share
email
font size
options
 
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Would This Have Happened If . . .

ATLANTA--There's a lot of time before my flight home tonight. Time to grab a quick airport dinner. Time to weigh some questions and answers.

The other day, someone I respect asked whether the 76ers might be showing the same improvement had threy not fired Maurice Cheeks and brought in senior VP/assistant GM Tony DiLeo from the front ofice. The more I think about it, I'm not sure, without the change, that they would be on the winning streak that reached four games today had they not made the change.

I really feel Cheeks, who did such a fine job last season, was feeling the pressure, that he might even have been out of gas. And it's a fact of life that sometimes NBA players just need to hear a new voice,even if that new voice is saying the same things the previous voice said. Having said that, Cheeks was somewhat ambivalent about the three-point shot; DiLeo has given them the green light. Cheeks was very conscious of using Elton Brand to best advantage in the post. DiLeo has made it clear that Brand--when he returns from his dislocated right shoulder injury--will have to fit in, will have to be the effective trailer on the break that he has been projected to be. DiLeo has put some joy back into their game, telling them to run and to use the triple. Those are things players love to hear.

All he has asked in return is for them to focus and concentrate defensively, to make the proper rotations, to block out around the glass, to rebound. Those are the essential things that trigger the break.

''It looks like we're getting it together a little bit,'' Andre Miller said after today's 109-94 victory. ''We're able to play a little better defense, but no team really plays defense consistently the entire game. I think we made a few stops before (the Hawks) did.''

The Sixers, in fact, held the Hawks to two field goals in their last 10 possessions. That's called getting stops at the right time.

One other by-product of the Sixers' expanded running game: They're using the lob again.

''That's because we're running on the break,'' Lou Williams said. ''Once Marreese (Speights) gets one, once Sam (Samuel Dalembert) gets one, they want to get two, they put themselves in position to get them.''

Cheeks could reach the players with emotional, philosophical messages, and they generally responded. DiLeo seems more basic, more direct to the point.I really believe Cheeks took them as far as he could. I don't feel his work in his time with the Sixers hould be in any way diminished. I still don't expect them to approach my pre-season victory total prediction of 49, but I am becoming more and more convinced that they needed a new voice.

As Theo Ratliff said after the Sixers shot only one free throw in the second half in Dallas: That's life in the big leagues.

 

Posted by Phil Jasner @ 8:53 PM  Permalink | 7 comments
7
Comments   
Posted 10:40 PM, 01/11/2009
PhillyGuyinNY
here is another theory. Brand doesn't fit in a team built around young athletic players. they started slow last year but gelled as the season went on and finished strong - with cheeks. having brand in the rotation threw things off a little and they are now getting accustomed to playing without him again and they are gelling again. or is it just a coincidence that scoring is up since brand went out, similar to last year, and guys like AI and Lou are playing much stronger without brand?
Posted 11:40 PM, 01/11/2009
barrywil
I agree with PhillyGuy. At this point the recent success validates the second half of last year sans Brand was no fluke. It remains to be seen if AI, who is always prone to defer and whither into the background to keep others happy (Iverson and Webber), will assertively and effectively play with Brand - a player who thus far shows he is past his peak, may never fully recover from his achilles injury, has never been an uptempo player, and whose presence totally takes the joy out of watching the team play. About the only thing that I can clearly see that Dileo has done other than Cheeks last year is give more freedom to shoot the three - which is a positive thing. Cheeks who came from the Cunningham/Brown lineage thought 3 pointers were bad shots. In today's NBA it is impossible to win at the highest levels without 3-4 guys shooting 35% or more from deep.
Posted 09:22 AM, 01/12/2009
ricky
Look I love Mo Cheeks as a person, but he's not that good of a coach, Don't forget how good Brand was in Tony DiLeo's first game. The Sixers have grown by leaps and bounds After Cheeks (AC). Cheeks never used Theo Ratliff to play significant minutes, and he has been a huge help to the Sixers at the center spot. Cheeks would never entrust the Center postion to Speights in the 4th quarter. And with the team actually running plays for specific players-like Thad Young, Andre Miller is playing the best ball of his career. And, Brand wasn't brought it to run, but to be a power player in a half-court game, which the Sixers had no idea how to execute when Cheeks was coach. I won't say that adding Brand back won't cause some changes, but I can tell you that the Sixers won't stop running when he gets back! My biggest concern is Thad Youngs' ability to play the 3 spot, since he doesn't have the ball handling skills needed. (Yet)
Posted 11:40 AM, 01/12/2009
jeff gross
hard to know what is responsible for the turnaround. Could be coach, could be lack of Brand. Since his injury we're playing run and gun like last year, as apposed to half court set up. Can we get brand Roller blades so he can keep up our new/ old pace??
Posted 02:12 PM, 01/12/2009
titaneeksixer
I taped this game bcuz of the Eagles Giants game, and I must say this sixers team has not played this well and as aggresive in a long time. From Iggy shooting 3's to Sammy blocking and dunking to Speights blowing up in the 4th qtr this was a great all around effort! I hope this isnt a tease! and with Brand coming back who knows what will happen? I hope Brand brings his track shoes, not sure he can keep up with the pace
Posted 03:02 PM, 01/12/2009
CallerNo9
The Sixers can't run all the way through the playoffs. They will rely on Brand when teams like Detroit cut off their fast breaks and force them to run half court sets. I think the best idea would be to trade Dalembert for anything so nobody's minutes get too compromised.
Posted 07:15 PM, 01/12/2009
titaneeksixer
CallerNo9 LOL! Trade Sam for anything? Thats not making alot of sense, you know thats impossibe Mr. General Manager. Speights is too young, raw to give max minutes. Who would you trade for Sam? give me some examples.
About Sixerville Blog
Phil Jasner joined the staff of the Daily News in 1972. He has covered the 76ers and the NBA on a full-time basis since 1981. He won the 2004 Curt Gowdy Media Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the sport during his career; he was a finalist for the award in 2001, when he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association during the NBA Finals. He is a past president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Philadelphia College Basketball Writers Association. Along the way, he has covered high school sports, the Big 5, the Eagles and the NFL, the World Football League, the North American Soccer League and what was then the Major Indoor Soccer League. He is a proud graduate of Temple University, and spent his early professional days at the Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, Montgomery Newspapers (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Norristown (Pa.) Times-Herald and the Trentonian.

Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for almost 20 years, working in the sports department the past 12 years. This is his first season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he has been the La Salle beat writer for the past six seasons.

Advertise Here