Collins shepherding Sixers' improvement from within
By Bob Cooney
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Sports Columnist
THE ANSWER IS YES.
The question has been asked by fans, via e-mails, tweets, texts and even in person (yes, you still can communicate that way), "Is it a good thing for the Sixers to be doing so well right now?"
Again, yes.
Doug Collins said from the day he was brought in here to be the franchise's 23rd coach that he was going to evaluate the talent and make the players better. He has done that and continues to do that, judging from the team's 19-13 record since its 3-13 start.
Second-year guard Jrue Holiday, the point guard of the present and future, has shown steady improvement in his first full season manning the position. He has developed into a threat as an outside shooter, can get to the basket and finish, is getting better at running out on the fastbreak and taking steps in his defense. He still makes some silly plays out on the floor, a little too often for Collins' liking, until he realizes Holiday is still just 20.
Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young are playing their best basketball in recent years, and Collins is the primary reason for that, as those two will attest.
At times, particularly now, Andre Iguodala has been the leader Collins envisioned him being from the outset, playing well at both ends of the court and verbalizing positively with teammates.
Collins has gotten productive starting minutes from Jodie Meeks at the shooting guard spot, though Meeks' true position in this league right now is probably that of an off-the-bench spark. Lou Williams has been everything anyone would want from the backup shooting guard, and, if you're watching closely, Evan Turner is really starting to prosper from the head coach's lessons.
All in all, improvement has been steady. For those who have stuck by the Sixers the past few years, they will acknowledge that they are more fun to watch, more relevant. There is hope again.
If you're reading this, it is because you have an interest in the local pro team. If that is the case, try to remember what you felt about this club at the same point last season, or maybe the season before that. The point is, when you notice a Sixers game is on TV, you are more willing to sit and watch now than at any time in the recent past.
Those are all positives: the improvement of Holiday, Turner, Young, Meeks and Williams - all players under 25; the winning attitude that these players are absorbing; the coach.
What will all that translate to this season? Probably a playoff spot, somewhere from the sixth to eighth seed, which will most likely mean a meeting with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks.
That is where most say the positives come crashing down like a winter storm. Another playoff appearance, another first-round loss, another middle-of-the-road draft pick - yada, yada, yada.
The line I heard from a season ticketholder at the beginning of this season was, "As much as I love the hiring of Doug Collins, this team is mired in mediocrity."
Maybe so. But is tanking a season, or two, the answer? Can you evaluate the talent you have, either for trade purposes or to build around, by shoveling in a healthy heaping of losing attitude? And if you are lucky enough to compile some draft picks, is that the certain answer?
I just can't see, in any form of life, where losing brings about good results. Remember, from presidents to general managers to coaches to players, these are some of the most competitive people in the world. They don't get to those positions without that being a part of their makeup.
High draft picks are nice, but certainly not a guarantee. A marquee free-agent signing is a huge question mark for any team with the collective bargaining agreement for the future not known.
This much is known about the Sixers: They are set at the point with Holiday. Turner, most valuable as a small forward right now, has shown signs he can be a very good player in this league, once a permanent position is found for him. Young and Williams are very nice pieces. They have a plethora of young talent. And they certainly have the right coach to bring all of them along.
What's missing? While Spencer Hawes has shown he can be that sweet passing, long-range-stroking, rebounding center the Sixers had hoped he would be, he hasn't done it nearly enough to conjure up enough confidence to plant him in the middle for the future (he is just 22). A bigger and more consistent version of Meeks would do a great deal toward making the offense close to lethal, and more consistent production from backup center Marreese Speights also would be a welcome surprise.
As someone said to me recently, "forget scouting all the college players, scout the players who are already in the league and get the ones you need."
Great point, but again, that CBA thing is a real roadblock.
The fixes to make this team a championship contender most definitely won't come quickly, But improvement from within is certainly happening now, which is much better than taking steps backward to try to move forward.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
0
Options
The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
cool song, only highlights from my perspective was the Pearl Jam music MSG played during commercials. In fact, that might have been the only highlight might have been that from a Knick perspective.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
0
Options
The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
cool song, only highlights from my perspective was the Pearl Jam music MSG played during commercials. In fact, that might have been the only highlight might have been that from a Knick perspective.
i was expecting a knick 3 to win the game at the end there.
0
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
If telling it like it is means telling the bad when it's bad, then it means telling the good when it's good. And, right now, there's no more doubt: it's good. If you're not excited about this team, which tonight beat the New York Knicks 100-98 and has a record of 20-13 in its last 33 games, then you're never going to be excited about this team. You should stop reading now.
We've been tentative all season long because a 3-13 start will scare some people. Couple that start with last season's record of 27-55 and it doesn't take a genius to understand why the seats have been empty in the Wells Fargo Center and minds have been closed toward discussions of revival. But then this strange thing happened. Even though the team started 3-13, it didn't come apart at the seams. So we watched, cautious, wondering if the bounce back was just temporary, if they'd stumble once again and start showing the immaturity and frustration and then, eventually, start losing again. If, despite his best efforts, Doug Collins would be unable to penetrate the minds of this talented, but previously aloof roster.
But even through the ridiculous losses (which might not necessarily be out of their system, one never knows), the 76ers played hard and solid and kept winning their share of games. Even the most skeptical among us might not be as skeptical as Andre Iguodala, who has for years seemed only willing to give so much of his emotion (as compared to physical effort, which he always gives) toward the winning effort. At some point in the last two weeks, Iguodala has bought in. He's made this his team, not just the team he plays on, and you can see the results on the floor. Did you see him tonight? He had 16 assists and 0 turnovers. Here's a crazy statistic that I was relayed tonight: since the NBA started keeping turnovers as an individual statistic (sometime in the 70's), Iguodala's 16 assists is the most assists in franchise history without a turnover. Dishing out 16 assists and not turning the ball over is amazing and remarkable, about as infrequent as tossing a no-hitter in baseball. A really good assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA is 3-to-1. Tonight, Iguodala's was 16-to-0. That statistic is really just a byproduct, it seems, of some sort of switch that has changed with Iguodala.
We're as wary as anyone of falling into this once-a-year trap of proclaiming that "Iguodala is embracing his role as leader!" We heard it last year, we heard it the year before, we heard it the one before that. And by each of those seasons' end, you really couldn't say for sure that he had. This doesn't feel like previous years. This feels different. For starters, in the fourth quarter of tonight's game, Iguodala could not have been any more excited after each of Elton Brand's jumpers. He was the first to punish Brand with (what looked like) an intense hi-five. Given his reaction, you'd have thought Iguodala had scored, not Brand. At one point when the Knicks cut the lead to six points, Iguodala took the inbounds pass in front of his own bench, turned upcourt and just absolutely busted to the rim for a layup. We've never seen that before. Is it really that easy for him? It looked that easy. And that was a monster basket for the team, pushing the lead back to 8 points. In seasons' past, or even earlier this year, doubtful that Iguodala executes that play. But tonight, his team needed a basket and he took off. That's all there was to it.
After his 33 points tonight, is it time we all apologize to Elton Brand for declaring his best days were behind him? He'd probably be happy just if the topic were never again raised. His effort has always been there, but now the game is following. Having these two guys -- Iguodala and Brand -- on the same page while leading this team is really crucial to maintaining success because they've never seemed so in sync.
It would be easy to say the Sixers don't deserve fans' attention because they're not the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls. And in the NBA it doesn't matter unless you're one of these teams. What's the point, right? Well, it's also really easy to be a fan of any of those teams right now because winning is the norm and losing happens every once in a while. The Sixers are not cured of what ails them. They have a question mark in the middle, they have some rebounding issues, they have some end-of-game issues (tonight's game shouldn't have even come down to a final shot), but Doug Collins has done precisely what he said he would do: make this team one you can be proud to root for every night. Have you ever seen Lou Williams work harder on defense than he did during tonight's fourth quarter? He was actually reach stepping over the top of a screen to stay in front of Raymond Felton. Pretty sure that for the last few years he's just run into that screen and then watched Felton make a layup. The fourth quarter started and the Sixers didn't make some crazy adjustment to get back into the game, they just worked harder than the Knicks.
If the Sixers were a stock, buying now would be buying low. Because they're on their way up. And that's something we couldn't imagine writing three months ago.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
cool song, only highlights from my perspective was the Pearl Jam music MSG played during commercials. In fact, that might have been the only highlight might have been that from a Knick perspective.
gotta feeling the knicks win this one by double digits. hope i'm wrong...
good prediction, i hope you played that one on the sports book today..
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
0
Options
The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
but don't screw around with the first three after the break, washington, detroit and cleveland.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
0
Options
The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
but don't screw around with the first three after the break, washington, detroit and cleveland.
yeah. we'll see how it goes.
tough loss for the johnnies yesterday. they were basically playing at 10 am their time though right? it was an early game out west? seems like odd timing for that game right in the middle of the conference schedule.
i think the foul shot disparity was a little absurd..
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
0
Options
The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
i'm at work right now.....are the sixers really up by 30 points in atlanta??? wtf is going on down there? :shock:
i didn't see that yet...i think fixer's head would explode if he saw this article.
let's not get too crazy but this just speaks to how good a coach doug collins is. aside from turner (who flirted with a triple double apparently tonight), this is essentially the same roster and he is getting sooooooooooooo much more out of it. elton brand is actually playing like a beast. and allowing iguadala to handle the ball at the point has turned him into a much more effective player as opposed to just a guy who accumulates numbers.
take the night and run :thumbup:
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
gotta figure tonight is a loss, right?
the fact that they were able to rest a lot of guys in the 2nd half is key though with both teams playing back to back nights...
i didn't see that yet...i think fixer's head would explode if he saw this article.
let's not get too crazy but this just speaks to how good a coach doug collins is. aside from turner (who flirted with a triple double apparently tonight), this is essentially the same roster and he is getting sooooooooooooo much more out of it. elton brand is actually playing like a beast. and allowing iguadala to handle the ball at the point has turned him into a much more effective player as opposed to just a guy who accumulates numbers.
take the night and run :thumbup:
they're playing well, but it doesn't matter unless they can get up to the 5 seed. which I don't see happening.
aren't williams and young both FAs after this year? I think hawes might be too (thank god). Luckily nocioni is back next season.
howard might score 200 tonight
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
i didn't see that yet...i think fixer's head would explode if he saw this article.
let's not get too crazy but this just speaks to how good a coach doug collins is. aside from turner (who flirted with a triple double apparently tonight), this is essentially the same roster and he is getting sooooooooooooo much more out of it. elton brand is actually playing like a beast. and allowing iguadala to handle the ball at the point has turned him into a much more effective player as opposed to just a guy who accumulates numbers.
take the night and run :thumbup:
they're playing well, but it doesn't matter unless they can get up to the 5 seed. which I don't see happening.
aren't williams and young both FAs after this year? I think hawes might be too (thank god). Luckily nocioni is back next season.
they're playing well, but it doesn't matter unless they can get up to the 5 seed. which I don't see happening.
aren't williams and young both FAs after this year? I think hawes might be too (thank god). Luckily nocioni is back next season.
howard might score 200 tonight
restricted fa's i believe.
hop on board fixer.
like I said, a 6-8 seed isn't anything to get excited about. they're stuck in this endless cycle of mediocrity
I just turned down tix for friday night. no desire to go at all whatsoever
speaking of endless cycle....this conversation is the definition. no sense in getting into it again. if you watch the team you'd see a clear difference between year's past.
speaking of endless cycle....this conversation is the definition. no sense in getting into it again. if you watch the team you'd see a clear difference between year's past.
come playoff time in a close game, who takes the big shots for this team? that's my point...they don't have a go to player. you can't win in the NBA without one. or any semblance of a frontcourt presence.
I'm not getting excited about a team that's getting drilled in round 1. again. you're on the wrong bandwagon...you should try watching the flyers before june. they are winning it all this year
81, tix not free
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
speaking of endless cycle....this conversation is the definition. no sense in getting into it again. if you watch the team you'd see a clear difference between year's past.
come playoff time in a close game, who takes the big shots for this team? that's my point...they don't have a go to player. you can't win in the NBA without one. or any semblance of a frontcourt presence.
I'm not getting excited about a team that's getting drilled in round 1. again. you're on the wrong bandwagon...you should try watching the flyers before june. they are winning it all this year
81, tix not free
they're laying the seeds dude. putting the pieces in place and letting them grow. they're most likely not winning a playoff series. nobody expects that... :?
you're talking to a die hard. i was a phils fan before they were good and popular. same deal with the birds and sixers. win or lose i'm here. gotta like the improvement with this squad. start watching them when you have the time.
hockey...i'll start watching in may as per usual. not a hockey guy :wave:
Post edited by The Juggler on
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81
Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
i can see passing on tix if you gotta pay....i might pass as well. free tix, i'm all over it.
81 is now off the air
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,357
speaking of endless cycle....this conversation is the definition. no sense in getting into it again. if you watch the team you'd see a clear difference between year's past.
come playoff time in a close game, who takes the big shots for this team? that's my point...they don't have a go to player. you can't win in the NBA without one. or any semblance of a frontcourt presence.
I'm not getting excited about a team that's getting drilled in round 1. again. you're on the wrong bandwagon...you should try watching the flyers before june. they are winning it all this year
81, tix not free
they're laying the seeds dude. putting the pieces in place and letting them grow. they're most likely not winning a playoff series. nobody expects that... :?
you're talking to a die hard. i was a phils fan before they were good and popular. same deal with the birds and sixers. win or lose i'm here. gotta like the improvement with this squad. start watching them when you have the time.
hockey...i'll start watching in may as per usual. not a hockey guy :wave:
love how you keep saying to start watching them even though I've told you a billion times that I do.
unlike you I enjoy watching ALL of the 4 philly teams. see you at the flyers parade this june. make sure you cut the tags off of your gear before you wear it out in public
funny that you're here calling people 'frauds' on this board, then you pretty much admit you're one yourself. also funny that you think you're the only one that liked the philly teams that didn't win. you probably don't remember the days of kevin dineen, dominic rouseel, and claude boivin, but I do. Just like I remember christian welp, shawn bradley, and dana barros. but keep telling us how great of a fan you are...whatever helps you sleep at night
Comments
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/six ... ithin.html
Collins shepherding Sixers' improvement from within
By Bob Cooney
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Sports Columnist
THE ANSWER IS YES.
The question has been asked by fans, via e-mails, tweets, texts and even in person (yes, you still can communicate that way), "Is it a good thing for the Sixers to be doing so well right now?"
Again, yes.
Doug Collins said from the day he was brought in here to be the franchise's 23rd coach that he was going to evaluate the talent and make the players better. He has done that and continues to do that, judging from the team's 19-13 record since its 3-13 start.
Second-year guard Jrue Holiday, the point guard of the present and future, has shown steady improvement in his first full season manning the position. He has developed into a threat as an outside shooter, can get to the basket and finish, is getting better at running out on the fastbreak and taking steps in his defense. He still makes some silly plays out on the floor, a little too often for Collins' liking, until he realizes Holiday is still just 20.
Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young are playing their best basketball in recent years, and Collins is the primary reason for that, as those two will attest.
At times, particularly now, Andre Iguodala has been the leader Collins envisioned him being from the outset, playing well at both ends of the court and verbalizing positively with teammates.
Collins has gotten productive starting minutes from Jodie Meeks at the shooting guard spot, though Meeks' true position in this league right now is probably that of an off-the-bench spark. Lou Williams has been everything anyone would want from the backup shooting guard, and, if you're watching closely, Evan Turner is really starting to prosper from the head coach's lessons.
All in all, improvement has been steady. For those who have stuck by the Sixers the past few years, they will acknowledge that they are more fun to watch, more relevant. There is hope again.
If you're reading this, it is because you have an interest in the local pro team. If that is the case, try to remember what you felt about this club at the same point last season, or maybe the season before that. The point is, when you notice a Sixers game is on TV, you are more willing to sit and watch now than at any time in the recent past.
Those are all positives: the improvement of Holiday, Turner, Young, Meeks and Williams - all players under 25; the winning attitude that these players are absorbing; the coach.
What will all that translate to this season? Probably a playoff spot, somewhere from the sixth to eighth seed, which will most likely mean a meeting with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks.
That is where most say the positives come crashing down like a winter storm. Another playoff appearance, another first-round loss, another middle-of-the-road draft pick - yada, yada, yada.
The line I heard from a season ticketholder at the beginning of this season was, "As much as I love the hiring of Doug Collins, this team is mired in mediocrity."
Maybe so. But is tanking a season, or two, the answer? Can you evaluate the talent you have, either for trade purposes or to build around, by shoveling in a healthy heaping of losing attitude? And if you are lucky enough to compile some draft picks, is that the certain answer?
I just can't see, in any form of life, where losing brings about good results. Remember, from presidents to general managers to coaches to players, these are some of the most competitive people in the world. They don't get to those positions without that being a part of their makeup.
High draft picks are nice, but certainly not a guarantee. A marquee free-agent signing is a huge question mark for any team with the collective bargaining agreement for the future not known.
This much is known about the Sixers: They are set at the point with Holiday. Turner, most valuable as a small forward right now, has shown signs he can be a very good player in this league, once a permanent position is found for him. Young and Williams are very nice pieces. They have a plethora of young talent. And they certainly have the right coach to bring all of them along.
What's missing? While Spencer Hawes has shown he can be that sweet passing, long-range-stroking, rebounding center the Sixers had hoped he would be, he hasn't done it nearly enough to conjure up enough confidence to plant him in the middle for the future (he is just 22). A bigger and more consistent version of Meeks would do a great deal toward making the offense close to lethal, and more consistent production from backup center Marreese Speights also would be a welcome surprise.
As someone said to me recently, "forget scouting all the college players, scout the players who are already in the league and get the ones you need."
Great point, but again, that CBA thing is a real roadblock.
The fixes to make this team a championship contender most definitely won't come quickly, But improvement from within is certainly happening now, which is much better than taking steps backward to try to move forward.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEKK3GVd ... re=related
:thumbup:
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
cool song, only highlights from my perspective was the Pearl Jam music MSG played during commercials. In fact, that might have been the only highlight might have been that from a Knick perspective.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
iguadala:
18 points.
16 assists.
0 turnovers....impressive again.
i was expecting a knick 3 to win the game at the end there.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/deep ... wagon.html
Get on the bandwagon
If telling it like it is means telling the bad when it's bad, then it means telling the good when it's good. And, right now, there's no more doubt: it's good. If you're not excited about this team, which tonight beat the New York Knicks 100-98 and has a record of 20-13 in its last 33 games, then you're never going to be excited about this team. You should stop reading now.
We've been tentative all season long because a 3-13 start will scare some people. Couple that start with last season's record of 27-55 and it doesn't take a genius to understand why the seats have been empty in the Wells Fargo Center and minds have been closed toward discussions of revival. But then this strange thing happened. Even though the team started 3-13, it didn't come apart at the seams. So we watched, cautious, wondering if the bounce back was just temporary, if they'd stumble once again and start showing the immaturity and frustration and then, eventually, start losing again. If, despite his best efforts, Doug Collins would be unable to penetrate the minds of this talented, but previously aloof roster.
But even through the ridiculous losses (which might not necessarily be out of their system, one never knows), the 76ers played hard and solid and kept winning their share of games. Even the most skeptical among us might not be as skeptical as Andre Iguodala, who has for years seemed only willing to give so much of his emotion (as compared to physical effort, which he always gives) toward the winning effort. At some point in the last two weeks, Iguodala has bought in. He's made this his team, not just the team he plays on, and you can see the results on the floor. Did you see him tonight? He had 16 assists and 0 turnovers. Here's a crazy statistic that I was relayed tonight: since the NBA started keeping turnovers as an individual statistic (sometime in the 70's), Iguodala's 16 assists is the most assists in franchise history without a turnover. Dishing out 16 assists and not turning the ball over is amazing and remarkable, about as infrequent as tossing a no-hitter in baseball. A really good assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA is 3-to-1. Tonight, Iguodala's was 16-to-0. That statistic is really just a byproduct, it seems, of some sort of switch that has changed with Iguodala.
We're as wary as anyone of falling into this once-a-year trap of proclaiming that "Iguodala is embracing his role as leader!" We heard it last year, we heard it the year before, we heard it the one before that. And by each of those seasons' end, you really couldn't say for sure that he had. This doesn't feel like previous years. This feels different. For starters, in the fourth quarter of tonight's game, Iguodala could not have been any more excited after each of Elton Brand's jumpers. He was the first to punish Brand with (what looked like) an intense hi-five. Given his reaction, you'd have thought Iguodala had scored, not Brand. At one point when the Knicks cut the lead to six points, Iguodala took the inbounds pass in front of his own bench, turned upcourt and just absolutely busted to the rim for a layup. We've never seen that before. Is it really that easy for him? It looked that easy. And that was a monster basket for the team, pushing the lead back to 8 points. In seasons' past, or even earlier this year, doubtful that Iguodala executes that play. But tonight, his team needed a basket and he took off. That's all there was to it.
After his 33 points tonight, is it time we all apologize to Elton Brand for declaring his best days were behind him? He'd probably be happy just if the topic were never again raised. His effort has always been there, but now the game is following. Having these two guys -- Iguodala and Brand -- on the same page while leading this team is really crucial to maintaining success because they've never seemed so in sync.
It would be easy to say the Sixers don't deserve fans' attention because they're not the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls. And in the NBA it doesn't matter unless you're one of these teams. What's the point, right? Well, it's also really easy to be a fan of any of those teams right now because winning is the norm and losing happens every once in a while. The Sixers are not cured of what ails them. They have a question mark in the middle, they have some rebounding issues, they have some end-of-game issues (tonight's game shouldn't have even come down to a final shot), but Doug Collins has done precisely what he said he would do: make this team one you can be proud to root for every night. Have you ever seen Lou Williams work harder on defense than he did during tonight's fourth quarter? He was actually reach stepping over the top of a screen to stay in front of Raymond Felton. Pretty sure that for the last few years he's just run into that screen and then watched Felton make a layup. The fourth quarter started and the Sixers didn't make some crazy adjustment to get back into the game, they just worked harder than the Knicks.
If the Sixers were a stock, buying now would be buying low. Because they're on their way up. And that's something we couldn't imagine writing three months ago.
gotta feeling the knicks win this one by double digits. hope i'm wrong...
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
thanks. nah, never go against the home town teams.
i guess this weekend turned out just like how we thought.
sixers next 5 are brutal too. i'll take 2-3 best case.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
yeah. we'll see how it goes.
tough loss for the johnnies yesterday. they were basically playing at 10 am their time though right? it was an early game out west? seems like odd timing for that game right in the middle of the conference schedule.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Smoking them.
Jeags, you like to stroke this team, so I don't know if you saw this yet...Pretty interesting...
http://www.the700level.com/2011/02/sixe ... e-nba.html
i didn't see that yet...i think fixer's head would explode if he saw this article.
let's not get too crazy but this just speaks to how good a coach doug collins is. aside from turner (who flirted with a triple double apparently tonight), this is essentially the same roster and he is getting sooooooooooooo much more out of it. elton brand is actually playing like a beast. and allowing iguadala to handle the ball at the point has turned him into a much more effective player as opposed to just a guy who accumulates numbers.
take the night and run :thumbup:
the fact that they were able to rest a lot of guys in the 2nd half is key though with both teams playing back to back nights...
we'll see
they're playing well, but it doesn't matter unless they can get up to the 5 seed. which I don't see happening.
aren't williams and young both FAs after this year? I think hawes might be too (thank god). Luckily nocioni is back next season.
howard might score 200 tonight
restricted fa's i believe.
hop on board fixer.
like I said, a 6-8 seed isn't anything to get excited about. they're stuck in this endless cycle of mediocrity
I just turned down tix for friday night. no desire to go at all whatsoever
i'd go see SA if the tickets were free.
speaking of endless cycle....this conversation is the definition. no sense in getting into it again. if you watch the team you'd see a clear difference between year's past.
come playoff time in a close game, who takes the big shots for this team? that's my point...they don't have a go to player. you can't win in the NBA without one. or any semblance of a frontcourt presence.
I'm not getting excited about a team that's getting drilled in round 1. again. you're on the wrong bandwagon...you should try watching the flyers before june. they are winning it all this year
81, tix not free
they're laying the seeds dude. putting the pieces in place and letting them grow. they're most likely not winning a playoff series. nobody expects that... :?
you're talking to a die hard. i was a phils fan before they were good and popular. same deal with the birds and sixers. win or lose i'm here. gotta like the improvement with this squad. start watching them when you have the time.
hockey...i'll start watching in may as per usual. not a hockey guy :wave:
do you get to many bulls games, guy?
how does the united center stack up to the wfc? you've been to our fair city's arena right?
love how you keep saying to start watching them even though I've told you a billion times that I do.
unlike you I enjoy watching ALL of the 4 philly teams. see you at the flyers parade this june. make sure you cut the tags off of your gear before you wear it out in public
funny that you're here calling people 'frauds' on this board, then you pretty much admit you're one yourself. also funny that you think you're the only one that liked the philly teams that didn't win. you probably don't remember the days of kevin dineen, dominic rouseel, and claude boivin, but I do. Just like I remember christian welp, shawn bradley, and dana barros. but keep telling us how great of a fan you are...whatever helps you sleep at night
I went to the PJ shows at the UC two summers ago. That place is 20 times louder than the WF center.
chicago is fucking great. I love that city