BUT...I am impressed with Thad. He is just so lonnnngggg --no wonder he gave Martin fits. In a couple years this guy is going to be the Sixers best player on both sides of the floor. Speights looked good...but he does look like a baby out there. I mean he has a full grown body but he just looks soooo young. He should grow some facial hair or something. Give him that badass look !
I think he has the potential to be a Tayshaun Prince type of lock down defender.
The Kings are absolutely awful... like, worse than the Knicks awful. We needed to pound them to dust and we did. So, mission accomplished.
Mo definitely needs to get Speights and Rush into the game and, as necessary, reduce Willie and Reggie's minutes. I like Reggie, so I'm not suggesting he should be sitting at the end of the bench. But Speights has SO much potential and he arguably already has a better offensive game than either Reggie or Sammy. Rush is just deadly from the outside and, if he knows what's good for him, he won't become a total black hole like Willie. He'll take (and make) his shots when they're there and pass when they're not.
Oh, and Sammy... yeah, wow! I've know eighth graders with better hands and better understanding of the game. He literally gets by on his height and athleticism and that's it. Nothing more.
Finally, what to do with an athletic $80 million shooting guard who really can't shoot? Mo really has his work cut out for him.
I'd love to see Thad drop down to the four, Iguodala move to the three and Rush come in at the two when good teams try to zone up the Sixers. Quick ball movement and a power forward who can shoot the three would punish them.
Iguodala is fine. The whole team, in fact, is fine. The only problems, to me, seem to be outside shooting and Willie Green. Both so far have been great, but neither will last.
Also the defense has underperformed at times.
I loved the Cheeks post game by the way. He basically said that it goes against his previous basketball knowledge, but he has to play Speights more because he deserves it. He also said that he made a mistake with Thad last year and that he is going to try to not allow that again.
Iguodala hasn't really had a good game yet. I mean, you can't call last night a bad game or a good game, just a decent 23 minutes, but other than that it's been pretty rocky.
He's taken a back seat in both of the wins, only took 5 shots last night, which could be seen as a good sign, doesn't care about his stats. Still waiting for a breakout game from him, it's coming.
Those comments from Mo are music to my ears. By the end of the season our fourth quarter lineup is going to be Speights and Brand up front with Thad, Iguodala, Miller/Lou. I can't wait, either.
Outside shooting is a big part of the game. You can't jam and lay-up 100% of the time.
The rotations need to be better so either Thad, Kareem, Donyell, or perhaps Lou (when he's hitting) is always on the floor to keep the defense honest. You can't take Thad out, slide Iggy down to SF, and bring in Willie Green and Lou Will. The ball movement stops completely and, unless either Lou or Willie is hot on that given evening, you have a recipe for total disaster from the outside.
Completely agree. Willie and Lou have glue on their hands and the offense just dies. The other guys may as well not be on the floor.
That occurred to me last night at some point, Brian. Give Brand a breather and slide both Thad and Iggy down to make room for Kareem at the 2. Now that's something I'd like to see. Of course, the lineup wouldn't have either Willie Green or Reggie Evans in it, so I don't know if Mo's brain is capable of making it happen. ;)
I want to see more of what Ivey has. Anyone else feel the same way? This guy is essentially our #2 PG from what I am seeing right now, since Lou has been really bad thusfar.
Ivey definitely deserves a look. All the new guys do. They need to get some meaningful minutes now so Mo can figure out who best fits where in the rotation. The thing that's really worried me is that in tight games, he's gone strictly with the guys he knows from last year, Lou, Willie and Evans. He needs to get comfortable using the new guys in those situations.
Yup, some combination of Thad, Iggy or Miller with a hot shooter need to be in at all times to make sure the offense is running smoothly. We can't have lou and willie in the backcourt together for prolonged periods. I think Mo will eventually get the rotation straight and avoid this. But it's encouraging that they've embarrassed to horrific teams. There was something business like about it - kind of refreshing, really.
A couple key points you guys are overlooking about Green and Lou. They make a LOT of money compared to Marshall, Ivey or rush--
There is NO WAY they are going to sit players who earn that much for minimum wage players. You have to keep the owner of the team happy. After all...the coaches picked these guys when it came to contract time...if they fail its on them.
I dont agree with it...but thats NBA business. Having said that...i think Green has been pretty good. Lou--not so much. I would love to see green score 12ppg and look good enough that they could unload his contract on someone.
Lou's contract is on Stefanski, so I buy the argument there. I also think Lou should be playing. Green and Evans, though, were both BK guys. I doubt management really cares how much they play. If Green's contract wasn't so bad, he probably would've been shipped out by now.
Im not really down on Evans. I know when I was in philly to see them play detroit in the playoffs he was a big key to the game. He just came in with crazy energy...
It could just be me but hasnt Willie played pretty well this year ? I dont watch every minute of every game but he seems to have performed well...hasnt he ?
Having said that...ur right...he is BK's guy but what can you do with a guy like him ? If you dont play him he has zero trade value...tough spot for the sixers Mo will have to find a way to work in Ivey and Rush.
Willie Green is Willie Green... he's neither good nor bad... and he could definitely be a contributor (though not a starter) on any number of teams... just not ours.
The short answer to any question about Willie Green is this: There simply isn't a place on this year's team for him. We should trade him for practically anyone just to get him off the team and create space for more playing time for Kareem and Donyell. Honestly, the only thing this team truly lacks is shooting... and Willie Green is WAY too sporadic in that department to provide meaningful help in this area.
We'll win a ton of games with a nine man rotation including Miller, Lou, Iggy, Kareem, Thad, Brand, Reggie, Sammy, and Speights. Donyell isn't a part of the rotation, but he can be an excellent "secret weapon" for us. Willie, on the other hand, fills no need and thus has no place anywhere in our current or future plans.