Yankee Stadium is just starting to fill up. There's about an hour before the first pitch of Game 6 of the World Series between the Phillies and the Yankees. There's plenty else to think about tonight, but if you're a 76ers fan, you're probably still thinking about that 105-74 loss last night to the Boston Celtics. If we're blogging about it 55 minutes before this game, from the Auxiliary press box at Yankee Stadium, in the cold fall night, then there's still a lot left to digest.

I don't think anyone thought going into the game that the Sixers needed a victory. They didn't. But I do think there was a sense that they needed to show a little something. And they didn't. It's too soon, much too soon, to really stop and scrutinize why the Sixers are playing poorly thus far -- it could change in a week -- but it would be ridiculous to say there isn't a reason for concern. If you look at the first 4 games, there really isn't much reassuring. The Sixers were embarrassed by both the good teams they played: The Orlando Magic and Boston. Not just losing, but being down more than 30 points. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 1-2, the Sixers trailed at the half. Against the New York Knicks, who are 1-3, the Sixers gave back a 23-point lead, allowed 41 points in the fourth quarter, and beat New York in overtime.

The most productive the Sixers have looked has come in transition, but that part of their game has yet to really unleash. If you noticed against the Celtics, power forward Elton Brand tried once in the second half to finish in transition by himself, but he bobbled the ball against Rondo and ended up 1 for 2 from the free-throw line. It seems they just aren't busting out into the open court like they did last year. Is that Brand's fault? Is it Jordan's fault? Is it just an over concern with running the offense? You have to acknowledge that Brand does not aid the Sixers running game. That's just a fact. He needs to accept this and always give up the ball to Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala on the break. The Sixers just aren't going to win many games if they don't score 20-25 points in the open court. Bottom line.

Again, it's early in the year, but this lack of defending the perimeter has been happening for years. In the losses to Orlando and the Celtics, the Sixers allowed 30 of 49 from the three-point line. Those numbers are absurd. When you talk to the Sixers afterwards, you get little answers. Is it a lack of understanding the principles? Is it a lack of effort? Iguodala said it's neither. He said it's just a lack of communication. Right now, you just don't know. There are new players, it's a new system, and you can't say after four games that there's a huge problem. They could just as easily come out and win a few difficult ball games. But in a month, the answer that it's "communication issues" is going to become old for those following this team who watched an entire season last year with the same problem. Along with this issue is the Sixers inability to make three-pointers. The trend right now is having big forwards who can knock down outside shots. It's no mystery why the Sixers won't ever be a team that can go 14 for 20: They don't have players like Rasheed Wallace or Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu. That isn't their makeup. Maybe they shouldn't be shooting 16 three-pointers a game? Maybe more like 8-10, with half of those being attempts from Jason Kapono? 

There appears to be a disconnect among the Sixers starting lineup. Here's a few observations: 

1.) Thaddeus Young seems to be forcing shots. He started last season with the hot hand, shooting like 50-60 percent from the three-point line after a few weeks. Clearly, he doesn't have the hot hand to start this season. He appears to be forcing a lot of shots, like he has something to prove instead of waiting for the types of plays that got him here: run outs on the break, offensive rebounds, etc.

2.) Will the Sixers ever figure out how to play with Elton Brand? Or will he just have some games where he scores 20 points, and others where he scores 6, and the Sixers never look like they should with him on the floor? 

3.) This isn't from the starting lineup, but Willie Green's minutes have been slashed. He doesn't seem, to me, like the type of player who's going to be productive for you if he doesn't understand his role. Last season he started and he knew he'd play maybe the first 6-8 minutes of the game. He knew he could score at the start of a game. But now, he's sitting entire halves. Also, Jason Smith isn't doing nearly as much as it looked like he might be capable during the pre-season. His minutes have been limited by Marreese Speights' productivity.

Pretty soon, Jrue Holiday is going to need more minutes.

--Kate

Maybe because it's a World Series off day, tonight's 76ers game against the Boston Celtics at the Wachovia Center will draw a little more attention than their home opener on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Plus, it's the Boston Celtics, who are 4-0 so far this season with those victories being relatively convincing. The Sixers are 2-1, with a loss to the Orlando Magic and a win each over the Bucks and the New York Knicks.

After what happened at Orlando, the Sixers should be looking at this game as a way to show they can compete. Wins over the Bucks and Knicks don't stretch too far in that department. Tonight's game doesn't have to be a victory, but it would say something if the Sixers were in the game from start to finish. And if not, then they're still in need of proving exactly where this team will be this season. Here are a few things to watch: 

1.) Lou Williams vs. Rajon Rondo: Wrote about this in this morning's Inquirer. Williams' numbers through three games are All-Star level. Rondo is averaging 11.5 assists a game. Both guys are crazy fast and athletic. It'll be interesting to see Williams in a starting role against a team like the Celtics. He's said lately that he's specifically concerned with his turnover numbers. He's actively keeping them low and challenging himself to go games at a time without one.

2.) Elton Brand: (and, of course, Kevin Garnett): Brand has played very well the last two games. Against the Knicks on Saturday night, Brand had a plus/minus number of plus-33. That's incredible, obviously. His jumper has looked decent and he's been very effective. Tonight will be good to see if he can keep doing that against a much better team. He didn't look too good against the Magic in the opener.

3.) Celtics' defense vs. Sixers offense: The offense looked good enough against the Knicks, but the Knicks don't actually play defense -- it seems to be part of their philosophy to not play defense. The Celtics are one -- if not the NBA's best -- defensive team. Could give us an idea of how the Sixers will run this offense against a strong NBA team ... and a smart NBA team.

4.) Jrue Holiday. He's only played in one game so far this season, playing 7 minutes and scoring a bucket. I think fans want to see a little bit more of Holiday and I get the impression that as the season progresses, we'll see more of this kid. As far as tonight goes, first thing will be to confirm he's off the Inactive List (and Brezec remains on it).

If you want faster updates, follow Deep Sixer on Twitter. Click here: Deep Sixer.

More later ...

--Kate

Elton Brand working on his jumper.

*Check out the Deep Sixer video in the player at the right, it's Eddie Jordan's post-game assessment of last night's win over the Milwaukee Bucks and Lou Williams doing his shooting workout before tonight's game. Also, if you want to follow Deep Sixer on Twitter, click here: Deep Sixer.

Expect a crazy night here at Madison Square Garden: Knicks home opener, Halloween, Saturday night in NYC. All those things. 76ers (1-1) vs. Knicks (0-2).

Game 3 of this 2009-2010 season. What do we know about the Sixers so far? Hmmmm ... not enough. Very little. Still stuck between that blowout loss to the Orlando Magic and a less-than-convincing home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Not as if tonight's game is against an imposing team, either, but the Knicks are dangerous since they shoot threes every other possession and run-and-gun under Mike D'Antoni.

The one thing I thought became clear last night against the Bucks was that the Sixers absolutely need to get out in transition. The half-court offense just isn't clicking yet and if the Sixers are going to pick up some wins while they work on that offense, they need to score at least 20 points on the fastbreak. You could just see last night, when they got the opportunity to run, they appeared much more comfortable. With the basketball, Andre Iguodala is one of the fastest players in the NBA. Chances are good we'll see a crazy up-and-down game tonight. Sixers have to make sure the pace doesn't get carried away, cause we could see the Knicks go off from the three-point line.

Power forward Elton Brand looked much more effective on Friday night than we've seen him so far this season. Not sure how much of that was because the opponent was the Bucks. Tonight shouldn't be too different since the Knicks inside game doesn't actually exist. Brand played his best pre-season game of the season against the Knicks, so I'd look for Brand to score in the 18-22 range again tonight.

Taking a look at the statistics after two games, a few things stand out: 1.) Lou Williams has 8 assists and 1 turnover. I would not have guessed that, not for a second. Looking at the Lou-at-point experiment after two games, you have to think he's done a solid job on the offensive end. I still think he needs to prove he can contain upper-echelon point guards for 35 minutes a game, but an 8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ration is outstanding. (Watch him have like 5 turnovers tonight.) 2.) Jason Kapono is doing exactly what he was brought in to do: play about 22 minutes a game and hit the open three pointer. Right now he's playing 23 minutes a game and is 4 for 7 from the three-point line. You can say, "Oh, well, it's only two games into the season." Not sure, really. My guess is he'll end the season shooting about 45-50 percent from the three-point line. That's not exactly putting myself out there since his career percentage is 45.4 percent entering the season. But that three pointer he hit last night against the Bucks, with about 3 or 4 minutes left, was the back breaker. The Bucks had cut it to a two-possession game and Kapono ended the game with that shot. Sixers haven't had a player who could consistently do that. 3.) Speights is shooting 78.6 percent from the floor. I predict that percentage will drop. (This is sarcasm for anyone unfamiliar with sarcasm in print.) 4.) Willie Green has played only 16 minutes in two games. We knew last season he wasn't a starting two guard in the NBA, but more of a role player. I'm surprised, too, at those limited minutes. I'd expect to see more of Willie tonight -- like 15 minutes total.

--Kate

Check out the video of Lou Williams talking about his performance in the video player at the right. If you want to follow Deep Sixer on Twitter, click here : Deep Sixer.

The 76ers are currently practicing here at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. They returned after last night's not-very-good season opener at the Orlando Magic. The game was eventually a 120-106 loss, but it was much worse than that. The Sixers scored 37 points in the fourth quarter, the Magic scored 20.

It's hard to think of exactly how to assess last night's performance. The Sixers didn't necessarily play any tough opponents in the preseason, so clearly last night's game was a challenge to begin with. It was an embarrassing night, but does it mean the Sixers are that bad? Tough to say. They look that bad. Hopefully for Sixers fans, seeing the Sixers against the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night at home will be an improvement. If it's not, then we'll have plenty about which to talk.

Here are a few thoughts from last night: 

1.) Lou Williams needs to play better defense. We know he can score. We know that on the offensive end he can be an impact player for this team. But, last night, Orlando's backup point guard Jason Williams was the reason the Magic bolted ahead in the second quarter. Williams is not staying in front of his guy. On one particular play, Williams was guarding the Magic's Williams on the left wing. There was sort of a soft brush screen just inside the wing involving Elton Brand (not an actual on-ball screen because the play was in transition). Orlando's Williams gave Lou a slight hesitation and went directly to the rim, laid the ball in for 2 points. As the ball bounced out of bounds, waiting to be in-bounded, Brand looked at Lou like "exactly what kind of defense was that?" If the Sixers are a defensive team first and foremost, they can't have their point guard allowing direct penetration to the rim.

2.) The "Big Three." That's what Sixers coach Eddie Jordan calls forward Thaddeus Young, swingman Andre Iguodala, and Brand. He's talked for much of the preseason about relying on these Big Three. It was only one game, but all three of the Big Three disappeared: Young was 3 for 9 with 8 points. Brand was 2 for 7 with 8 points. Iguodala was 3 for 11 with 8 points. If these are your go-to guys (and of course they are) they can't all be scoring 8 points. They're trying to run the offense, yes, but one of them has to assert himself at all times.

3.) Marreese Speights. The numbers are impressive: 26 points in 26 minutes off the bench. But let's not jump to the conclusion that these were 26 points in a regular NBA game. Many of these points came with the game already decided. And when it counted, Speights was struggling to defend Dwight Howard. More to the point, he had no chance at stopping Howard, who just backed him down in three dribbles and scored or dunked the ball. Speights can score, of course he can, but he's also giving up a heck of a lot of points on the other end. So let's not, just yet, start the "Start Speights" campaign.

I suppose what we learned last night is that the 76ers are, at this moment, nowhere near the caliber of team like those at the top of the Eastern Conference. What we'll learn tomorrow night against the Bucks is where they stack up against a run-of-the-mill NBA team.

--Kate

Tiger sitting courtside tonight. Because who doesn't like a Tiger Woods picture.

*Addition: Rookie Jrue Holiday will be on the Inactive List tonight.

We're here at Amway Arena. It feels as if the city of Orlando is excited about this season. The city is buzzing and "expecting big things" according to the security guard at the media gate. If you want to check out downtown Orlando and what's happening right outside Amway, check out the video in the Deep Sixer video on the right. Or, if you want to check out an on-court video from about 6 p.m. tonight with Tony DiLeo, Thaddeus Young, Dwight Howard, and Patrick Ewing, that should also be in the player on the right. If you want to follow Deep Sixer on Twitter, click here: Deep Sixer.

Tonight’s season opener against the Orlando Magic might be the most intriguing first game the 76ers have played in some time. Obviously it will be nearly completely overshadowed by Game 1 of tonight’s World Series, but nonetheless it will be interesting – for those following the opening of this NBA season – to see how the Sixers handle their first test with so many new factors, so much possibility, and so many concerns.

It’s not as if the Sixers are opening the season against the Sacramento Kings, a game which, if the Sixers won, would tell us very little about where they are. They’re playing the Eastern Conference champions, the team that they last played in a meaningful game. This could possibly give us some indication of what the difference could be between last year’s team and what this year’s team hopes to become.

 Here are 5 storylines that should be fun to watch tonight:

1. Lou Williams vs. Jameer Nelson: Want to know if Lou Williams can excel as this team’s starting point guard? The answer to that question begins tonight. Williams faces Nelson, who is coming into his own and was an all-star last season before his shoulder injury. If I’m watching this game (which I will be), I’m not looking for Williams to necessarily out-play Nelson, but prove he can defend, for 35 minutes, a guard of Nelson’s caliber.

Williams is an NBA scorer. We all know this. There shouldn’t be doubts about whether he can create shots for this team. Or, really, if he can run this offense. The point guard doesn’t run this offense like he would run other offenses. Iguodala will start the offense about as often. The thing with Williams tonight will be: Can he keep the flow, for the most part, in the Sixers favor? Can he run the tempo?

2. Andre Iguodala. This week, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan has said many things about Iguodala: He’s the team’s best player, he’s a superstar on the cusp.

During the pre-season, we didn’t see Iguodala play at this level. There were reasons given. Iguodala, who had a lot of turnovers, said he was making passes that he knew would be turnovers to show teammates open options in the Princeton Offense. Let’s hope this pays off. Iguodala’s jumper didn’t necessarily look any better in the pre-season than we’ve seen it in recent years, but he spent the summer shooting, so I gotta think we’re going to see a higher shooting percentage from Iguodala. He’s also clearly been given the mantle of team leader. With that, one would think, would come some accountability for on-court action: less complaining to the referees, more acceptance of blame for bad plays, less negative reaction to struggles.

Certainly, tonight, there will be stretches where the Sixers look not so good. How well will Iguodala pull them through it?

3. Princeton Offense. I’m not sure I can go into more detail than this. We’ve been talking about the Princeton Offense for most of the last month. Those on here know the challenges and benefits. No excuses after tonight’s game that they were “testing” certain things and “holding back” on options they’ve learned.

4. What will be Elton Brand’s role?  It’s evidenced it will be less than what was initially expected upon his signing, but was the pre-season an indication of how many touches and shots Brand is going to get? Throughout the pre-season he was consistently the team’s 3^rd or 4^th option.

It’ll be interesting to see tonight how many touches the Sixers get him – and not just at the high post, but on the block where he is more comfortable. It didn’t seem he was effective going against a post defender in the preseason. His touch on that jumper of his wasn’t as soft as we’ve seen it. Tonight’s game could be the first chapter in this season’s Elton Brand story. I’ll be curiously following his numbers.

5. The rotation. The pre-season is never conducive to deciphering exactly how a coach plans to use his bench, although I think we received a better glimpse than other teams. It seems Marreese Speights will be the first big man off the bench, Jason Smith right behind him. We’ve seen Jason Kapono come into the games early as well. Willie Green will likely be the first guard off the bench.

We'll be back after the game ...

--Kate

The 76ers practiced today at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. They're taking tomorrow off, then they'll be back in the gym Monday and Tuesday before flying to Orlando on Tuesday afternoon for Wednesday's season opener against the Magic.

Once again, the Sixers would not allow Marreese Speights to speak to the media about the current situation involving former Temple star, and recently waived Sixer, Dionte Christmas. Speights practiced. The Sixers official stance on this right now is still that they are "aware of the situation, but no comment."

As for basketball, the Sixers are coming off a preseason-ending, 110-88 loss to the New Jersey Nets on Friday night on the campus of St. John's University. The Sixers finished the pre-season 5-3. If you want to hear Sixers coach Eddie Jordan talking about why he was pleased with Friday night's game -- as well as the pre-season -- you can check out the video in the Deep Sixer video player on the right. If you want to follow Deep Sixer on Twitter, click here: Deep Sixer.

I've been getting e-mails lately asking for a straight-up assessment of where this team is right now. Exactly how well are they running the Princeton Offense? Are we getting the real version of the team in the pre-season or are they holding back? How did they actually look Friday night? 

All very good questions.

Friday night was one of the more confusing games to cover because I thought I watched one thing -- not very good basketball by the Sixers -- but then spoke to Jordan, who seemed very happy with the effort and said the main goal was to stay healthy and get some other guys some minutes. He said he wasn't really worried about the score. This early in the year, I think it's fair to go with what Jordan is saying: Don't worry about what Friday night looked like, wait for Wednesday, for the real product. Until we see the Sixers in a regular-season game ...

If I was going solely off of what I've seen in pre-season games, I'd say the Princeton Offense is in its infancy and the team is struggling -- mightly -- to run it effectively. But there are other factors: options they've installed that they weren't running because there were about 10 NBA scouts at every pre-season game, the fact it's pre-season, the fact there's nothing for which to play, really. But these reasons only stretch so far: You're still sitting there watching a team completely out of rhythm. If that's just a facade ... it's a nicely played one.

On Friday night, in what is supposed to be a "pass-and-move" offense, the Sixers were doing far too much dribbling, and even more one-on-one stuff right in the middle of the shot clock (not even at the end of it).

They looked good in practice today. Mostly, when we watch them in practice, they look crisp and effective. It's in practice where we see the backdoors and movement that makes this offense so fun to watch. In talking today to Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young, they both seemed to think they had some options they'd be using in the regular season that hadn't yet been shown. Also, Brand said he felt the offense wouldn't really be where it needs to be until Thanksgiving.

More on Monday ...

--Kate

Royal Ivey working out before tonight's game.

We're here at Carnesecca Arena on the campus of St. John's University in Queens, N.Y. The 76ers are playing the New Jersey Nets in about 90 minutes, their final pre-season game before opening Wednesday at the Orlando Magic. Sixers are 5-2 this preseason, the Nets are 0-6.

We've been Tweeting much of the day on Twitter (which is where you Tweet). If you're not yet following, and you want to follow, click here: Deep Sixer. I just got back from the court where assistant coach Aaron McKie was working with Marreese Speights (who will play tonight, but will not be made available to talk to the media), Rodney Carney (who will play his first pre-season game tonight after missing the first 7 with a strained hamstring), and rookie Jrue Holiday (who I have nothing else to say about, but didn't want to leave him out of the fun of parentheses). If you want to see what the arena looks like and what's happening here in Queens, you can check out the video I just posted in the video player at the right. It's called "St. John's." There's also one from this morning's shootaround of Speights.

After Wednesday's cuts of Dionte Christmas and Brandon Bowman, the Sixers are down to their roster of 13, all of whom are under contract. I talked with Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan this morning. He said the team has played this entire pre-season with winning in mind.

"Our whole makeup was to perform as if it's a game to win," Jordan said. "It shouldn't be any different on Wednesday when we play. There hasn't been any diversion from the style and what our approach is. It wasn't like, 'I'm going to play you 15 minutes because it's the pre-season.' We didn't hold anybody out, we needed to play unselfish teamwork and know how to execute on both ends. That's why we stayed, pretty much, with the regular rotation. I threw in the young guys we made a move on, but other than that we've played with our top 10, 12 guys."

At this morning's shootaround, Jordan kept the team there for almost 90 minutes. For the last 15, they were working through a new option in the Princeton Offense. After last pre-season game, which was overshadowed by the very-bad call at the end of the game, the Sixers really need a strong performance within their offense. In that game, which was against the Washington Wizards, the offense looked, um, .... not good. Even this week at practice, the players -- specifically Jason Kapono -- said they did not play well that night. After the game, Andre Iguodala said it "can be a struggle."

So, tonight, with the roster standing how it most likely will on Wednesday -- barring some unforeseen move -- the Sixers can concentrate solely on what they need to do. All eyes tonight should be on the offense and how they are able to execute within the Princeton. I sound like I'm on repeat with that, but it really is the major concern.

--Kate

I just spoke with Dionte Christmas' agent, Andre Buck, who said his client was released early this morning. Buck said that he spoke with Christmas briefly and plans to see him later today. Buck said that the next step in this process is a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

If you need the details of this story, click here: Dionte Christmas arrested.

Buck said that it's "hard to convey" how is client is feeling, but that he's OK. Buck said, as of right now, Christmas' basketball options remain intact.

"We were and will continue to evaluate some of the opportunities that he has," Buck said. "There was nothing so immediate that we would have been leaving today or yesterday, but we are going to evaluate everything ... the lovely part about our great country is innocent until proven guilty."

"Things happen in life and we'll deal with it. He's dealt with a lot -- nothing of this nature -- but he's a positive person."

Sixers still have no comment about Marreese Speights' role in this situation.

--Kate

I went to 76ers shootaround this morning at St. John's, hoping to get a minute with Marreese Speights. In case you missed the news, click here: Dionte Christmas arrested. Right now, this appears to just be an inconvenient situation for Speights as there is no legal action against him. The Sixers and coach Eddie Jordan said this morning Speights is expected to play in tonight's last pre-season game against the New Jersey Nets, although the Sixers will not make him available to the media tonight, either. The official word coming from the Sixers is they are "aware of the situation but have no comment at this time." Calls to Speights' agent, Andy Miller, have so far this morning gone unreturned.

I watched about the last 35 minutes of shootaround and Speights looked the same as usual. The only notable difference was at the end of shootaround, Jordan brought the huddle in tight and the team appeared to be getting some words from Jordan about the situation. Afterwards, Jordan confirmed that.

"We spoke in the huddle about the situation and I don't want it to be a distraction to him," Jordan said. "He's going to be distracted just because of human nature. We want him to feel free, usually when you come to the basketball court you free yourself from all other distractions."

Jordan said he found out about the situation last night and has yet to speak directly with Speights. Jordan said he might not address it directly with Speights, so as not to distract him further. 

"We're just going to wait until the NBA and our front office comes to some sort of resolution and action after all the facts have been sorted out," Jordan said.

After the huddle broke, Speights went and sat on the scorer's table. He was quickly surrounded by teammates. Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala said the team found out about the situation today.

"We weren't even talking about that, the situation," said Iguodala when asked what was being said to Speights. "We were talking about what comes with the territory, we weren't specifically talking about what happened yesterday. We were talking about life in general. We do that everyday."

Check out the video in the video player on the right where Sixers are surrounding Speights at this morning's shootaround.

"Protect and support your teammate, that's one of our mottos," Jordan said.

--Kate