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Posts Tagged ‘76ers’

Weekly Prediction: 2-2

The Sixers have a busy week with 4 games between Tuesday and Sunday. Of those 4 games only one of them is against a team with a record worse than their own. The Cavs have all but locked up the top spot in the East and the Heat and Bobcats are in a close battle for the 7th and 8th playoff spots.

The Pacers (20-43) are the worst of the 4 and happen to be the first game of the week. The Sixers are riding off a big double-digit win against the Raptors and should be able to lock this one up. The teams have been pretty evenly matched this year though. That was evident back in January when they played back to back games and each team won 1 by at least 10 points. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sixers are riding a 4 game losing streak into town tonight for a home game with the Boston Celtics. On this four game losing streak, the Sixers are playing some of the league’s best but losing by large margins. They lost each game by an average of 15 points.  The games aren’t even close and it shows us where the Sixers really stand.

They have a chance to pull out of this slump tonight though. They will be home against Boston who is currently the 4th seed in the East. But the Celtics have had their share of troubles as of late. Injuries and age have slowed down the big three and they even lost to the NETS last week. If the Nets can do it, the Sixers have a shot. Read the rest of this entry »

So the Sixers announced today that Iverson’s year with the team was over. Unfortunately, it ended in a way nobody wanted it to- with his young daughter having a health issue serious enough to keep him away from the game. I’m not a parent but I can imagine that he must be going through some serious stuff right now and I wish his family the best.

The 25 game rental of Allen Iverson was fun while it lasted. He put some extra people in the seats, got the Sixers their first All-Star in a while and brought back memories from when this team had heart. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Sixers signed Allen Iverson (again) we all knew that he would have to sit out some games.  The only difference is that at least I imagined that he would be sitting out to rejuvenate his body or because of some type of disciplinary reasons.  However, the reason he has missed most of his games while with the Sixers this time around is due to the fact that one of his children has been very ill.  He has already sat out the previous three because of this, will now miss AT LEAST two more.

This is a different side of Iverson that many people are not used to seeing.  This really shows the family man side of Iverson, which is good to see. Read the rest of this entry »

There are plenty of reasons the Sixers haven’t won anything since 2001. But the major problem they have selecting head coaches may be the biggest reason of all.

In the NBA, coaching consistency plays as big a role in building a championship team as the players do. Since the 1989 season, 19 of the 21 NBA championships were won by 5 teams (Pistons, Bulls, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs). Besides talented players, all of those teams had head coaches that can consistently lead their teams to championships. Many of the coaches started in the building phases of the team and led them to greatness multiple times during their tenures.

That’s clearly missing from the Sixers. Since 1979, only 2 of their head coaches have lasted 5 years or more. 1 was Billy Cunningham who brought a championship to Philadelphia in 1983 and the other was Larry Brown who led the Sixers to the NBA Finals in 2001. Read the rest of this entry »

When watching the first half of basically any 76ers game you may get the impression that they are a team that is atop their division and conference.  Then after a break at halftime, as you continue to watch the game, it becomes clear that they cannot finish games and as a result are amidst the bottom of both their division and conference.  Comcast Sportsnet this morning was talking about how the Sixers need to come out after half time with adjustments and the same type of intensity that they play with in the first half.

What that comes down to is coaching.  Eddie Jordan obviously needs to see that the team in the second half just falls apart. The Sixers have had a double digit lead at some point in each of their past 6 losses.  Giving up big leads happens because basketball is a game of streaks and runs, however you can’t Read the rest of this entry »

Allen Iverson isn’t what he used to be…obviously.  When he came back to the Sixers, I admit… I was expecting him to dropping 25 a game easily.  I quickly realized, that the 34 year old has lost a step.  However, to say that he isn’t playing well and settling nicely into his role would be dumb.  Also, he does shoe flashes of his ability when he goes out and scores 26 in a night.  In his career Allen averaged about 41 minutes per game.  Now, he only is on the court for about 30 minutes.  While ten minutes does not seem like a lot, then minutes for a star can be at least five points a rebound or two and definitely some assists.

Mr. Iverson is playing with the Sixers, not for them.  That is a big change from his previous mentality.  His 15 points a game is solid, and he is dishing out about 4 assists while also hauling in 3 rebounds a game.  The most significant part of his game that has been noticeably slower is his defense though.  He used to be relentless when it came to creating turnovers and was one of the best at stealing the ball.  Now, he isn’t even averaging one a game.  I’d have to say that everyone should be pleased with what AI has given the Sixers.  At least the young players can see one of the greatest play up close and personal.  To think that Jrue or Thad or Lou aren’t learning anything from Iverson is stupid.  They should be picking up on everything he does… and in the end, his teachings are priceless.

AP Photo/Michael Perez

…we will see the REAL Sixers team for the first time since November 14th.

I know they’ve been losing horribly for the past month or two. After starting the season 4-6, they’ve gone 3-14 and have lost ugly games to good teams and bad teams. ESPN.com currently has them ranked 26th (up from 29th) in their NBA power ranking list and they are the second worst team in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Nets.

But the team we had been painfully watching for over a month wasn’t the Sixers team that came in to the season. We were watching a severely banged up team missing two of it’s most important, exciting, young players in Speights and Lou Willams. These two are back (a month early) and the benefits are already being felt. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight is the night that everyone has been waiting for.  Allen Iverson will start his first game in a 76′ers uniform since he departed in 2006.  How will he be greeted? Boos? Cheers?  My guess will be a standing ovation lasting at least five minutes.  Why do I think this?  Well because the Sixers game is sold out for the first time this season.  The stands will be packed with fans there for one reason only… to see Allen Iverson play.  No one in that arena will be there tonight for any Read the rest of this entry »

As we all know, Allen Iverson has signed a one year contract with our Philadelphia 76′ers.  While many people don’t like this signing, I must say that I love it.  Part of the reason is because I am a loyal AI fan, but I truly believe that Iverson can still play in the NBA at a high level.  It’s dumb to think that he can go out and drop 30 a game.  But realistically, I think he will come in and within five to ten games, will be averaging the most assists and most points on the team.

That’s not a hard thing to do though, with no one averaging over 20 points on the team anyway… But I can foresee the Answer scoring anywhere between 20-25 points a game…EASILY. Read the rest of this entry »