Archive: November, 2010
76ers had everyone back at practice today, including Jason Kapono who missed the last week for personal reasons. Kapono will be with the team for tomorrow night's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. So all 14 players were present and healthy for today's practice. One bit of news: rookie big man Craig Brackins will leave for the D-League's Springfield Armor, possibly as soon as tonight. Brackins, who has appeared in only one game for the Sixers, will be down there for about a 10-say stretch that includes five games. After today's practice, Doug Collins said the team is allowed to send Brackins down a total of three times and that the team has pinpointed three different occasions where the Armor have a cluster of games. Collins said the three trips will allow Brackins to play 16 games down there. Collins said assistant coach Quin Snyder would travel with Brackins for the first few days to give Brackins the lay of the land and to continue working him out.
"We’re hoping he can go get some game time and see how much he’s improved," Collins said. "We’re excited that he can go play."
Brackins didn't seem concerned with the move, actually seemed anxious to get some game minutes, and said he would be focusing on his rebounding and defense because the team "already knows I can score."
Every game the 76ers play seems to create more questions. Tonight against the Miami Heat, the Sixers played hard, they played pretty well, and they lost. It's tough to praise them too much for a solid effort, considering every NBA is jazzed to play the Heat, especially in South Beach and in front of a sold-out crowd. It's not quite the same thing as coming out scrappy at the Charlotte Bobcats on the second night of a back-to-back. But, nonetheless, the Sixers did everything they could to win the ball game, they just didn't win the ball game, which is sort of the season's theme.
The complaint in the final quarter of tonight's 99-90 loss was the officiating that went against the Sixers and went for Miami stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Basically the only statistical category (outside of the actual score) that the Sixers did not tie or win was free throw shooting. The Sixers went 12 for 21, the Heat went 23 for 29. Now, as written in the game story, if you're going to discuss the difference in allotted free throws as the reason for the loss, it's only fair to point out that the Heat were awarded eight more free throws than the Sixers, not quite enough to cover the final margin. And if you're going to consider the officiating as a reason for the outcome, shooting less than 60 percent on your own attempts hinders the strength of the argument. Making superstar calls is not a fresh idea in the NBA and we could debate at length whether it's deserved or not deserved -- kind of depends on whether or not the team you root for has the superstar.
Back to the question created by tonight's game. In past games, we've left wondering what Andre Iguodala's impact on the team's effectiveness actually is (see the victory over the New York Knicks), and we've left wondering what Doug Collins should do with the team's starting center position. (Among other questions created.) Tonight, the question revolves around Jodie Meeks.
By now all 76ers fans know that Elton Brand has been suspended by the NBA for his flagrant foul against JaVale McGee during Tuesday night's overtime loss to the Washington Wizards. Brand will be suspended, without pay, for tonight's game at the Toronto Raptors.
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
The headline of this post is the quote of the night, from Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders: "You better keep all sharp objects away from Doug."
After watching this game, you might want to keep all sharp objects away from all 76ers fans.
Nobody is saying the Sixers were turning some kind of corner or were headed toward great things this season. But when they were up 17 points in the third quarter, 15 points in the fourth, and then shooting two free throws to seal the win, you could imagine that they might be able to string together a few wins. Coming off of the victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, tonight's victory would have made two in a row, and tomorrow night's game against the Toronto Raptors certainly looked winable. Maybe, you could have been thinking in the final seconds of regulation tonight, the Sixers could be looking at a three-game winning streak. It wasn't going to make the Sixers playoff bound, but it was going to keep them out of the Eastern Conference basement and have them feeling good about themselves.
Video: CineSport's Noah Coslov talks to the Inquirer's Kate Fagan about her recent trip to Turkey to watch Allen Iverson in his new home.
Just talked with 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala and he'll be playing tonight against the Washington Wizards. Iguodala had his ankles taped and was tying his shoes before getting onto the court for some pre-game shooting. Asked him if this means the injury is behind him, that this time his return is for good, and Iguodala seemed to think he was done missing games for the Achilles tendinitis.
Iguodala said he doesn't like to play in games without getting at least one practice under his belt, and that yesterday's practice was great for getting ready to play tonight. More news from today's game: Andres Nocioni, who was questionable after a left foot contusion, will play, but Jason Kapono, missing for personal reasons, is not with the team tonight.
As for the Wizards, John Wall (left foot) was on the court doing drills before the game and he looked fine. Washington coach Flip Saunders said that if Wall was active, he wouldn't be starting. When the starting lineups were released, that was exactly the case: Wall is active, but not starting.
Hey everyone. Thanks for sticking with Deep Sixer while on "assignment in Istanbul." We're back here now for all things 76ers -- starting with what will be a pretty busy holiday week for the team: at the Washington Wizards, at the Toronto Raptors, at the Miami Heat, and then home against the New Jersey Nets. Considering how well the team played against the Milwaukee Bucks (yeah, I watched on NBA League Pass broadband from Istanbul), this could be a productive week for the team or it could be another slide back into frustration.
Sixers are practicing today at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Still no Jason Kapono (personal reasons), but Andre Iguodala (tendinitis) is back and he's expected to play tomorrow -- that update was from the #Sixers on Twitter as the team is currently practicing.
That's just the quick-hit update, wanted to make sure everyone knows we'll be back at it here on this blog starting with tomorrow's game. The blog schedule should be updated in the upper right hand corner and we'll stick to that as closely as possible. For all things instantly, and all links to blogs and stories, you can follow on Twitter: Deep Sixer.
For the full story, check out tomorrow's edition of the Inquirer. For a sampling of what's going on with Allen Iverson in Istanbul, check out the video, which should be embedded in this post. A few questions answered and a few more to be answered tomorrow.
--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
Second of three days in Istanbul. Don’t worry, 76ers fans, we’re back on the Sixers’ trail starting Tuesday @ the Washington Wizards. At that point, there will still be 67 games to watch and analyze. We can make that happen.
We’re not going overload here on the blog with anything but video and photo because the story is scheduled for Sunday’s edition of the Inquirer. You should be able to find a two-minute scrimmage video of Iverson embedded in this post as well as a photo or two of the arena and Iverson from today’s practice. Both were initially posted on Twitter, so you can get more instant updates if you follow there: Deep Sixer.
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
During the overseas flight, I was made aware upon landing (by Twitter), that the 76ers lost to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, dropping them to 2-10, worst in the Eastern Conference. Not having the ability to comment on that loss is probably a good thing.
Allen Iverson is on the court here at BJK Akatlar Arena, practicing with the Black Eagles of Istanbul. Today is the team's second practice of the day, and you can be sure the 76ers were never practicing twice a day during Iverson's tenure (exept for training camp, of course). He's all smiles here today, though, and has participated in the entire practice.
I've posted three videos of the facility and of Iverson at practice. All three should be in the video player below on the right, while one should be embedded in this post. We're here in Istanbul to check out Sunday's game against cross-town rival, which was supposed to be Iverson's opener, but which will now be his second game here in Turkey.
Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
