phrustrated philly phan

As spring training nears and Chase Utley gears up for another 162 games, I first want to talk about what is going on over at the Wachovia Center. No not the stumbling Flyers who don't win at home or the Peter Forsber question but instead number 9 on your Philadelphia Sixers. He is quickly making himself into a star without another certain AI beside him. Yes I am referring to Andre Iguodala. He is not the only bright star on this squad but he is the brightest.

Iguodala is averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on the year. Those are the impressive numbers but since trading Allen Iverson, Iggy has played much better than those numbers indicate. In February, the Sixers are 1-1 but here are some numbers Iggy has put up in those two games. He has played 45 and 48 minutes respectively and scoring 25 and 23 points respectively. He also has a combined 28 assists. He has along with Andre Miller evolved into the leaders of this young team. His season-high in points is 34 points against January 24 against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a heart breaking loss on February 2, Iggy recorded a triple double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.

Iguodala has helped pull this team back towards a respectable level but he has been helped by others. Specifically by the combo of Steven Hunter and Samuel Dalembert. Those two have combined to form a very good frontcourt and Joe Smith has provided quality depth. The Sixers are actually better than .500 (6-4) with these two in the starting lineup.

The pessimistic fan will point out that they are playing themselves out of the Greg Oden/Kevin Durant. I am here to tell you though that the development of Iggy, Rodney Carney and the play of Hunter and Dalembert offsets the lower chance of winning the lottery. Also with three first round picks, Billy King could choose to package two of those to move up in the draft.

Overall the Sixers playing much better recently. They still have their occasional duds such as their games against the Spurs and Rockets but they have been much more consistent from game to game which has lead to more wins and more positive feelings around the team.

Also don't forget St. Joes visits Villanova tonight at 7 on ESPN2

Labels: Sixers

• The Sixers recovered from a terrible effort against the Houston Rockets on Monday night to halt the New Orleans Hornets six game winning streak. The power rotation of Samuel Dalembert, Steven Hunter, and Joe Smith combined for 33 points and 37 rebounds. Also Andre Iguodala scored 22 points. Call me an optimist but the Sixers seem to have some players to build around and with playing in the Eastern Conferance, I could see a quick turnaround.
• The Flyers actually won a game this week although not a home game. They still haven't won a home game since November.
• Paul Holmgren confirmed the Flyers will be sellers at the trading deadline (surprise). That could spell the end for a players such as Peter Forsberg and Robert Eshe.
• Reports abound that the Phillies are trying to deal Aaron Rowand for the Padres Scott Linebrink. Linebrink is one of the best set-up pitchers in the league. I believe if this deal is made the Phillies will need to trade Jon Lieber for an outfielder such as Kevin Mench or Ryan Church. That said, I would like to see this trade be made as it would stabilize the bullpen.
• The Phillies brass is still evaulating the players as Spring Training approaches along with continuing to determine the best way to pair and use their announcers. No announcer has been hired to do the pre-game and post-game. They are also unsure how they plan on using "Sarge." Sping Training will not only be an audition for some players but also for the announcers.
• Check out Sam Donnellon's article about how Philly pushes away its top players.
• Villanova product, Randy Foye, has been selected to the NBA's all-rookie team for the All-star break. Congrats to Randy.

Labels: Flyers, Phillies, Sixers

• Villanova lost by two at Notre Dame last night. Curtis Sumpter had a three point shot as time expired but it rimmed out. Villanova split the season series with the #21 ranked Fighting Irish.
• Temple fell to Duquense last night. Fran Dunphy has had a tough year with the Owls. Currently, Temple is on the outside looking in for a bid to the A-10 tournament.
• Drexel minus top-scorer, Frank Elegar, fell to the top team in the Colonial Athletic Association, Virginia Commonwealth who is undefeated in CAA play. The Dragons are 15-5 overall and 7-3 in CAA play.
• St. Joes beat Penn last night at the Palestra, 84-74. Penn finishes the City Series at .500 (2-2). St. Joes moves to 2-0 in the Big Five.
• The Sixers claimed their fourth win in six games last night beatin the Atlanta Hawks, 104-89. If not for the meltdown against the Cavaliers it would have been the Sixers fourth straight win. Samuel Dalembert poured in 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots.
• The other winter sports team (thats the Flyers if you don't know) lost their ninth straight game despite a strong performance overall and a good effort from Robert Eshe in goal. The Flyers also have not won at home since November.
• In Today's Inquirer, Ed Snider owns up to the failures of the Sixers and Flyers.
• Barbaro suffered another setback in his recovery from his broken leg. Barbaro can no longer put weight on his hind leg that he broke in the Preakness causing his doctors to try riskier procedures to save him.

Labels: Big Five, Flyers, Sixers

• The Sixers won two in a row beating the New Orleans Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers before blowing a 17 point lead against the Cavs last night. The Sixers also had won 3 out of 4 moving past the Boston Celtics for the third worst record in the league. Andre Miller pulled a triple double last night (his seventh of his career). Andre Igoudala has also played much better of lately, scoring 34 points in leading the Sixers over the Cavs on Wednesday.
• Simon Gagne partcipated in the all-star game Wednesday night in Dallas. He was the only representative from the Flyers. He was held scoreless.
• The Flyers face the New York Rangers today at 1 P.M. at the Wachovia Center.
• Peter Forsberg denies the trade rumors to Colorado but did admit he would like to sit down and talk to Paul Holmgren when Holmgren returns from a scouting trip. This situation could be resolved in the next week or two.
• The Phillies have officially signed Karim Garcia to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training which is only 18 days away.
• Penn beat Temple by two points in Fran Dunphy's return to the Palestra.
• At 8 P.M. in the Palestra, St. Joes takes on Penn in a Big 5 match-up.

Labels: Flyers, Sixers

• The Sixers have now defeated the World Champions twice this season. Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala led the Sixers to an overtime victory last night. Granted Shaq is still out but the Sixers played the complete opposite of Wednesday's game against Memphis.
• Is Larry Brown getting ready to return to the Sixers as head coach next year. When Ed Snider was asked if Brown would coach for the Sixers again, he responded by saying, "I don't know." This is different than all the public denials that Billy King and Brown have given over the past month. In his heart, Brown is a basketball coach not a vice president of whatever he is. I would be surprised if Brown didn't end up on the Sixers bench by the beginning of next year.
• The Peter Forsberg rumors are flying now. The Flyers are reportedly interested in a rental situation in that they would trade Forsberg but then sign him again in the summer. The rumors cite the New York Rangers as the favorite to land him. Forsberg is returning to Sweden to see a doctor about his right ankle and that visit could go a long way in determining his future.
• Next Saturday, January 27th, the Phillies Winter Caravan will be at Park City in Lancaster County. They will be there for autographs from noon to 1:30.
• Today at 1:00, the Flyers travel to the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford to face the division leading, New Jersey Devils. It would be great to see the Flyers hand them a loss. Also today at 1:00 in the Wachovia Center, potential future Sixer, Kevin Durant, leads his Texas squad into Philly to face the Villanova Wildcats.

Labels: Flyer, Sixers

• The Flyers continue to lose and last night a bad call may be to blame. Read the Daily News for the full story. The Flyers are not only bad this year but seem to not care at all. That is a great way to lose a fan base.
• Dick Jeradi is reporting that there are plans for a in-season tournament to be held at the Palestra. The tournament would likely include at least one Philly team and Jerardi feels that team will be Penn next year.
• Tomorrow afternoon a potential future Sixer, Kevin Durant, will be playing for Texas against Villanova at the Wachovia Center. Should be exciting.
• In a rare high scoring Big 5 game, Penn outscored LaSalle 93-92. The game included 15 lead changes and LaSalle's Darnell Harris lead all scorers with 32 points.
• Sixer's coach, Mo Cheeks, has hinted that line-up changes could be coming. The most likely is Steven Hunter replacing Joe Smith. Not like it will matter much
• Check out this mornings Inquirer for a way to get through the cold winter without a good sports team.

Labels: Big Five, Flyers, Sixers

• The Sixers came through in the clutch last night and got blown out by the Memphis Grizzlies to establish themselves as the worst team in the league. They are now just percentage points behind the Grizzlies now. With the Grizz playing better of late, the Sixers looked to have a great chance at the number one pick.
• The Villanova Wildcats beat their first top-25 opponent this year by defeating Notre Dame last night. The Wildcats have struggled in the Big East so far but this win could go a long way as they build their tournament resume. Freshman star, Scott Reynolds, scored 27 points.
• Staying on Villanova they host the Texas Longhorns this Saturday at the Wachovia Center. This could be a good chance to see a future Sixer playing.
• The Temple Owls broke their 5-game losing streak last night. Fran Dunphy is having a rough first year in North Philly.
• I wrote an entire post praising Drexel and they haven't been the same since. They have struggled in the CAA and will probably have to win their conferance tournament to make the Big Dance.
• The Flyers' lone bright spot, Simon Gagne, was selected to play in the NHL All-Star game in Dallas. Congrats to Simon but other than that there is not much to look forward too. Paul Holmgren is already out scouting the top prospects in North America.
• Coming Up: A Phillies Report. I haven't commented on them lately an with Spring Training merely 27 days away it is time to look at their recent additions and start a player-by-player breakdown.

Labels: Big Five, Flyers, Sixers

The Sixers returned home last night to thousands of empty seats and the awaiting Detroit Pistons. The Pistons promptly beat the Sixers despite impressive performances by Samuel Dalembert and Andre Miller. That really isn't the big news of the day though. The big news is that the Sixers appear ready to buy out Chris Webber's contract. In the deal, Webber would become a free agent and the Sixers would only pay 33 million of the remaining 38 million left on CWebb's contract. Not a great deal but it never is when you just want to make a player go away.

Webber has been hampered by injury most of the year and has missed 10 of the last 13 games. He is now in his 14th NBA season but has not been the same player since he got here from the Sacremento Kings. He is currently averaging 11 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Way down from his career average. Also he is shooting under 40% from the field. The Daily News' Phil Jasner reports the Sixers are only awaiting league approval before announcing the deal. GM Billy King has still refused to comment on the situation and Mo Cheeks kept quiet. Reportedly, the LA Lakers and the NY Knicks (surprise) are interested in signing Webber.

Webber has really fallen out of favor after last year. Although he and Allen Iverson teamed to be the highest-scoring duo in the league, the Sixers still missed the playoffs. Then he never made it to the bench for Fan Appreciation Night which was a slap in the fans' face. He tried to defend himself over the summer instead of just apologizing.

I am happy to see Webber exit. This team is rebuilding and it is important for younger players to get more minutes and for Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala to become the team leaders. I think that would have been hard with Webber hanging around. This is a necessary move that provides no cap room and very little monetary relief but Webber is serving no purpose and it is better to let him go play on the bench for a contender. There is nothing left in the tank for CWebb and his next employer will find that out.

The Sixers and Flyers are both in action tonight. The Flyers are home against the Montreal Capitals and the Sixers are on the road at the New York Knicks.

And just 35 days until Spring Training.

Labels: Sixers

• Finally, the Sixers officially announced the return of Larry Brown as executive vice president. A nice fancy title for Brown but as we all know a title doesn't stop Brown for overstepping his boundaries. Refer to my December 22 post (filed under Sixers) for my opinion of Brown returning. No matter what Mo Cheeks says, know that his seating has begun heating up immensely. It is only a matter of time until Brown has the itch to coach again.
• The Sixers lost again Friday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Randy Foye. Foye really began to come into his own in December even winning the Rookie of the Month. Last night he scored 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists. He played 30 minutes coming off the bench. On the year, Foye is averaging 8.5 points per game in only 18 minutes.
• The Sixers released La Salle product Steve Smith. This move reduced their roster size to only 14. The Sixers also avoided having to pay Smith his entire contract. I was sad to see him go because I was hoping Smith could make it with the hometown Sixers.
• The rumors are swirling regarding a buyout of Chris Webber's contract. Webber is making 20 million this year and 22 next year. I would love to see him go. He has missed 9 out of the past 12 games and is three years past being a productive player. He only slows down this offense and provides very little defense.
• If nothing else, Pat Gillick is adding quantity to the bullpen. The Phillies added Anderson Garcia from the Orioles' organization. He was added to the 40-man roster but is a long shot to make the team out of Spring Training. He will likely begin the year in Ottawa.
• To add to my December 27 post about Ed Snider (posted under Flyers), the Columbus Blue Jackets are an impressive 11-8-2 since Ken Hitchcock took over after being well below .500 before.

Labels: Big Five, Phillies, Sixers

Now I present prospects three and four in my ongoing series. First I presented Greg Oden, the consensus number one pick of the draft, and Kevin Durant. With the Sixers still owning the second worse record in the league, only behind the Memphis Grizzlies, chances are good they will own a top pick in the draft. Here I look into Brandan Wright and Joakim Noah.

Brandan Wright is a 6’10 power forward for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Wright was a McDonald’s All-American in high school and is part of the highly rated freshman class at UNC. He is not as highly touted as either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant but would provide a great potential for the Sixers to build around. Currently he is averaging 15.4 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has drawn comparisons to Kevin Garnett. He runs the floor well and also uses his large wingspan to grab rebounds and block shots. Wright is very athletic with both incredible talent and potential.

Joakim Noah is a junior at defending National Champion Florida Gators. He passed up a chance to come out last year when his stock was very high and could to the same again this year. Noah is a very good defensive force but has a limited offensive game. He has a lot of untapped potential but did not develop as much as anticipated coming into this year. Noah is a very aggressive player that gives 110% all the time and played very well in last year’s tournament. Along with teammate, Al Horford, Noah dominates the paint with his 6’11 frame. I am not as high on him as I am on the first three prospects I presented but has adequate potential.

The Sixers will have a chance to reshape their future this June in the draft and by landing any of these players they will be in terrific shape. By the way don't forget the the Flyers play tonight and are on a three game win streak. Also the Sixers defeated AI and the Denver Nuggets.

Labels: Sixers

This is the first installment looking at some of the top prospects available in next June's NBA Draft. I present Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.

Greg Oden has gotten considerable publicity for a couple years now. He was the consensus number one pick last summer in the draft but the new age limit kept him from entering the draft. He is now a freshman at Ohio State University. He missed a few games at the beginning of the year because of injury but has put up impressive numbers since his return. He has all the skills to be a star. He is quick for his size and dominates the middle both offensively and defensively. So far he has appeared in six games. He is averaging 14.5 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 3.7 blocks per game. All very impressive numbers for a freshman playing on the #6 ranked team in the nation. He is the considered the prize of the draft. He has been compared to Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. A player of his ability comes along only once a decade. I would be thrilled if the Sixers could land him in the draft. He will be an impact player for over a decade. He is a player that could lead this franchise to the promised land.

Kevin Durant is a freshman for the University of Texas. He is also a top-rated prospect. He is a 6-10 small forward/power forward. He has a ton of potential and has only begun to scratch the surface. Scouts believe he needs to add muscle to his body but have compared him to Tracy McGrady or a pre-injury Grant Hill. Durant has almost as much potential as Oden and is rated as the second best prospect. He plays with great quickness and explosion in getting to the hoop and also has the ability to hit a three-pointer. He can truly be a special player. I would have no regrets if the Sixers were to land Durant in the 2007 draft. He would be a great player to build a championship team around. He is only a freshman so obviously he would have the option of returning to Texas but that would be surprising. Durant would be a great franchise player to replace Allen Iverson.

Labels: Sixers

So now the rumor is Larry Brown will return to the 76ers but only as an adviser and not as coach or GM. Brown moved back to Philly after leaving the New York Knicks last summer. The 66 year old has been around the Sixers occasionally this year dropping in on a few practices and attending a few games. Further, he is very close with Billy King and is also friendly with Ed Snider. Mo Cheeks worked under him when Brown was the Sixers head coach.

I had a long discussion last night with a friend about whether or not I really want Larry Brown back formally in the organization. King has been consulting with him since the beginning of the year but Brown was not on payroll. Brown knows one way and that is his way. He likes playing veterans and doesn't like developing young players. And developing young players is what the Sixers now need to do. Second, Brown did not draft particulary well with the Sixers. Since he has left, King has done better with picks Andre Iguodala and Rodney Carney.

Brown left on bad terms with many Sixers' fans. He jetted straight for Detroit and a championship. For me, the bad taste has started to go away with time but I'm not sure if I am ready for Brown to have an official job in the organization. You know what you get with Larry. He can be overbearing, offering trades to other GM and handing out critisism through the media. Yes, he has a great track record of winning but he also has a track record overstepping his bounds and leaving on a whim. He can also be impatient. That is not what the Sixers need right now.

The Sixers, as an organization, need patience and cooperation as they embark on this rebuilding plan. Those are not characteristics that are often used to describe Larry Brown. Brown is a great mind and Billy King drawing on that is a great idea, but I'm not on board with hiring Brown.

A Phillies Note- Pat Gillick traded Jeff Conine to the Cincinnati Reds for two minor leaguers. Conine was on track to serve as the fourth outfielder and get a good amount of at-bats before Gillick decided to ship him out of town. Oh yeah, the Phillies signed Jayson Werth, him of a .260 batting average. Someone who doesn't have near the track record of Jeff Conine. Let me say it now: The Phillies will regret this decision at some point this season. Werth is not a good player and this will be a regrettable trade. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I will be.

Labels: Phillies, Sixers