Arnett Moultrie brings light to yet another Sixers' loss
Rookie Arnett Moultrie is going to get plenty of playing time during the final days of this season, and right now he's making the most of it.
Arnett Moultrie brings light to yet another Sixers' loss
Bob Cooney
The Sixers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. They were beaten by a Boston Celtics team that has not faltered since they lost All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to a knee injury for the rest of the season, but has prospered. Tuesday’s 109-101 win over the Sixers was the 12th in 16 games for the Celtics without Rondo.
The Sixers got some decent performances, with 7 players hitting double figures, including Thaddeus Young (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Jrue Holiday (18 points, 10 assists) each collecting double-doubles.
But the talk of the team (if there really is much for a club pretty much out of the playoff picture and sitting at 23-36) is the play of rookie Arnett Moultrie, who hit all 5 of his shots against Boston and grabbed 4 rebounds in just under 20 minutes of play. In a season that has been at times dismal and derailed from Day One with the Andrew Bynum situation, looking for a bright spot for the future has become the primary focus. And Moultrie has provided a glimmer of light. In his past five games he has made 13 of 14 shots, been active around the basket and come up with those 50-50 balls that usually seem to end up in the opponents’ hands.
“I thought Arnett, once again, played a really good game for us,” said Doug Collins. “It’s encouraging to see him growing, which is a great sign. I hope he can keep building on that. I’m very pleased with Arnett, what he’s doing.
“A lot (of the season for Moultrie) he’s been frustrated, which you hope he would be. The thing that I’ve said all along is that he really got set back (sprained ankle just before draft). He probably would be playing like this right now for us had he had the summer, had he not gotten hurt, had he had summer league, had he come to camp and been in really good shape and been able to play. We’re hoping these last 24, 25 games that he’s really going to continue on this.”
Though no one in the organization will admit it, it just about has become evaluation time as to which way this team will move in the future. Watching Moultrie’s progress is high on the list of priorities.
“I have a lot to adjust to, but I’m just dealing with it,” said Moultrie. “I think (the biggest obstacle) was worrying about my ankle and getting in tip-top shape. I feel a lot more comfortable. My confidence is as high as it’s been all year and I’m looking forward to just keep doing what I’ve been doing, be more productive, playing with a lot more energy.”
He’ll have his chance over these final 23 games.
Well, Reggie Evans has made a career doing those things - going to the glass and grabbing loose balls. Moultrie could excel in those areas without having a play run for him— 7mel11- I didn't watch. At least the scored over 100 and kept it relatively close. Still a fail when Moultrie gets less than 20 minutes while Ivey is getting 36 minutes. Without the talent expected when starting the season Collins gets another fail for playing shortened rotations. We've yet to see Jenkins so what was the point of getting him other than as a practice player? See what he has, keep testing Pargo to see if he is worthy of another one year deal.
You know what you have in Ivey. No point throwing Kwame out there so I see why DC didn't...yet again. We can only hope he is so unhappy here he will turn down free money next season ($3 million) and opt-out. If anybody can do it, it's Doug Collins. Instead they'll probably extend him and give him another player option. Don't laugh. This is the Sixers organization as it is known today. The team who is seriously talking about Bynum as Plan A after this disasterous season.
Props to Moultrie for being a pro going 5 for 5 on his FG attempts. A compentent coach would have gone to that all game long and see what he can deliver in 30 minutes. Not like they're making the playoffs. Playing Moultrie longer minutes to get him experience (especially against a KG type) is what you do when your season is not going to include the playoffs. Doug did it so well last season with Lavoy (not so well with Vucevic). The young guys got to get more burn. It's nice he played almost 20 minutes but I'd have had him out there another 10-15 to see what you get when he's tired. Young guys need to learn how to push through being tired on the court. You only get that by experience.— joecooler2u - Is this the same Moultrie that we gave up a first round draft pick for and shockingly Collins didn't play him until he was FORCED to by an injury even though we get outrebounded embarrassingly every single night???
Collins is just a great talent evaluator and the best coach I've ever seen. Especially his out of timeout plays...it is so amazing to watch people dribble for 22 seconds and force up a shot.
Oh and how does ANYONE fall for D. Wright's pump fake? Lol he does it literally every play even from half court!— fireandydotnet - Where's that other brilliant signing - Kwame Brown!— joberzut
- I have an idea, let's play all of our older players and keep losing. Then we can mitigate the damage, get the 10 pick in the draft and stink again next year.....— beefbre
- His shots are usually following up misses, alley oops, general garbage points. But that's OK - those opportunities are about being active. A guy like Chris Humphries puts up numbers without having plays run for him. Pursue misses, a pick and pop here, a roll to the hoop there - he should be fine. He doesn't appear to be a natural shot blocker despite the length, but there's no reason he can't contribute by tipping the ball, hitting the glass and going to the hoop. This team has enough guys standing 20 feet from the basket - someone needs to go after it inside— 7mel11
- Keep Moultrie and True and dump the entire rest of the roster and start from scratch
— mbutley - To Sixer fans...all is not lost. Donnie Walsh turned the knicks roster completely over 3 times in 5 years and was able to get some good talent thru trades, free agency, D-leagues,...
Now, only if we had a good GM.— Shragez 
@Shragrez...if Doug Collins is back, we're doomed for a long long time. He's left his soft jump-shooting mark on this roster already...this is as bad as it's been since the end of Iverson's time and it's been pretty bad. I know lots of serious fans that have officially tuned out....no more wasted money on League Pass until he's gone.— scmona- @scmona...I agree on Collins. The problem is, other than Popovich, Rivers, and Thibodeau (sp?), how many really good coaches are there? We may have to take a chance and go the Eagles route and take a college coach with energy and smarts who can groom a still very young team.— Shragez
- What all the crying about Byman. Its not a long term deal.
Thought the trade was mostly about dumping Iggy's contract..
Play Moultrie and Turner. I like him better than Jrue.— biagio77 - DC is flat out lying. Moultrie didn't play because he didn't want to play him. Just like he didn't want to play Vucevic. We wlll be wasting our time drafting guys as long has DC is coach/de facto GM.— ericthered1
- Collins will never give Moultrie the minutes he deserves .. did the same to Vuc!— bill poore
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
