Monday, October 19, 2009

2009-10 Sixers Preview

By John McMullen

Philadelphia figures to be one of the more interesting teams to follow this season as basketball chief Ed Stefanski continues to mold the team in his image.

Interim coach Tony DiLeo, who replaced Maurice Cheeks during the season last
year, was kicked back to the front office and replaced by Eddie Jordan, the
highly-regarded former Wizards mentor, who brings his vaunted Princeton
Offense up I-95.

The team also let veteran point guard Andre Miller walk to Portland and handed
the keys to the untested Lou Williams, a hich-octane offensive player that
thinks shot first. Meanwhile, former All-Star forward Elton Brand will try to
return from yet another injury and fit in with the Sixers' best player,
swingman Andre Iguodala.

In virtually every business, executives who get paid way too much to do way
too little try to reinvent the wheel. "Branding" or "re-branding" is a big
catch phrase in corporate America. In fact, a lot of executives, looking to
justify their bloated salaries, even tinker with winning formulas.

Anyone remember new Coke?

"Branding" invaded the sports world over the last 20 years or so. Looking to
stick their hands deeper into the pockets of fans, many sports franchises
change logos and jerseys every few years, thinking their most loyal customers
will shell out the money for the new merchandise.

The 76ers went back to the future for their re-branding campaign this season,
retrieving their classic red, white and blue logo used during their last
championship run in 1982-83.

Change was certainly needed.

In a four-sport city, the Sixers are nothing but an afterthought, a nag in a
four-horse race. The NFL's Eagles rule the City of Brotherly Love, while the
other teams tend to navigate through peaks and valleys depending on the
success they are having on their respective playing fields.

Major League Baseball's Phillies, who are coming off only the second World
Series championship in their tortured history, have been able to pack their
ballpark and steal the back page headlines from the Eagles on occasion.
Meanwhile, the NHL's Flyers never win but are almost always competitive, and
that seems to placate a small but loyal fan base.

The Sixers?

They haven't been relevant since 2000-01 when Allen Iverson was taking home
MVP honors en route to an Eastern Conference championship.

The train began to derail when the nomadic Larry Brown, the only coach to ever
figure Iverson out, took his tired act to the Motor City. Iverson's legendary
selfishness then teamed up with Chris Webber's laissez-faire attitude to
cripple one of the league's marquee franchises from within.

Billy King was replaced at the top of the organization by Stefanski during
the 2007-08 season and the Sixers looked to be back on track. A Philly native,
Stefanski rolled the dice in a big way during his first offseason as the
team's general manager, inking Brand to a massive free agent contract.

Brand, a two-time All-Star, was coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon that
cost him most of the 2007-08 season. He didn't look healthy when he took the
floor with the Sixers last year and wasn't a good fit for the team's high-
octane running game. A torn labrum in his right shoulder sidelined Brand again
and the Sixers righted the ship without him, making a playoff run under DiLeo.

"The main thing is, it wasn't Elton," Iguodala said at the team's media
day. "We didn't really have a concrete plan (last year). I think we had a Plan
A, but no Plan B, C, so on and so forth. Just pound it inside and see what
happens from there. Once that was shut down it was kind of hectic instead of
playing our game and going with the flow."

With Jordan and the Princeton offense now employed, the Sixers are hoping to
finally garner a return on a massive investment.

Jordan explained to the media how his philosophy is designed to work earlier
this offseason. Williams will dish to Iguodala when approaching midcourt on
the dribble. It will then be Iguodala's job to pass ahead to the forward
(either Thaddeus Young or Brand). The forward will continue to move the ball
inside to the center (Samuel Dalembert or Jason Smith). After each pass, a
variety of options exist. The guard making the original pass to the forward
will cut to the basket as the center is getting the ball. The center can
drive, look backdoor or pass out to a forward for a jumper.

According to Jordan, Brand seems like a natural fit for the offense. He can
pass, he has a nice mid-range jumper from the elbow and he can move inside to
the pivot at times. In fact, Jordan envisions Brand, Iguodala and Young much
in the same way Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler excelled in
the offense in Washington.

"It's going to take time," Brand said of the new offense. "I know we can put
the basics in, but once we have the basics, it's still more plays, more layers
we can add."

Of course Brand must stay on the floor to make things work. He spent a lot of
the offseason at a Los Angeles gym playing summer pickup games with a host of
other NBA stars, including Paul Pierce, Ron Artest and Emeka Okafor, trying to
regain his power and explosiveness.

"The biggest thing you lost is the physicality," Brand said of his injuries.
"You lose that will to kind of just bang and hit people, getting hit. Once
you're injured, you're thinking, 'OK, I don't want my shoulder to get hit.'
or, 'Can I jump off this leg into a guy to get this foul?'"

Brand feels he got those hiccups out of the way in Hollywood.

"Once you get the physical grind of the game, you start to appreciate that
again," Brand said. "You can add that back to your game. Then everything else
is secondary. (Pointing to his head) That's all up here."

2008-09 Results: 41-41, second in Atlantic; Lost in first round of playoffs to
Orlando.

ADDITIONS: G Jrue Holiday, F Jason Kapono, G/F Rodney Carney, C Primoz Brezec

SUBTRACTIONS: G Andre Miller, F Reggie Evans

PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:

PG- Lou Williams
SG- Andre Iguodala
SF- Thaddeus Young
PF- Elton Brand
C- Samuel Dalembert

KEY RESERVES: G/F Rodney Carney, G Willie Green, G Jrue Holiday,
F Jason Kapono, C Jason Smith, f/c Marresse Speights

FRONTCOURT Young is a natural scorer with an array of lost-post moves and a
feathery touch around the basket. He has spent most of his first two years in
the pros, playing out of position at the four spot, using his speed and
quickness to torture bigger players on the block. His defense and rebounding
suffered, however. The Sixers think Young has an All-Star type upside.

When healthy Brand is a horse on both ends of the floor. He has done
everything possible to get himself ready to play so if his body breaks down
this year it could be the end of the road. The Sixers envision a star in the
half-court and a player who can dominate when the team's run-and-gun technique
bogs downs.

It's no secret Dalembert wanted out of Philly and it's no secret Stefanski had
tried to move him but a massive contract with a 15 percent trade kicker nixed
that and both sides have turned the page and hope Jordan's ball movement
offense helps Sammy. Dalembert had extraordinary athletic skills and is a top-
tier rebounder and shot-blocker when on the floor. He also has a nice touch on
his jumper but his basketball IQ is as low as it gets and he is often in foul
trouble early in games.

BACKCOURT: Williams is listed as the starting point guard but Iguodala will
share the ball-handling duties. Williams, an extremely talented offensive
player, should see his numbers explode as he gets more minutes in Jordan's
offense. Whether he can temper himself, cut down on turnovers and handle
himself on the defensive end will determine just how successful Williams is.

Iguodala is one of the game's most underrated players. An athletic marvel,
Iguodala can stuff the stat sheet like few others and covets the big moment.
However, he has only been an All-Star level performer at the three spot and was
actually a huge disappointment early last season when playing the two with
Brand on the floor in Cheeks' conventional offense.

BENCH: The Sixers will get a big boost with the return of backup center Jason
Smith, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, and the arrival of
sharp-shooter Jason Kapono. Smith is the exact opposite of Dalembert, he may
not be a great athlete but he has a high basketball IQ with the jump shot and
passing skills to excel in Jordan's scheme.

Kapono, who was acquired from Toronto for fan favorite Reggie Evans, may be
the best pure shooter in basketball, a desperate need for a Sixers team that
has trouble stretching the floor. Jordan must understand Kapono is a one-
dimensional player, however, and will get exposed with major minutes.

The Sixers may be a little too excited over second year power forward Marreese
Speights because of his offensive skills. Unlike most young players, Speights
arrived with an NBA-ready offensive game but struggles mightily on the boards
and at the defensive end.

With Brand back, guard Willie Green heads back to the bench. When Green is
hot, he can score in bunches but offers little else. He has been used as the
backup point guard in the preseason after spending the last few seasons
playing off the ball.

"I can bring the ball up and I can play off the ball," Green said. "It's just
a learning process. When I first came into the league, I played point guard. I
didn't play shooting guard. It's just a matter of just getting comfortable,
learning the offense and going out there and executing."

Swingman Rodney Carney could be a wild card. He looked like he was coming on
down the stretch two seasons ago in Philadelphia but the Sixers had to drop
him in order to sign Brand. An exceptional athlete, Carney has the potential
to be a lockdown defender but doesn't play with confidence unless his jumper
is falling.

Veteran center Primoz Brezec returns to the NBA after a year overseas and
gives the Sixers a big, bruising body that can lay people out on screens and
crash the boards.

Rookie point guard Jrue Holiday, the team's first round pick, is a project
with an enormous upside after spending just one season at UCLA. With sound and
patient coaching, Holiday could be one of the best two-way guards in the NBA
two or three years down the road.

Royal Ivey is an offensively challenged, tough minded defender that can offer
minutes at either guard spot, Ivey also developed a nice Bruce Bowen-like
three-point shot from the weak side last season.

COACHING: Jordan is certainly an upgrade over Cheeks and DiLeo. His Washington
teams were tremendous offensively and always made the playoffs until last
year's disaster.

"We have an offensive system that they can believe in and will be consistent,"
Jordan said. "There's not going to be a lot of random basketball."

STEVE SCHWARZ'S FANTASY FOCUS: With Miller gone and Brand back and healthy,
it's hard to predict how this team will divide up their shots. Williams,
Iguodala and Brand would all like to shoot at least 15 times a game, but
someone will have to give shots to the up-and-coming Young.

OUTLOOK: For what its worth, Brand looked imposing in the Sixers' new uniform.
His upper body was as thick as it's ever been and he claims to have regained
nearly all the strength in his left leg.

"He looks 100 percent to me," Iguodala said.

The new logo and uniforms are nice but will mean little to a basketball-
starved city. The only re-"Brand"-ing Sixers fans want is success on the floor

"No pun intended, but there's a lot of pressure on my shoulders," Brand said.
"I know what I was brought in here to do."

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