Problems abound for Sixers
The Sixers loss to the Spurs on Sunday night wasn't just a loss, it appeared to uncover the many problems that are plaguing this team right now.
Problems abound for Sixers
Bob Cooney
The Sixers strolled into San Antonio this weekend seemingly getting ready to play a team that was ripe for the taking. The Spurs were playing their third game in as many nights, were without future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, as coach Greg Popovich decided to give him a rest and the Sixers were coming off a solid effort in a sound victory over Boston on Friday.
But Tony Parker and company had enough legs, and bountiful smarts, to easily do away with the Sixers by 93-76. Let's just run down, individually, what is going on with the Sixers right now.
Andre Iguodala: He had to sit out Sunday's game after the pain in his left knee was too great. The official term for the injury is patella tendonitis. Iguodala has looked much slower in the past few games, perhaps due to the knee. The scary thing is last year he missed 15 games, mostly due to tendonitis in his OTHER knee. Click here for an injury update after today's practice.
Jrue Holiday: Coach Doug Collins has continuously told him he needs to score. Holiday did just that, going for 10 points in the first quarter against the Spurs, then didn't score again the rest of the game. Need more consistency from him.
Evan Turner: If you graded a player on body language, Turner would be carrying a failing grade. He is most happy with the ball in his hands, scoring, dealing and rebounding. His rebounding has been down of late and Collins says that is the best way for him to get the ball in his hands.
Spencer Hawes: He is starting to round into shape after missing most of the season with a strained Achilles', only he doesn't realize it. Sure his game is going to show rust - jump shots coming up short, balls getting bobbled - but Hawes can't let that play on his mind. His outbursts on the court over his own play truly hurt him. Collins can't spend time trying to calm his young center down during every game.
Elton Brand: He is showing signs of playing the way he was a year ago, when he led the team in scoring and rebounding. Sure his game has fallen off from his prime, maybe even from a year ago, but he is the only player on this team who will fight his way through troubles.
Nikola Vucevic: Not sure if the rookie backup center has hit the rookie wall so hard that he's been knocked unconscious or if he just can't adjust to Collins' demands right now. He looks absolutely lost out on the court right now. Collins has seemed to have lost all confidence in him.
Jodie Meeks: He is what he is - sometimes. On a team that is struggling to reach 85 in the scoring column right now it's kind of understanding why Collins is giving him a lot of minutes. Obviously, when this team is playing well, Meeks should be a 10-15 minute guy, looking to spread defenses by hitting open jumpers.
Thaddeus Young: Probably the Sixers' most consistent player this season, Young appears to be exhausted. Going against bigger players every night has taken its toll, and Collins said Friday that Young is down to below 210 pounds, almost 10 pounds lighter than where he would like him to be. Imagine being 210 and battling 250-pound monsters each night. He is simply worn down.
Lou Williams: If there is a player who can be defined by "As he goes, so go the Sixers," it's Williams. When he is on, the team offensively flows so much better. Problem here is other teams are now running out after Williams as soon as he crosses halfcourt, taking away his ability to get to the basket or get open for jump shots.
Sam Young: If Iguodala's injury proves to be something that keeps him out for some time, we could be seeing a lot of Young. His physicality really sticks out on a team that is sorely lacking it.
Right now the one thing that was so positive about this team early in the season - its youth - is hurting it. There is too much moping, too much complaining, too much "me-first" going on right now. They won 20 of their first 29 games by playing team basketball and hounding defense. All of the sudden, in many cases, it's become about the individuals.
And now their Atlantic Division lead, once seemingly secure, is gone. With Boston’s win at Charlotte Monday night, the teams are tied atop the division at 27-22. With 17 games remaining, their position remains very fragile. And if their recent play continues, so does a playoff spot.
Good article Bob. Great analysis of what is going on. It's amazing that you can see how much they missed Iggy last night. I really like Sam Young's game. I hope they get it together for this stretch run!— Tozmanian- Young guys, can dress them up but can't take them anywhere, just sayin'...— DJ
- Limping to the finish line. Hopefully they can rally enough to get that 3 seed. If they slip to 7 or 8, it's another Round 1 knockout and all the good feelings about the progress the team was making will vanish in a puff of smoke.— jklinger
- Yes, there are currently many problems...The play from both Hawes and Vucevic has been subpar, although I believe Hawes can give the team SOMETHING...If Lou(who I'd start), does not scor at a pace of.7 pts per minute, the team usually loses, meaning he has to hit the threes and get the calls and do damage at the line...his defense has clearly improved, so I generally feel the more he's on the court, the higher the probability he'll get hot...Although his minutes are up from last year (26 from 23), the production would continue to rise if he started halves...The guard play,where both ET and Jrue have breakdown ability and often can get positive matchups from their size, need to be a little more pass oriented to EB early in games...Last, Meeks has to give the Sixers more from the arc...This team is overmatched some in the toughness department,but with tough defense usually is in a game...better halfcourt offense (catch and shoot) is needed.— bearsfriend
- Bob, you left out your critique on Collins. I know that supposedly the NBA is a players' league, not a coach's, but look at what Greg Pop can do with a depleted squad, or what's been going on with the Knicks. I'm still concerned that the team found away to get things rollings again after the break, and Doug moved away from it, for reasons left unexplained.— rzzzzz
- Good summary. So disappointing. How long before the hyper-intense Collins gets tuned out completely?— phlzfan
- Great analysis,Bob. That is where we are. Crunch time in sporting events calls for a showing of character and maturity. if a new contract doesn't bring them out of Hawes, he's a lost cause. Brand, Iguodala and Thad showed that they had it in last year's series against the Heat. Brand is stepping up. Thad has the heart of a warrior spotting inches and weight every night. Lou is Lou. he's hot or he's cold. Initially we thought that there would be friction between ET and Dre'. Now it seems that it exists between ET and Jrue. We pay coaches to resolve those issues,bring out the best in each player and place them in the right positions to win. get it done,DC. We still have a schedule conducive to securing home court advantage. Dig deep guys. Find that character and maturity that winners are made of. Gut check time.— philsix6
- I think not evaluating the coach is a mistake. I don't know what DC is doing, but really, the Sixers aren't that different from the team that went 20-9 except the competition is much better and the Sixers play is more selfish. Where are the adjustments? I agree with bears, when ET and Jrue breakdown defenses it has to be to create for our front court people first, then it opens things up for them. Other bigs don't collapse as quickly when the know that you will find their open man. They look more like the Wizards than the Sixers from the beginning of the season with all the me-first play going on.— ericthered1
This team as constituted isn't going anywhere anyway. Make the playoffs (maybe), and lose in the first round. At the end of the year they should trade iggy and amnesty Brand. The problem is I don't know what to get or do in place of those two. I would like to see more toughness all around.- Iggy -- ugh. that's a problem. bad knees means they can't count on him, and it's doubtful they'd ever be able to move him
Thad -- his size disadvantage has always been clear to everyone apparently except for John Smallwood, who wrote a ridiculous column a couple weeks ago saying he should be starting. Best when not overused
Jrue/ET/Vuc -- these are a few pupils DC seems to have lost. Jrue simply hasn't taken that next step from last year, Turner goes from one extreme to another, and Vuc looks like he's trying to do physics equations while he's playing.
Collins' M.O. in previous stops was that he's proven capable of turning around a franchise in the first year or so, but after a while he seems to get tuned out and the results plateau (see Detroit, Washington). Whether it's too much tinkering, too intense for young guys, whatever the case, I worry we're watching that unfold right now - The idea that Turner needs to rebound the ball to get the ball to himself and keep it seems like ridiculous CYA from Collins. Were they trying to showcase him before the trade deadline and then he ticked Collins off, so they took the ball away from him again? Point guards don't need to rebound to get the ball, there are these things called inbound passes and outlet passes and, you know, plays...— bullrun
- philsix6:good post!...razz...you make a great point. Offensively (magnified in games when halfcourt play is the only option),the Sixers have been porous. Much was made of the thumb injury to Brand and Hawes being out of action...both are now back now (albeit Hawes' still shows rust), yet the Sixers are still mired with substandard perimeter shooting,poor decision making, and stifled ball movement. He has looked for answers (almost everywhere) and now is employing assistant Brian James as chief play caller during timeouts...Lack of practices is credited for THESE problems, and that excuse can only go so far, as all teams are pretty much in that position...During yesterday's PC, when he mentions the fact that "THAD is our only agile big", that's clearly a dig at Hawes and Vucevic.. (We all know quick feet is not EB's game)...DC had control of this...He elected length and perimeter game (Vucevic) over toughness and explosion in Kenneth Faried at #16...His undying love for Jodie Meeks (great kid) may have prevented an obvious upgrade at the arc (Anthony Morrow?)...His rigid belief that Mo Speight could never give quality minutes also can be questioned...While I still believe DC is the man for the job, self reflection is neccesary.— bearsfriend
- I see where Jrue holds onto the ball too much, but I haven't seen any evidence of ET not passing. Whenever he has the ball (not enough) he readily gives it up, and the ball moves better when he initiates the offense. Except last night, that was a bad game by everyone.— mjc1
2 thumbs up Mr. Cooney, although you purposely (I'm sure) left some things unsaid. Your Vuc line was hilarious. I commented on another article that he looks dazed, your "knocked unconscious" is better.
@philsix6, You're dead on. I might throw Lou in with the ET/Jrue friction.
@stikolaboloni, I'm with you on not overusing Thad. DC already has a very short rotation. I know there are cries to start Thad but I think that's the 1 player he uses right.
@bearsfriend, you're right we need to get tougher. Can you think of a PF that would have helped us out with that?— mtairy1- It's not just the body language, it's the verbal language too.— Cole_World
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.
