Could it be? Dougie has the Sixers doin the Dougie?

ATTENTION, WE HAVE A PULSE!!! I couldn't be anymore excited the Sixers have won 3 out of the last 4 and the game they dropped to ATL they controlled the whole game but just let it slip in the 4th...

So what this mean, it means that Coach Collins is finally getting these guys to listen to him and buy into his system, the Sixers have jumped from 27 to 23 on the nba.com power rankings and as they state the Sixers have won four strait at home and play 5 of their next 6 at home!!!

Currently we are 6-14, if we continue playing the way we have the past week and a half getting back to .500 shouldn't be that much of a stretch. Here comes the kicker though, some people may make the argument that we should just continue to lose and get a high draft pick for June's draft, that would backfire greatly. If we let our record slide the best draft pick we would potentially get unless we got lucky would be 6-9 and in this upcoming very thin draft that would not be the smartest play. Even if the Sixers sneak into the 8th playoff spot in the east that still would create a fan buzz around Philly that there hasn't been in quite some time.

Dre Iguodala Trade Watch

So far nothing official has come out about Dre's trade status, there has been a ton of speculation but Rod Thorn has kept things very hush hush. One of the most talked about trades has been Dre for OJ Mayo, if we could pull off that trade that would be a fantastic move for the team, and it would give us our first Elite scorer since the Iverson era. Alot has been said about Cleveland and their 14mil trade exception that they got when they lost Lebron, I really cannot see any trade working with them more than just draft picks, they have nothing to offer us that will fill the void left by Dre.

-Jack

Panic Room

This is the blog I was hoping I wouldn't have to post this year...

*Tear* *Tear* This I thought I would never say, I think its time for Andre Iguodala to go. In the city that known for being quick to panic the Sixers have started off 2-8 and things aren't looking any greener. We are once again rebuilding, therefore I do not see why we should rebuild with Iguodala's contract. Dont get me wrong I love Andre Iguodala, and I have stuck up for him on more than a few occasions, but he is very limited offensively. Offense has been a problem for the Sixers ever since the Allen Iverson era, we have not had a go-to scorer for quite some time.

That's why I propose we package Iguodala and Thad Young in a trade for a scorer. I love Thad as well but they did not pick up his extension and I much rather trade him now and get something for him then watch him walk at the end of this dismal season leaving us with no compensation.

The state of this team right now is not good. They aren't playing good defense, they're interior defense with Hawes and Brand is dreadful, they cannot score at all, and Coach Dougie Fresh has the "Psycho T Disease" aka Vertigo. At least there has been a few good things coming out of this season.

1. Elton Brand looks like hes 25 again posting 20 and 10 on a nightly basis.
2. Jrue's game has come along after a sketchy 3 game start, he has been averaging 12pts 11ast in the past 7 games.

3. Louis Williams is proving to be a huge boost of the bench and is a leading 6th man of the year canidate.

So what kind of deal do I think the Sixers can make for a scorer or big man?

I think we could swing a deal to the rockets, Iguodala, Young, a 2nd round pick, and future cash considerations for Kevin Martin and Jordan Hill. We could hit up Sacramento again and give the same package to them for Donte Greene and Carl Landry or Jason Thompson.

Right now we just have to dump off Iguodala's contract.

For now we just need to hope and cross our fingers that the season can somehow turn around...

-Jack

Sixers are Traders

Weight of the world off our shoulders

First off let me thank Willie Green for just being a super classy human being during his time in philly and for being a good go to bench player, he will be missed, and thanks to Jason Smith whom talents were never fully seen because of injury setbacks. Thankfully the Sixers dumped off the last bit of luggage on the way to being what i can only believe to be the youngest teams in the NBA. They got rid of Willie's large contract and got a steal of a rookie in the process. Songila we know what we are getting with him a solid forward off the bench who wont play that much but isnt a hazard to have on the court. The real part of this trade is the acquisition of Craig Brackins, a talented big man out of Iowa State. He fits in perfectly with Coach Collins system in which the big man is a play maker. He has beastly post moves and can strech the floor with his range and shooting ability.

Trade Rumors

There are lots of rumors out there right now about where Carmelo Anthony will land... One I have gotten wind of many times is the possibility of sending Andre Iguodala, Thad Young, and future draft picks to Denver for Carmelo. Even though I am a huge Iguodala supporter this move would send this team from a lower level playoff team to a Eastern Conference Champion contender. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope this trade pans out.

Training Camp

If you are reading this blog that means that more than likely you are more then the average Sixers fan, which means i can assume that most of you watched the 1st days worth of training camp footage on sixers.com. You may have noticed something while watching THAD YOUNG IS RIPPED, i didnt think it was possible to gain that many pounds of muscle in that short of an amount of time but he pulled it off he looks ready to dominate in the post at the power forward position for Dougie Fresh.

According to Coach Collins all the players came into yesterday's camp in incredible shape, they all passed their mile run times with ease and even had a few times that were impressive, Evan Turner came in 1st, Mo Speights beat his time last year by almost 2 minutes, and in a shocker Spencer Hawes beat Speights' time which has me thinking.... is he really that fast at 7foot?!?! If he is he is going to exceed my expectations for him this year which are already pretty high. Hawes looked good in practice it seems that Coach Collins likes to have him make plays on offense judging by the amount of times the ball went through him on plays.

Even though in Collins' interview he said not to dig to deep into who started on which team today i couldnt help but notice that Evan Turner didnt practice with the 1st team today which leads me to believe that there is still a hangover from his less than stellar performance in Orlando... Just something to think about.

Teach Me How To Dougie

If you notice in the videos Coach Collins seems to be quite the teacher, unlike how Eddie Jordan was last year when he just barked at the players. Coach Collins seems to really care about these players and how they develop. I see him as being a strong leader and motivator, he should excel with this team.


As training camp progresses I will post more, 6 DAYS UNTIL THE 1ST PRESEASON GAME!!!

-Jack

Immmm Backk, Lou Will, Training Camp

After quite a long hiatus the sixers blog is back!!! I felt no need to write about the big NOTHING that happened in the off season with the team after the Spence trade and the so called life changing draft...

Since Training camp is approaching in little under a week I thought I'd write about some things that need to be under the microscope during this camp.

1. Even though every year is a big year as a pro sports athlete i really feel like this is Louis Williams' "Shit or get off the pot" year. He really needs to carve himself a spot in this rotation, as it looks right now he must fight Willie Green for the 1st pg/sg off the bench. He has a rather large contract for someone of such low production, he missed a huge opportunity last year when he was handed the starting point guard role but eventually lost it to the future superstar Jrue Holiday who im not gonna lie i am quite bias for. He just needs to beat an aging Willie Green to see time on the court.

2. Evan Turner must prove what he could not in summer league.... THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY PRODUCE IN THE NBA!!! He confirmed my worst fears during preseason that he was not the NBA ready player that he was promoted to be and that he is more of a project. I am hoping that it was just that he wasnt in good enough shape because he was trying to avoid injury before the draft but i dont think that is the case.

3. Spencer Hawes must show early that he is a starting center, even though this will be a fast paced team we need some sort of tall man on the court that can rebound, spread the court and play some D, i dont think i can handle trying to watch the sixers force Brand into being a center again in a fast lineup *gag*. Brand is a clear powerforward and must outplay Thad YOung to see significant time.

4. And last but not least and the topic I am most certain about... can Douggie Fresh (Coach Collins) be a motivator for the team and have Andre Iguodala blossom into the superstar that he is??? Yes he can


Just wanted to throw this in before i leave... CONGRATS to Dre Iggs for becoming a world champion and helping USA run a train through the Worlds... I believe that experience will help him 10-fold.

Will post alot in the future during training camp and of course the PRESEASON!!!!

-Jack

Bandwagon Fans, Soccer, Dalembert Trade

After a couple news-less weeks i'm back!

I dont know bout everyone else but did anyone ever notice the amount of flyers fans there seems to b now?..... hmm i wonder y? Maybe because they made it to the Stanley Cup finals, i personally hate hockey it doesnt do anything for me to watch it. It just pisses me off to not see 1 orange flyers shirt all year then they make it to the cup and now all the sudden everyone is riding their dicks.

Same goes with soccer, there is ZERO soccer fans in the US thats y the MLS pro league doesnt do well here, but this stupid ass world cup comes around and all the sudden all the people who have joined me in saying that its the girliest sport in the world besides field hockey suddenly love soccer and call the world cup "the most important sporting event in the world"... umm no... fuck that the most important sporting event in the world is the Olympics obviously...




Now that I got that off my chest back to whats important.... Sixers! Yesterday when i was at work a co-worker of mine gets an espn text message saying "Samuel Dalembert was shipped to the Sacramento Kings for Spencer Hawes, and Andres Nocioni", it was the best news I have received all summer and the best trade the Sixers have made in recent memory. For those who dont know Nocioni may never step on the court in a Sixers jersey.. he has been contimplating going overseas since mid last year and was thrown in the trade by Sac in order to clear cap room.

The Gem we got in the trade was 7-1 Center Spencer Hawes from the University of Washington. I have seen this kid play a ton, McDonalds all american team, when he was at school in Washington during their cinderella run, and even games on the Kings. He was even a player on my NBA fantasy team 2 years ago during his breakout season and half of last season. Hawes was a coveted post player by the sixers when he came on the scene 3 years ago but was picked #10 (the sixers had the 12th pick). Hawes is a phenomenal passer for a big man, he runs the floor well, shoots mid range jumpers consistently, and can knockdown the 3. 2 years ago he was a solid defender but his defense seemed to regress last year in his diminished minutes under a terrible coach in Sac's Paul Wesphal. I think with the right coaching he could fit into a great fast paced team of (Holiday, *Turner*, Iguodala, Young, Hawes) making up a possible Phoenix Suns of the East lineup. Douggie Fresh Collins has had nothing but good things to say about Hawes and i believe that he can mold Hawes into a great starting 25-30min player for the Sixers. All-in-all this was a tremendous trade clearing 6.6 million in cap space for this season and delivering a big time talent, and if Nocioni stays we get a 6th man and tenacious defender who can knockdown the 3.

Draft....

I still am backing up what i said about trading down, turner is a fantastic player, but not a good fit for the sixers. If you go to sixers.com and watch his private workout that he had the other day u'll notice he has a slow releasing jump shot that comes from behind his head, given that, his lack of a vertical leap, short arms, and distance struggles he could have a rough transition to the NBA. It also would give us an awful 3pt shooting back court. I think trading down is a possibility even tho it seems like Stefanski is sold on Turner. We will find out soon enough, the draft is on Thursday and i expect to see the sixers making moves, even if the take turner @2 i think they will make moves to get another pick either late in the 1st or early 2nd to address a possible back up point guard and another center because Hawes is a talent but not a guarantee that he will pan out.

This most likely will be my last blog until the day after the draft unless a trade happens, LETS GO SIXERS and lets hope Stefanski can give us the help we need to make a run in the playoffs next year!

-Jack

1st Blog, times are a changing in Philly

Im not coming into this claiming to know everything about the Sixers or trying to convince you that my opinions or projections are always correct, I just want to spark a voice for the Philadelphia 76ers that I think they have been lacking ever since the mid 2000's. I want to excite people about the Sixers and have everyone get trust back in the Sixers through this blog since there are so few of us die hard Sixers fans out there these days.

First I want to confess the opinions I have been wrong about in the past..

1. I thought that Eddie Jordan was a good hire as a head coach last year. It was no secret that the Sixers were lacking 3pt shooting and offensive tempo, Jordan had been known to have some success offensively in his career. He also preached more defense which was a main point that the Sixers needed to address. As we know now he was a terrible hire on Stefanski's part and just did nothing for the team they regressed about 17 games from the year be4 with virtually the same team minus Andre Miller.

2. I thought Elton Brand was a good signing. No one can lie about this everyone was excited about this signing, i was just another very dissapointed fan about this pickup, we are stuck with a huge contract and an older player who seems to have lost his passion for the game or testicles, not to mention he seems to get hurt almost as frequently as Greg Oden.

3. I thought the team could get it done this past year without Andre Miller, I was wrong about this, I had expected for Lou Williams to slip into the starter role very easily after learning the game for the past few years and displaying scoring promise and actually be a 17-20pt scorer but boy was I wrong, Lou seems to be lost on the defensive end nightly, takes very questionable shots, and has not displayed the point guard passing skills needed to be an impact point guard in the NBA.


Now that I have showed some of my non-finer moments in opinion history lets focus on the team as it is now. First off Doug Collins, im not going to lie i was VERY skeptical of this hire at first. Lets look at his credentials he has not coached in the NBA in 7 years, despite a pretty impressive career season record he has a losing record in the playoffs. I was pulling for Avery Johnson who has been an ultra successful NBA coach who was fired shortly after having one of the best records in the NBA by a trigger happy Mark Cuban who wouldnt know a good coach if he sat in his lap (*cough* Rick Carlise *cough* are you shitting me). Avery has the best winning percentage of any coach currently coaching in the NBA with a minimum of 250 games, he even beats out the mastermind Phil Jackson. All signs pointed to an easy decision for the Sixers but they instead decided to pursue Collins.

After watching all 3 parts of Doug Collins press conference i have full faith in him as a coach and I am pumped to have him here, as Grant Hill said he is a superior motivator and gets his players to play with passion and pride something the Sixers have been lacking (*cough* Elton Brand *cough* Samuel Dalembert). Hell i got motivated just listening to him in the press conference. He also preaches a defensive minded team and actually has good defensive numbers for each of the teams that he has coached. He also preaches being a 1st class teacher of basketball, and with a young nucleus of Holiday, Young, Speights, Iguodala, Meeks, Williams, and the soon to be #2 draft pick I think that he can easily teach them a thing or two and turn this team around and even should i dare say it make the playoffs next year?!?!

Draft

I truly believe that Evan Turner is an absolute beast and will be possibly better than John Wall in his NBA career, but I believe as others seem to not that the Sixers should go in another direction in the draft (shocking isnt it). There have been reports that the Minnesota Timberwolves have offered the Sixers there 4th and 16th pick for the Sixers #2 pick. Lets face it Evan Turner is as close to a complete player as anyone in this draft but has 3 main things that i see wrong with him 1. He cant shoot that well, he was playing PG in college and at 6'7" he had a serious advantage and that may have inflated his numbers, but he just flat out is not the shooter the Sixers need. 2. He isnt a great defender, the Sixers desperately need some scrappy defenders and Turner just flatout isnt one. 3. and finally i was very disappointed in Turners wingspan measurements at the draft combine he only measured about an inch i believe longer than his height which is below average for the NBA, and as it has been said he is not a superior athlete he is just average maybe slightly above which makes him succeptable to being blocked and giving him a disadvantage on the defensive end. Thats why I think the Sixers should trade their pick, sure he is a beast and will most likely be great in the future but he isnt what the Sixers need.

With the 4th and the 16th pick in the draft the Sixers could address 2 needs, a shooter/defending SG and a Center who isnt the most inconsistent player of all time aka Samuel Dalembert. With the 4th pick the Sixers could take Wesley Johnson from Syracuse who is an excellent defender/shooter and just all around beast who has shown that he can improve dramatically in 2 years a la his transfer from Iowa State to Syracuse and a candidate for national player of the year this year. He would give us possibly one of the best defending back-courts in the eastern conference with Holiday and Iggy. With the 16th pick Sixers could go for the little known Marshall 7footer Hassan Whiteside who has an upside the size of his wingspan (over 7'5"). He is a beast athlete who is becoming polished on the offnesive end, he brings something that Dalembert cannot and will not produce and thats blocks without fouls. Whiteside last year in college averaged 5.4blks a game while only committing 2.4fouls per game those are redic numbers.

All-in-all the Sixers have a great young group of guys and however they choose to go in the draft it will significantly improve them. I will be updating this blog frequently so check back for more as we approach the NBA draft on the 24th of June. Feel free to comment on this and voice ur opinions especially on the draft. I promise not many of my entrees will be this long, thanks for reading!

-Jack