'Tuned out' Sixers stay locked in defensively
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'Tuned out' Sixers stay locked in defensively
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
It appears that while most were focusing on the gossipy stuff surrounding the 76ers last week, others were more focused on what has been an almost unprecedented defensive performance by the Sixers during this campaign.
While the Sixers have were reportedly ‘tuning out’ coach Doug Collins in the month of March, this tuned out group continued to stay locked in defensively, a trait that most NBA coaches with tuned in players would give their left arm for if they could get this type of effort from their players.
Not only do they still lead the NBA with the fewest points allowed per game (88.2), but, according to Neil Payne over at ESPN.com, the Sixers still lead the league with the fewest points allowed per 100 possessions (98.). They have led the league in this statistical category since the season began, a feat that has only been accomplished nine times since 1986.
On the season, the Sixers have given up just 5,117 points. That’s the fewest points in franchise history through 58 games since the introduction of the shot clock in the 1954-55 season.
The Sixers have done this without the presence of a legitimate shot blocker all season. The key, according to writer Neil Paine (basketball-reference.com, has been the Sixers’ ability to keep teams out of the paint (Collins says this all the time) and forcing opponents to take more mid-range jumpers (a long-lost art in the NBA).
It’s a good read, one that goes into specifics about what the Sixers have done defensively, and it looks at some interesting numbers. Unfortunately, in order to ready it you’re going to have to join espn.com as an “Insider.”
Imagine how good these numbers might be if the players hadn’t already, er, tuned out the guy?
Contact staff writer John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmitchInquirer
er, way to pounce on the old beat writer who happened to be ten times better at this than you are. er, great that the defensive efforts been so good but haven't their been stories for the last two months talking about how their defense isn't what it was in the beginning of the year when they played that soft schedule. er, if the defense was so spectacular how come they're barely hanging on to a playoff spot after going 20-9? er, you ever gonna write an article about how absolutely horrible the offense has been or about how disappointing the pg play in general has been or how our ALL STAR hasn't scored over 20 points in a game since January! or are you er, sucking up to the coach to stay on his good side so you continue to get great insight as to who his Ace of Spades is on any given night? ERRRRRRR— 76ers in 2076- Wow, poor beat writer, and childish to boot.
Err, the problem with the Sixers has been their inability to score against better defensive teams.— blah - I don't even have to write a post now given that Blah and 2076 have pretty much posted my comments. Only question is does Mitchell do this shabby work from an office in Wells Fargo or a newspaper building on Broad? Or does he just spit the bull while "working" from home is his pajamas?— ericthered1
- I miss Kate.— jskrad
- ok, we can't score. I don't thing anyone can argue with that. But, 1) we are still one of the yougest teams in the NBA. 2) Did anyone predict that the sixers were gonna go 20-9. Yes we had and easy schedule, but from past experiences that didn't mean we were going to win 3) There are many players than can score or want to shoot 25x a game, but to have a young team focused on defense and take pride of it, well that is the foundation of a championship team. Not the team who can scoor 110 point a game and has no defense.
So, eventhough I hate the fact that we can't score. I love the fact that we are establishing this team on Defense. No matter what the sport.... Defense wins championships. NO, we are not winning one this year, but the foundation is set. Now, it is up to management to get one or maybe two scorers and we will be an elite team.— radicaleaglesfan - What foundation is that? Is Jrue the point guard, or is he going to be a traditional 2 guard, or a modern 'scoring guard?
What position is Turner going to play? Can he Iggy and Holliday co-exist? Can Thad be effective at the Small forward? Is Nic Vuc going to be a legit low post scorer or do we still need to address that need? Can Lavoy be a banger that boards and play solid defense against strong low post players?
So we all know the team plays good defense and everyone has given Doug his proper due for that. But, what 'foundation' has he actually built? We will go into next year, with the same questions as we had when he first arrived. Plus we don't honestly know if his players will continue to play for him in the upcoming years, or if he will burn them out as he has done in the past.
This article was a shot at the former writer who managed this blog. Period. Perhaps if the beat writers currently covering the team had commented on what she had, what the readers have been/are dying to know, then the reaction to her blog post would not have been so strong.— blah - Even more annoying is the insulting tone he is given the fans of the Sixers. You would think that a writer would know that you should not insult the fans.— blah
- While others were focused on providing in-depth Sixers reporting in recent years -- Kate Fagan and Phil Jasner -- Mr. Mitchell has been content to regurgitate whatever the Sixers feed him. You have a knack for propping yourself up, though, John. Couldn't believe you patted yourself on the back for your "erudite" reporting in a recent story.— iceman
- Err, it appears that while most of us were focusing on better beat writers with better insight last week, you were working on a bitter retaliation of sorts. Time to "tune out" this bozo...— dawk2020
- Not just this guy, but Cooney too. Like a couple of kids who are pissed that someone else was better at what they do. Even better than her writing was how Kate refused to parrot what the coach/management said, and that's why her blog was so much better than what we're seeing now.— mjc1
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
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.
