Yup, Speights
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Yup, Speights
While wondering how the 76ers were going to fill the void created by Elton Brand's exit, we pondered the merits of rookie Marreese Speights. More specifically, we said he should get at least 15 minutes a game, he should become a presence on the block, and he should -- along with some efforts elsewhere -- help the Sixers fill the vacancy.
Well, instead of 15 minutes for Speights, how about 24? That's how many minutes Sixers coach Tony DiLeo gave Speights tonight. And how many points did Speights score in those 24 minutes? 24. He scored 16 in the second quarter and eight in the fourth. He didn't play a minute in either the first quarter or the third, but he played the entire second and fourth.
We're used to seeing Speights convert some wicked alley-oops, of which he did plenty tonight (three in the *second* -- thanks sprew -- quarter alone). But it was the rest of Speights' game tonight that should be a big boost for the Sixers. Let's look at a couple of the possessions/plays, and why they're important.
1.) Speights hits about a 15-foot baseline jumper in the second quarter. This shot came off a pick-and-roll on the wing between Speights and Andre Iguodala. Iguodala penetrated middle, Speights rolled to the baseline, Iguodala hits Speights and he has that quick release, great form, and even better rotation. Other than Brand (whose surgery yesterday afternoon went well) what other Sixers frontcourt player could hit that pick-and-roll jumper? Obviously Brand won't be shooting any jumpers for a long while. But what other frontcourt players stretch the defense like that on a pick-and-roll? Samuel Dalembert? No. Reggie Evans? No. Theo Ratliff? No. Thaddeus Young? Yes. Young played great tonight, scoring a game-high 25. Although he starts at power forward, he isn't a traditional front court player. And his scoring doesn't come in tradition front court fashion. Speights', more so, does.
If we've been talking about what half-court options the Sixers are going to be able to employ down the stretch and in the postseason, they need to be able to run a pick-and-roll with a roller that can fade to an open area and command attention. It looks like Speights could provide that.
2.) Speights catches around the right wing from about 12-feet away. He faces up to his defender (whom I can't recall at this moment, either Amare Stoudemire or Jason Richardson*or, thanks to the urging of a Sixers fan, Grant Hill, who certainly is not as quick as he once was, but still ...). Takes a dribble at the defender to get to the low block, then turns his back for a more traditional post-up move. Speights spins off the guy and finishes in the lane with a left-handed shot that looked as natural as if he shot it with his right. That's two games in a row that Speights has showed off a strong left hand in the lane. Like we're saying above, how many other Sixers frontcourt players do you want to catch the ball on the block for a one-on-one move? Dalembert? Not really. Evans? Again, not really. Young? Sure, absolutely.
The Sixers that play well on the block are point guard Andre Miller, Iguodala (he's decent down there), Young, and, we're gathering, Speights. It's tough relying on Miller down on the block too often because that pushes the big guys -- say if it was Dalembert and Evans -- away from that area. So while Miller is effective, it's not like Dalembert is taking his guy with him, nor Evans. Meaning those defenders can sink in to help Miller's defender. But if they can develop Speights down there, then you keep everyone in spots that the defense has to respect.
Obviously there are exceptions to all of this: When Miller is posting up, Sammy can crash the boards better, so it's not all bad. When Speights is on the block, defenses might be able to help off Willie Green or Iguodala's outside shot. But, for the most part, developing a legitimate front court player to play where legitimate front court players play, doing what legitimate front court players do, is going to be the key to, first, getting the Sixers into the playoffs and, second, out of the first round.
So Speights was awesome tonight. Considering he's a rookie, we can't possibly expect this every night. But DiLeo has to at least give Speights enough minutes, every night, to keep that door open.
---Kate
Kate, well diagnosed!— whatthe?- It was good to see the game last night! DiLeo can not keep this kid off the floor. That one lefty off-balance shot he put up was ridicoulous!! I love our young team. It just takes patience.— VDogg
he's going to hi that rookie wall - they all do in their first year, but I'm very impressed. Young, Speights, Williams - we've got a new core group to build around. All we need is a young PG!— dpcoz- meant to type "hit" in that first sentence, sorry.— dpcoz
- i would like to see a healthy dose of Speights on the floor with Sam. Maybe try that lineup with Iggy at the 2, Thad at the 3. That might end up being your best line-up. Or Lou at the 2, Iggy or Thad at the 3. I hate to say this, but we are a better team with Sam protecting the rim and it would be good to see if the Sam/Speights combo could work. What do you think?— sixersphan
- You said he only played the 2nd and 4th quarters, then proceed to say he had 3 dunks in the first quarter? I assume you meant half, but I wanted to clarify.— sprew
- Good stuff. Hopefully last night was a peek into the future - I think when we say thad and speights have potential, these are the sort of games we're talking about.— K,M
- After the game on CSN, they showed pictures of Thad and Marreese as they were announced the "Bud Light Player(s) of Game." As I looked at their pictures, I could not help but think how these guys are only 20 & 21 years old respectively, and these "kids" just piled up 25 and 24 points against a very, very good team (and its Allstar line-up of Nash, Shaq, Amar'e, G. Hill and J. Richardson). Realize that Thad was only 4 and Marreese was 5 when Shaq entered the NBA with Orlando. The future seems very, very bright for Sixers fans.— Fo Fo Fo
- All Kate did was regurgitate points I made in a post weeks ago. So this is what happens to posts that are considered inappropriate (gave Dileo what I thought a more suitable name after loss). You guys clean them up and take credit for them.— iammsmaam
- I'm enjoying your cotributions, Kate - tks.— russ4philly
- Nice to be able to post comments again after the comment function was out of commission for a day or so. (Kate had us covered with some very interesting posts.) Some thoughts about this game: [1] Going in, I had thought that the Sixers would do well, esp. given that the Suns were coming in off a big win in Detroit the night before. The schedule really worked out well for the Sixers (both that the Suns beat Detroit and that they had nothing left for the Sixers). [2] It was good that Thad and Speights were 'on' because everybody else was off. I can't remember the rest of the team hitting more than one jumper (Lou had one 3). The reason Ivey doesn't play more is that he's a terrible finisher -- the 38% on 3's is nice, but he's shooting 28% on 2's. [3] I was happy to see in the postgame comments that a couple of people (like Theo) mentioned the reason Speights doesn't play more -- rebounding and defense. Speights HAS been more aggressive on D the last couple games; hopefully that will continue. It's not a coincidence that, despite the excellent offensive games of Thad and Speights, the top +/- for the game was still Dalembert at +21. [4] Iguodala had one of those games where he didn't hit any jumpers (no FGs outside 2 ft), but it's a very good sign that he still managed 22 on just 14 shots by penetrating and hitting his free throws. [5] Amare Stoudemire has to be the worst defensive PF in the league! He gets his share of blocks, but for the most part he seems totally disinterested on D. One see why the Suns may be open to trading him. Thad has his troubles on D (as has been well-documented recently), but he's definitely giving on honest effort all the time.— Statman
- Speights was really, really good and has definitely earned a regular 20 minute run. He's fast becoming the Sixers best option on the block. (Sorry Sammy...it's just not gonna happen for you.) I will say that Amare has to be the most disinterested defender I've watched in a long time. You'd think that a great player after Thad Young ripped him early that he'd lock down and battle on the defensive end. All respect to Speights, but a player like Amare has to rise to that challenge. I can see why the Suns are looking to deal him.— doctorhim
- What has me excited about this team and the developement of Speights , Williams and Young is our two "stars" the Andre's get their points, rebounds and assits all at no cost to the other players around them and both of them have shown that thier style of play ACTUALLY helps the young guys - what a novel idea - and very good for the team in the long run. (heck, sometimes even Sammy does not look lost!)— owlsrule
- Sprew: Yes, I absolutely meant those dunks were in the second quarter. Let me see if I can change that so as not to confuse anyone further. Thanks.— Kfagan
- Statman, I actually didn't realize that igoudala had that many points last nite...while its unfortunate he had one of those off shooting nights, its nice to see that we had 3 guys combine for 61 points and not a one of them took more than 14 shots...— K,M
- How is this stat: The Sixers are 13-2 when Speights gets more than 20 minutes of playing time. I know that some of those games he was getting garbage minutes, but still. If he continues to work on his defense (his plus/minus still wasn't that great) we might be looking at a starter in the near future and all-star down the road.— JVS
- Wow, some edits to my previous post...i cant add today, apparently. 24 + 25 + 22 = 71, not 61 and speights took 16 shots, not 14. but still, 71 points out of 3 guys, not bad.— K,M
- If Mo continues to play like this, Ed and DiLeo have some tough decisions to make for next year. An "$80MM" Brand and an "$80MM" Iggie have to start (dn't they have to with those numbers???), a 20 yr old Thad has shown he deserves to start and Sammie still remains the anchor of this defense (no one has shown they can fill his shoes yet). So that look like we have 1 PF, 2 SFs and 1 C that likely should start next year. With Speights showing potential to crack the starting lineup, what do Ed and DiLeo do when Brand is ready to come back? And the other question has to be PG? Do you resign Miller and try to go with a younger player? If we do not resign Miller, they need to get a decent free agent PG to fill Miller's big shoes because Sweet "turnover" Lou is certainly not showing that he should be the PG of the future and Ed likely can't wait to draft and develop a PG with pressure from two monster $80MM contracts on the floor? What to do?— Fo Fo Fo
- owlsrule: That's an excellent point about the two Andre's. They are both unselfish players and look to set up their teammates. All the Thaddites who want to trade Iguodala so that Thad can be the main man at SF don't realize that Iguodala makes Thad's game easier, so that Thad can play to his strengths (catch and shoot, run the floor). They may play the same position, but for the most part they play VERY well together, very reminiscent of how Dr. J and Bobby Jones played together in years gone by. Miller, in turn, makes Iguodala (and others) better by being the best lob passer in the NBA, by making the right passes on the break (for the most part), and by occasionally taking a turn on post isolations. That's why I'd be hesitant to break up this team right now with a Miller trade. I think they have a very good shot at the #4 seed and homecourt in the first round (beating Boston or Cleveland in the 2nd round is another story, but wouldn't it be exciting to be there?).— Statman
- I second sixerphan, I'd also like to see more of Sammy and Speights on the floor together. While I like Green starting, recently he's been heating up early and make sure the team doesn't start in a 10 point hole, I have to wonder how the team would do playing big early on. Just like sixerphan said Iggy at the 2, Thad and Speights at the 3 and 4 and Sammy crashing the boards. Actually I'm surprise no one else has mentioned this possibility. And who know maybe Sammy could motivate/teach Speights on D and Speights presence could wake up the Sammy that hits those sweet 10 foot jumpers every now and then.— phasor
- Very impressive win vs a tired and old Suns team playing back to back (beating Detroit on Sun.)the young guns just ran by a disinterested Suns team. All this up and down game stuff is fun, but I still see no half court offense. This reminds me of last year, run and gun to the playoffs and then the real bball starts and we look lost. The only question we should be concerned about is can this team beat Boston, Cleveland, Orlando (possibly without Jameer) or Detroit in a 7 game series, the way they play now??? I am not convinced yet, cause when the playoffs start the running ends...— lalleva
- Hey Kate. it's gonna be real interesting to see how management plans on rotating EB, Speights, Sam, and J Smith next season. Who leaves? Theo will probably be gone, but what about Reggie? I don't see Reggie going anywhere considering what he brings to the table, but how else do you get all these guys minutes? I just REALLY hope Mareese gets a long term deal with this team. He's having a great rookie year and was just ridiculous last night. Go Sixers.— CT6ersfan
- Really enjoy your writing.— LennyandCarl
- Great stuff thanks Kate!— Foshan
- Ok, the Sixers aren't winning a championship this year so this should be their starting line-up: Miller (PG), Iguodala (SG), Speights (SF), Young (PF), and Dalembert (C). The Sixers should trade Miller for either a younger player on the rise on a Championship caliber team, or for a draft pick and expiring K. If so, start Williams. Simple as 1-2-3.— nervegenerator
- I just want to register my admiration for your analysis into the nuts and bolts of the game. I hope they sign you to a long term contract.— dervin
- Credit to DiLeo for getting this team going. I imagine the reason Speights had some low-minutes games last week had to do with a lack of intensity in practice, or on the defensive end in games. DiLeo knows Speights's long-term development is going to be determined by the work habits he gets into now. He's got to earn his minutes. And when he does he has to make the most of them, like last night. I hope DiLeo considers sticking around as the coach, and that Eddie S isn't dead set on bringing in Eddie Jordan.— the_other_craig
- It should be clear by now that the Sixers have a lot of depth when it comes to scorers. Plenty of players capable of putting up 20 pts. or more. This should mean no more dry spells, where the team can't find a way to score. Speights gives them a dimension that they have lacked on offense for a long time, and makes the Sixers a potentially very dangerous playoff opponent. It is easy to see them winning every game the rest of the way in February, with a real test coming against Orlando. By then, they could be 5th or 4th in the EC standings.— ricky
- kate - i dont know who is progressing their inside game faster - you or speights?! very glad you and marreese are part of the scene....— jamesiri
- K,M, You actually mean 71 points.— jefuuetsukusura
- JE - you're right...if you look up a bit i actually did correct that a few posts later. I had apparently forgetten my second grade math for a few minutes there...— K,M
- To all that are saying "trade Miller", I say don't do it. The Sixer have a certain amount of chemistry with Miller that could be hard to replace. Look what happened to the Pistons since they lost Chauncey Billups. Unless Derrick Rose, Chris Paul or a few other 'franchise' guards become available (and that ain't gonna happen) the Sixers need Miller's experience, judgment and leadership. Miller's got a few more good years left and if Iggy, Thad, Speights and Dalembert can improve their shooting a bit and avoid the occasional 12 pt quarter, this team may have a shot next year. I can't wait to see how this team fares on the upcoming west coast trip with back-to-back against LA and the Suns. Can the Sixers manage to dominate the Suns again playing late night games back to back out west? And then closing out the season with back to backs against Cleveland and Boston. As long as the Cavs and Celtics don't bench their starters early we should have a good idea of how big the adjustments have to be next year.— phasor
- Regarding Speights.. ESPN's John Hollingers' stat "player efficiency rating" the highest 76er is Speights at 20. What's more interesting (to me) is that he is the only player in the top 40 playing less than 25 minutes a game. (15.5min) So according to that..maybe he should be playing a whole lot more??? I hope he does soon..— johnnysanz3
- johnnysanz3: if you accept PER as a decent statistical measure of player performance (I do), then the reason Speights hasn't played more until now is *opponent* PER. While his own PER is above 20, his opponent PER is at 19 (league-wide average for centers is around 17). By comparison, Dalembert's opponent PER is 14.5, one of the best in the league (Sam's own PER is also 14.5, one of the worst in the league). Those who watch the Sixers a lot would not be surprised by any of these numbers.— Statman
- The opponent PER for Sammy does show his defensive power, although if we deal with +/- as far as PER goes, than Speights has +2 and Dalembert is even. I definitely can tell Sammy plays better defense than Speights though from watching the games.— johnnysanz3
- Any LiveChats coming up soon Kate?— jmorcate
- Kate and some others have mentioned before that the Sixers might have passed on signing Brand if they had any idea Speights would be good this soon. I have to agree. Th ideal combo for the Sixers has Speights and Dalembert on the court together. Sam's inside defense covers for Speights' faults, and Speights gives them inside scoring. Team them up and Speights' opponent PER goes down.— the_other_craig
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.
