With point guard Louis Williams now sidelined by a broken jaw for the next eight weeks, there have been internal discussions within Sixers’ management about the possibility of bringing Allen Iverson out of retirement and back to the team where he first started.
Iverson shocked the NBA on Wednesday when he announced his swift and sudden retirement from the league, after only a three-game stint with the Memphis Grizzlies this season.
With the Sixers now starting rookie Jrue Holiday at the point, and filling the lowest percentage of seats on a nightly basis in the NBA, they have started to consider Iverson for business and basketball reasons.
But coach Eddie Jordan downplayed the reports that Iverson was definitely coming back to the Sixers, saying that he has not met with Iverson and that no meetings have been scheduled. That’s not to say it won’t happen — just that it hasn’t yet.
Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 1:45 pm by bryan
Elton Brand returned to his All-Star form… at least for a night. All it took was an injury to PF Marreese Speights that is expected to keep him out until January 2010.
Brand busted out of his early season slump with a ridiculous 19 point, 11 rebound, six block, three steal, two point performance, as the Sixers needed some last second magic to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 86-84 on Wednesday.
Sixers shooting guard Andre Iguodala dropping in 25 points for the Sixers, and point guard Lou Williams scored 19 (including the game-winning basket with 3.1 seconds remaining), but Brand was the clear catalyst to a Sixers’ lineup that hasn’t looked great out of the gates.
“That’s not my best,” Brand said. “I’ve still got a lot better games ahead of me. I still feel like I missed some easy shots.”
Sixers fans will take this type of performance, though, especially after Brand had started the season with career lows in points and rebounds. After coming off two season-ending surgeries the past two years, Sixers fans were beginning to wonder whether they’d ever see the 20/10 guy they paid $80 million for.
“He didn’t lobby,” Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said of Brand’s minutes. “What he did on the floor warranted playing time.”
Brand had been spending the past few fourth quarters on the bench, as Speights appeared to take his spot in the end-game lineup. But with an injury sidelining Speights for the next month or two, Brand now has a chance to return to All-Star form… for good.
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 8:34 pm by bryan
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that PF Marreese Speights will miss the next six to eight weeks after Speights partially tore the MCL in his left knee on Saturday night.
Speights, the Sixers’ best player in terms of production per minute (by far), hurt himself in the fourth quarter of the Sixers’ 94-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls, when his left leg bent back awkwardly during a routine play on defense. Speights immediately crumpled to the ground, clutched his knee, and could not return.
“I talked to him and he has a very good attitude and knows that it is a part of the game,” general manager Ed Stefanski said. “He will work hard to get back. His numbers this year per minutes played are off the charts. The things we asked him to work on he got better at - rebounding and scoring inside. He’s been an outstanding outside shooter and has been working on his defense. It’s a setback, but we know he has big talent and upside. We are thrilled with his progression.”
With Speights out, the Sixers will likely turn to the frontcourt combination of Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert, two men who represent $140 million (or nearly half the Sixers’ payroll). The Sixers have been vigorously shopping Sammy (and silently shopping Elton), so if there’s any bright side to Speights’ injury - it could be that Brand and Dalembert will likely be called upon to increase their production (and their trade value).
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 12:03 am by bryan
The New Jersey Nets had every chance in the world to earn their first win of the season, but their misery continued as the Philadelphia 76ers eked out a win over the Nets on Wednesday night, 82-79.
Sixers PF Marreese Speights converted the go-ahead and-1 with 1:10 remaining in the game, and the Nets missed three shots in the final minute to give the Sixers the win.
“This was a very big win,” said Thaddeus Young, who led the Sixers with 20 points. “We definitely didn’t want to lose three in a row and we definitely didn’t want to give them their first win. We didn’t want to be the only team they beat. When a team hasn’t won like that, it’s a trap game and we didn’t want to fall into the trap.”
The Sixers took an 80-79 lead on Speights’ three-point play, then the Nets’ Brook Lopez drove to the basket with 14 seconds left in the game and missed a bunny shot, after seemingly being fouled by Sixers center Samuel Dalembert.
“I spun. I got stuck deep under the basket,” Lopez said. “That’s why it got wedged in between the backboard and the rim. If I would have just started my move higher, I would have been all right.”
Nets coach Lawrence Frank understood the no-call.
Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said positive things about Speights after the game, as he continues to tinker with his rotations in the early part of the season. Some Philly fans have been calling for Speights to start ahead of either Dalembert or PF Elton Brand, who’s looking more like an $80 million albatross with each passing day.
“[Speights] has great swag, great confidence right now,” Jordan said. “He’s a terrific shooter and he was able to also finish inside. He was making plays. His confidence is soaring.”
Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 12:23 am by bryan
The Philadelphia 76ers were no match for the Boston Celtics, accentuating the gap between the Eastern Conference elite and the best of the rest in a 105-74 loss at home.
Newly-acquired Rasheed Wallace hit six 3-pointers against Philadelphia en route to a 20-point effort off the bench, and Paul Pierce had a game-high 21 for the Celtics.
Boston’s suffocating defense limited Philadelphia to just 36 percent shooting. Andre Iguodala was the only Sixer to find success, scoring a team-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The Sixers didn’t make a 3-pointer until there was less than two minutes left in the game.
With the loss, Philadelphia falls to 2-2. Boston remained undefeated, now standing at 5-0.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 11:43 pm by Raj Sethi
