July 20th, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious
There have been a lot of teams that have already significantly improved their rosters in the off-season, and for some roster changes won’t be necessary as they just need some time to grow and gel as a team. But regardless of how and why some teams have gotten better in the off-season, there is probably no ball club looking forward to the 2008-09 season more than the Philadelphia 76ers. After over-achieving last year by sneaking into the playoffs in 7th spot and giving the 2nd seeded Detroit Pistons an unexpected run for their money with a 7 6 game series, the Sixers have made some moves that should vault them into the top cut of the Eastern Conference. Here are some reasons why the 76ers should have a shot to go deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs next year:
Dre squared is proving to be better than AI squared in Philly
When the Philadelphia 76ers parted with their disgruntled superstar and future hall of fame player in Allen Iverson a lot of the fans in Philadelphia lost their minds. No fan wants to go through a lengthy rebuilding process. But the Sixers have quickly turned their fortunes around by overachieving with a strong team unity and thriving with the “underdog” status all season long in 2007-08. Led by the high flying athletic franchise player that many critics felt was not quite good enough to be the face of a franchise, Andre Iguodala is proving everyone wrong who doubted him. Instead of trying to carry the team like Allen Iverson did, his ‘team first’ philosophy is having a positive impact on all of his young teammates. Andre Miller is one of the best lob passers in the league, and Andre Iguodala is one of the best lob finishers in the league. This is why I’m thinking that Dre squared is turning out to be much more lethal than AI squared.
There is a new Brand of basketball in Philadelphia
Elton Brand shunned offers from both Golden State and his old team the LA Clippers to sign a 5 year $80 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Brand alone makes the 76ers an immediate contender, and if he is back to 100% health the rest of the East will have to face a pretty intimidating front line of defenders in Brand, Dalembert, and Iguodala. Each contribute something very different defensively, but each has a function equally as damaging to their opponents offense. Should make for a low-scoring slugfest when they face off against the defending champion Celtics.
The Atlantic quickly went from the doghouse to the class of the East Two years ago when the Toronto Raptors won the Atlantic division I was as surprised as everyone else. The Raptors played well that year winning consistently, but no one would argue that they clearly overachieved as they were a young team still trying to come into their own after their rebuilding project was set into motion when they traded their superstar Vince Carter and hired General Manager Bryan Colangelo. The Atlantic was considered by most as the doghouse of the East. With the 76ers acquiring All-star power forward Elton Brand, and the Raptors making their big move this summer to acquire the 6-time All-star Jermaine O’Neal to fill their gap at the Center position, the Atlantic division is now clearly the powerhouse of the Eastern Conference potentially housing three of the top 5 teams.
Louis Williams is coming into his own Although Lou Williams is a restricted free agent that has been getting some attention as of late due to his lightning quick speed and his unparalleled work ethic, no team will likely be able to snag this cat as the Philadelphia 76ers have sunk way too much time, money, and energy into guiding Williams steady improvements to just let him walk and let another team reap the rewards. In the second half of last season Lou really started to show his value and potential by scoring consistently, playing good defense, and showcasing his above average court vision and passing abilities. With a never say die attitude and being a player that has played the “underdog” since he has been drafted in 2005, Williams will come into his own this year to finally step out into the spotlight. Williams is my early candidate for the 2009 sixth man of the year award.
Once again Lebron will get no help After watching Lebron James reach closer to perfection each year, I always seem to be waiting for the inevitable big move by Danny Ferry to finally shake up the Cavaliers roster and give Lebron James the very little help he likely needs to win it all and cement his legacy as one of the greatest players to ever lace ‘em up. Yet each offseason I am kept waiting, and so far this summer has been no exception. The Cavaliers have done very little aside from resigning Daniel Gibson to another contract. Once again they will be near the top of the East for one reason, Lebron. And once again they will likely be eliminated early if the Cavaliers organization does not get him some scoring help to extend the opposing defenses. With Lebron getting no help, the Detroit Pistons aging fast, and no team in the Southeast division being a real threat, the Eastern Conference may be a three horse race between the defending champion Boston Celtics, newly powerful frontline of the Toronto Raptors, and Philly’s own 76ers.
Dr. Dre had a hit with ‘first round knock out’, for the Sixers Dre it’s played out Everyone always talks about the first round knock out nightmare that has followed Tracy McGrady throughout his career. But the Sixers have their own player that is tired of hearing the rumblings of ‘choker’ due to his inability to get his team past the first round of an NBA playoff series. Andre Miller or as some of his teammates refer to him, ‘Dre’, will be working hard this year shake the reputation of a ‘first round knock out’ with one more offensive weapon to feed in Elton Brand, with his smooth passing ability that has led him to the 13th highest career assist average in NBA history.
Likely line-up next season for the Sixers:
PG – Andre Miller
SG – Willie Green
SF – Andre Iguodala
PF – Elton Brand
C – Samuel Dalembert
** Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young, Reggie Evans, and Marreese Speights to round out the rotation off the pine.
