The Sixers came within a hair of sweeping a home and home against the Cleveland Cavaliers this weekend. I think at this point we can say the blowout loss to Golden State was the aberration, not any of their victories. They are going to play hard every night, and they do (to my surprise) have enough talent to compete with good teams. Which isn't to say they are a good team, just not a bad one. Its time to change our thinking about this team and this season, so let's get going.
1. MC DUB, ROTY or BUST!
Enough of this "Its an honor to be nominated" mentality surrounding this team. We're starting with MC DUB, who is the hands down pick for ROTY at this early mark. Now I feel like its time to raise expectations, and admit that if MC DUB isn't the ROTY, I'm going to be disappointed. The best part of this year's team is that they are generating a ton of coverage. Not a day goes by without somebody nationally writing about MC DUB and the Sixers. Articles comparing MC Dub to Shaq, another to Oscar Robinson, are a joy to read, and makes rooting for the Sixers a lot more fun.
The guys to compare MC Dub's stats to, at least for now, would be three recent point guard ROTYs, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Derrick Rose. So lets see where the bar is set:
- Lillard-2013-82 games-19.0 ppg-6.5 apg-3 TOs-3.1 rpg-0.9 spg-.429 fg%
- Irving-2012-51 games (of 66)-18.5 ppg- 5.4 apg- 3.1 TOs-3.7 rpg- 1.1 spg-.469 fg%
- Rose-2009-81 games- 16.8, ppg-6.3 apg-2.5 TOS, 3.9 rpg, 0.8 spg- .475 fg%
Our hero, so far…
- MC DUB-2014-7 games-18.7 ppg, 8.1 apg, 3.1 TOs, 5.9 rpg, 2.6 spg, .409 fg%
So to recap, MC Dub is right in line with these guys in scoring and turnovers, and ahead of them all in assists, rebounds, and steals. The glaring flaw is his low fg%, so we'll keep an eye on that as the season progresses. Its exciting to think we might have that Paul George type, a mid round pick that ends up an All-NBA talent.
2. Evan Turner, All-Star or bust
He's 8th in the league in scoring at 23.4 ppg, while shooting 52%, Evan is an All-Star. When the season started I joked about this, thinking 18 ppg at 45% shooting were probably his ceiling. Now, its no joke, the man has played extraordinary ball this season. There are still 45 games until the All-star break, so there's plenty of time for regression. Also plenty of time for defenses to just focus on Evan and make somebody else on the Sixers hurt them. Personally, forcing Evan to go left would be the first line in my scouting report.
What I really want to figure out is what is the reason for this season's drastic improvement, and is it really real? Evan's outside shot doesn't seem any better. He's still looks like the same player, playing the same way, just with improved results. Is it as simple as confidence? Was Doug the issue? Was it Evan not being suited to be anything other than the primary scorer? Are these first 7 games a fluke? Maybe it was something not specific to the NBA?
Maybe the Sixers just had an older supervisor in Doug Collins who could not connect with this Millennial generation. Perhaps Evan's magic mix of entitlement and an emo outlook on the world doesn't exactly mesh with an old school in-your-face kind of leader. ET spends time quoting the Notebook on twitter, which leads me to believe he isn't exactly a Richie Incognito type of dude.
I guess time will tell if this is the real ET or not. I am ready to say if old Evan comes back I'll be disappointed, and he won't be an All-star.
3. The Sixers might never have intended to tank.
Hinkie is a product of the Rocket organization, a team frequently criticized for maximizing their results with their given rosters. GM Daryl Morey was often attacked for staying in the no-man's land between the 7 seed and the lottery's top-5. Check out where Houston ended up in the standings in the few season's before Harden's arrival last year.
- 2011-12: 34-32, 9th in the west
- 2010-11: 43-39, 9th in the west
- 2009-10: 42-40, 9th in the west
Sense a pattern? The Rockets never didn't try, and it may be that any assumptions about the Sixers intentions were flat out wrong.
4. WTF, Eastern Conference?
Going into the year, I felt that the top five spots in the Eastern Conference were a lock, and that there were 5 teams that would scramble to fill out the bottom three seeds. Turns out I was wrong. Chicago, New York and Brooklyn have all under performed early, while Philly, Boston, Toronto, Charlotte and Atlanta have been ok.
Barring injury, the Bulls and Nets will recover, but the Knicks might be the team in the worst position in the entire league. No cap space, a weird roster that doesn't work together, and their best player is leaving at season's end. So let's retry predicting the East, with a few weeks of games to help guide us along:
- Indiana-They lost a game 7 last season on the road, they aren't going to have that happen again.
- Miami- This is a good team.
- Chicago- It is obviously taking time getting Rose back to speed, but once he's ok, they will be lethal.
- Brooklyn- They are 10 deep, they just need to get used to each other, and then they will be a problem. The last team on this list that is actually capable of winning the title.
- Atlanta- I like Horford and Millsap, I think they are good together. Plus, Lou Williams, so there.
- Detroit- I believe in Josh Smith. A guy who has never not made the playoffs, another team that just needs more time together to work out the kinks.
- Cleveland- If they can't make the playoffs in a wide open year, with an obvious mandate from their owner to win, I may have to reconsider my feelings on Kyrie Irving.
- Toronto- This is a bet that the Raptors are less likely than Boston, Philly, or Orlando to make a trade that hurts them in the short term.
5. Utah knows how to tank!
0-7 and losing by 13 points per games. That is quality tanking.
6. We won one, we lost one….
I tried to find a video of Dante Exum singing the Sixers song, but no luck. So here are two videos for you guys today. Make sure to watch them in order.
