2008-2009 Philadelphia 76ers Season Thread

[ice grillin you]

everything ive ever heard eddie say about the brand signing was that he expected him to fit right in with and not slow down the running game...and really hes not wrong...yes brand wont come close to his 20-10 as his touches will decrese significantly but its not as if brand is shaq and cant move...he isnt sammy or speights either but theres no reason they cant run with elton

eddie is smart enough to know that you cant get a player just for the playoffs...the team cant run up and down for 82 games then flip a switch and be successful running a half court for the playoffs...hell they couldnt do it with a summer of practice a training camp and 20 regular season games...what he got brand for was to have a legitimate low post scoring option (obviously) but just an option as opposed to trying to become a half court team...playoffs or otherwise

[SD_Eagle5]

Cheeks rolls.... and now Dileo goes back to whats worked for them in the past. When Brand does come back he is going to have to adjust to the others players game now...which I'm liking a hell of a lot more

That's what it comes down to, the halfcourt/fast break mix was a disaster, Brand can run he just won't get his numbers - boo hoo.

[reese125]

theres one thing I do know is they are a different team without Brand and it would take a blind man not to see that their fast break game has vastly improved minus Brand

Im not saying that Brand is slow as shtein...hes actually quite versatile for his height and can run...but he is slower than the players youre seeing right now-- and he is forced to play tip to tip rather than running the full court.

What we are seeing again is a fully capable fast break team-- without shooters. So Brand or no Brand this team goes nowhere without shooters, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me that producing a half-court offense, when in the playoffs last year and knowing is the key the success, wasnt on their minds before the start of the season--especially with Iggy moving over to SG, a higher scoring avg in Thad, and by the minor additions of Donyell Marshall and Kareem Rush.

The season obviously hasnt panned out as expected

[ice grillin you]

well then everything eddie ever said was a lie and frankly iver never heard him mince words much less lie before...he seems as honest as you can get and when he doesnt answer he says i cant answer that...with brand he has said from day one that he expects him to fit in and run with the team not the other way around....cheeks drew up a half court offense centered around brand...not coincidentally he got fired...the thing with cheeks offense was he ran it thru brand but for some inexplicable reason he had brand on the elbow rather than the block

[reese125]

the sick thing about it is when Brand does come back he's only going to help more on the defensive side when hes in the game..and that has been their strong suit these past 5 games especially late 4th quarter

it will be interesting how DiLeo adjusts his lineup in the 4th when he does come back because Speights has been ridiculous in these 4th quarters defending and scoring points...but again their perimeter defense needs to improve big time with the better 3pt shooting teams and someone is going to have to step up their scoring game because you cant expect Miller to keep pushing the ball, dishing and scoring...dude is going to wear down

[SD_Eagle5]

Once Brand comes back Dileo needs to treat him like the other players and not put him on a pedestal. That should be step #1.

[reese125]

I agree and I dont think hell have a problem doing that.

Cheeks was the culprit of that... now hes throwing back cashews on his couch

[BigEd76]

they won at Atlanta.  4 in a row

[reese125]

was flipping back and forth with this game--solid win again

something silly is going in Philadelphia right now

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

was flipping back and forth with this game

FAIL

[reese125]

cmon kid--I got no time for commercials

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

If you missed one snap of the Eagles game, you lose as usual.

[reese125]

ha...yeah youre right...I want to watch a meaningless Sixers game over the Eagles in the playoffs

[ice grillin you]

something silly is going in Philadelphia right now

sixers are my favorite team in all of sports but wtf and lol???

[reese125]

go on..explain what you mean... because mine is more common sense than you think stud