Staff Blog
Where's the best sledding hill in Philly? (1 Answer)
Morning Rounds, December 15th
The Maurice Cheeks era is over. Saturday, following the Sixers’ second
straight loss to the Cavaliers – their 8th in their last 10 games
overall – the organization decided to part ways with their head coach. It was a move that had to be made – the Sixers
were underperforming expectations and looked lost on the court far too often -
and that sucks.
It sucks because much of Cheeks‘ struggles were the fault of
Ed Stefanski, the guy who pulled the trigger on the coaches’ firing. The Sixers, a team previously built to run,
spent $80 million on Elton Brand, a half court power forward, and another $80
mil to play Andre Iguodala out of the position. They’re a team with two starting small
forwards and no starting two guard, a team with a bench full of competent
players who need minutes but can’t get them. It’s a damn hard team to work with, and it’s a
credit to Cheeks that he never lost the heart of the team – even through the struggles (most of) the players
continued to play hard.
What Cheeks had lost was the teams’ minds. The Sixers had become a piss-poor team coming
out of timeouts, freelanced too often, and were unable to snap streaks. They’re defensive strategy was both unique and
ineffective – especially considering how many plus defenders there are on the
team. When I wrote that the Sixers’ coach had lost his team, this was what I was talking about. Even outside of the roster there were changes to be made,
maybe this is the move that gets the wheels rolling on them. There were signs two nights ago.
The most obvious of these signs was Elton Brand’s apparent response. Brand finished Saturday’s
game with 27 and 9, but more importantly looked enthused. EB
played tough. The expensive PF was
diving for loose balls and running the floor.
Maybe it was the new coach, maybe it was in response to having the
offense run more through him, and maybe it was just a coincidence, but he
certainly looked like he reacted to the move. Andre Miller did too. After admitting pregame that he felt some
responsibility for the coach’s axing Miller put up a season high 12 assists and a season
low four shots – both good signs Samuel Dalembert came to
play too. After getting the early
touches he had been seeing last season and not this one, Dalembert grabbed 17
rebounds – more than twice his season average. Still, maybe the most important stat line was
the one that Donyell Marshall, Royal Ivey, and Kareem Rush all put up: DNP-CD. Marshall, Ivey, Rush, and Theo Ratliff are all
nice players in their own right, but a lack of a defined rotation has been
killing the Sixers. Saturday the team
was able to get in rhythm. The players
who were playing played, and the players who weren’t sat.
There are plenty of problems with the 76ers that no coach
can fix – those are the main reasons Maurice Cheeks took the fall. It was nice to see some of the ones that could
be fixed were.
“I’m disappointed. I can’t lie about that. But I can’t say I’m upset about it, either, because when I think about my time there I have nothing but good things to say.” – Pat Burrell
Three lines on their world:
- Dallas knocked off a suddenly-struggling New York Giants team
- Arizona knocked off #4 Gonzaga
- and the Dallas Stars announced that Sean Avery won’t return to their team. Bring him here!
Three lines on ours:
- The Sixers fired Maurice Cheeks
- Villanova landed a stud recruit
- and Pat Burrell speaks about his departure
Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and what everybody is talking about, after the jump
EAGLES
Bob Brookover thinks McNabb’s legs are still a weapon. READ
Paul Domowitch breaks down the game position-by-position and makes his pick. READ
Les Bowen picks the Eagles. SKIP
Sam Donnellon tries to explain the Eagles’ late-season success. SKIP
Ashley Fox tries to explain the Eagles’ late-season success. SKIP
Les Bowen looks at the Eagles’ success on third down. SKIP
Daniel Rubin breaks down the Birds v. Libraries showdown. READ
Brian Dawkins‘ tickets are going to Roxborough’s Grant Graham and Lincoln’s Chris “John” Wilson this week. Congrats to them, and kudos to Dawk. READ
Bob Brookover’s notes look at Sean Considine’s special teams success, playoff scenarios and more. SKIP
John Gonzalez, Ashley Fox, and Phil Sheridan talk T.O. and make their picks for the Birds’ game. SKIP
Les Bowen talks with Trent Cole about last week’s FG block. READ
Reuben Frank on McNabb’s recent scrambles. SKIP
Reuben Frank reports that Andy Reid said McNabb has been “managing games” recently, a sharp turn in his rhetoric. READ
Reuben Frank focuses on Joshua Cribbs, the Browns’ versatile weapon. SKIP
SIXERS
Phil Jasner breaks down the Sixers’ decision to turn to Tony DiLeo. SKIP
John Smallwood says Cheeks was never Stefanski’s guy. READ
John Gonzalez thinks the Sixers’ problems run a lot deeper than Maurice Cheeks. READ
Frank Fitzpatrick breaks down Tony DiLeo’s run-and-gun pedigree. READ
Phil Jasner thinks everyone knew that Cheeks was going to get fired. Seems odd everyone didn’t write it, that seems like a story, no? READ
Marc Narducci talks to the coach of Tony DiLeo’s high school. READ
Phil Sheridan thinks that Ed Stefanski just put a target on his back. READ
Tom Moore says the firing should wake up the 76ers. SKIP
PHILLIES
Paul Hagen talks with Pat Burrell about the Raul Ibanez signing. READ
Paul Hagen’s notes cover Greg Dobbs‘ reaction to the Ibanez signing, Chris Coste’s reaction to the Paulino trade, and more. READ
John Sullivan report that the Phillies have made the championship trophy available for fan-photos. SKIP
Jim Salisbury breaks down the Yankees and the Mets’ big signings. SKIP
Phil Sheridan talks about Pat Burrell’s goodbye from Philly. SKIP
FLYERS
Ed Moran reports that the Flyers are unable to afford Mats Sundin. READ
Wayne Fish explains the NHL’s new rules on reporting injuries. READ
TODAY and MORE
Out on assignment all morning, back and better than ever this afternoon.
As always, feel free
to email
with any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.
