Sixers Starting to Look Like a Team
Despite the fact that Chris Webber keeps taking flat shots 1) well beyond his range and 2) that exhibit poor clock management when the team is winning, the Sixers are starting to make me a believer.
Granted, they are only a .500 team at this point in the season. Granted, they got crushed by the Bulls…a game in which they looked like the worst team in the league.
But here are a few positive indicators going into the second half of the season.
1. Iverson is spreading the ball and by spreading the ball, Iverson is taking less shots
2. By taking less shots, the quality of each shot that Iverson takes is going up
3. Iverson is still getting his points, but not as a result of “volume” shooting
4. Iguodala is starting to take a more pro-active role on the offensive end of the court, coming off a strong all-star performance (I see him being an all-star from this point forward)
5. Iguodala has developed a nice outside shot, which he didn’t have his rookie season
6. Korver and Webber can each score 30 points in a single game.
7. Korver is lighting it up from beyond the arc, keeping the opposing defense spread
8. The Sixers are consistently beating playoff caliber teams, not to mention the defending champion Spurs
9. Defense is showing improvement: they were absolutely hot for three quarters against the Bucks, forcing turnovers left and right.
10. Most importantly, they’re actually playing as a team and not a group of individuals.
And you know what, to top it all off, I think that Maurice Cheeks actually knows how to coach. I heard him last night on Comcast talking about his defensive strategy at the beginning of the game (to start with a small, quick team in order to produce turnovers) and then he made rational adjustments throughout the game. I never had a sense that O’Brien was doing the right thing. With Cheeks, I’ve got the sense that he’s got a plan and the players are actually starting to implement it.
Ok, with all that said, there are still a number of issues that need to be resolved. The Sixers literally have no inside game. They have no dominant big man. Dalembert can’t play real defense…he only blocks shots. They still have players who are habituated to “getting their shots” and who put the team at risk at the end of games instead of doing good clock management. In fact, against the Bucks, the Sixers gave up something like 10 points in the stretch of one minute when they had an 18 point lead. During that stretch, Webber took at least two ill advised jumpers that were both 1) outside of his range and 2) well before the shot clock had reached 5.
It’ll be exciting to see if the Sixers can come together for a strong second half upswing.
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Posted on February 25, 2006 by Micah | Filed Under Sixers, Philadelphia
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[…] 2006 by Micah
Back in February, right after the All Star break, I was getting all giddy. I thought the Sixers were starting t […]