The Philadelphia Youthful “Brand” of Basketball
The Philadelphia 76ers leave many questions prior to the start of 2009-10.
First off, their moves in free agency are quite strange.
They let Andre Miller leave. Which is rather crazy enough. But then…..
They sign Jason Kapono. Sure he has a ring, but also had Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal back then. Sure he can hit 3s. But can he do anything else?
The 76ers expect Jrue Holiday, Royal Ivey, and Lou Williams to run the back-court? Oops, um sorry, I meant scuttle the back-court.
That is stretching it thin. At least Ivey can defend well. When you have no experience at the point, your overall chances are diminished substantially.
Elton Brand has only played 37 games over the last two years. This is a huge variable for the 76ers. If I were Brand, based on Philly’s moves, I would be saying either “Ouch, my Achilles” or “Please trade me now.”
They were unable to rid themselves of Samuel Dalembert. Although there have been several trade rumors since last season, this is my favorite .
Chances are, they won’t be able to move him because of his inconsistent play. Also, he is not so high on the basketball IQ food chain. Ultimately, if he stays, he should end up losing loads of minutes to Philadelphia’s younger big men.
Thaddeus Young is the real deal. He’s a young and talented defender with some serious offensive upside. His future looks real bright. He has an inside-out game. He is left handed which is always a plus in the world of sports.
Young killed it last year at the age of 20, dropping in 15.3 points while shooting 49.5%. He also had 5 rebounds a game. Look for these numbers to climb next season.
Marreese Speights is a young big on the 76ers roster. In 16 minutes a game he dropped in 7.7 points while shooting 50% with 3.7 rebounds a game. He is faraway the smarter center with the ball than Dalembert and he has NCAA Championship experience.
Speights’ numbers will increase with more time. Make that with Dalemberts’ time.
We are looking at a potential 15 and 10 guy here all the way.
The main question is: How are Brand and Iguodala going to feel about the rebuilding process? These guys are solid when they have the rock, but who is going to set them up?
This is going to be a long year..... (Credit: picapp.com)
It would require impossibly massive years from the 76ers backcourt in addition to Speights in order to return to the playoffs.
We all know Williams has game, but he is not a pure point, and Holiday is not Derrick Rose.
The 76ers appear to have taken a couple of steps backwards this season. However, they could easily be on the right path after this year.
The prognosis: 76ers miss the playoffs, and will be in the lottery next draft.
The only good news involving “old” is that the 76ers are planning to bring back the old school jerseys.
Unfortunately, that is not enough to make a playoff run.
Similar Posts:
Fri, Aug 14, 2009 by Adam Sedie
Free Agents, News, Opinions, Rumors, Transactions