PhillyArena - Sixers

Shooting Blanks: By the numbers

nospam@example.com (Derek Bodner) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:36:10 -0500

Louis Williams

The Sixers can't shoot.

Anyone surprised? Doubtful. The Sixers are last in the league in three pointers made this year, following up a last in the league performance last year. This isn't simply a byproduct of a run-and-gun system that doesn't focus on the 3-ball, either. They were last in the league in 3 pt% both of those years as well.

For example, did you know that Andre Iguodala shoots only 28.5% on shots generated off isolations?

For more stats like that, click below.
Continue reading "Shooting Blanks: By the numbers"

Sixers lose 6th straight: Trying to look at the glass half full

nospam@example.com (Derek Bodner) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:06:46 -0400

After the previous 5 losses, you wanted to find something, anything, to pin your hat on and keep your spirits up. After throwing away any chance they had at the 5 seed, and thus any realistic chance of advancing a round in the playoffs, I was begging for something to take my mind off the inevitability of the end of the Sixers season.

As such, this game had good and bad. The good is quite obvious. After missing 7 straight games, the huge question mark entering the game was whether Thad Young could successfully return from his ankle injury, and what kind of rust he would show after missing hte previous 2 weeks. The answer is yes, and not much. Sure, I think he was a little gassed, and it might have affected him a little, but he more or less looked like Thaddeus Young. And if the Sixers want to have any shot of making the first round close, he's going to have to play like he did the previous 15+ games before getting injured.

The bad? Equally as obvious. The Celtics had nothing to play for. Garnett continued to rest his injury, Ray Allen served his suspension. All the Sixers had to do for the 6th seed was to win out, and yet the Celtics still came out on top. Somehow, someway, with the Celtics missing 2/3 of their "big 3" and nothing to play for, the Sixers got out-executed down the stretch.

I think Paul Pierce is still hitting 3's.

Off topic for a moment. For conspiracy theorists out there, it was reported a while back that the Sixers were switching back to their retro 82-83 jerseys next year. This hasn't been substantiated. Today, the Sixers had jerseys and apparel for 76% off as part of their fan appreciation night. All except for retro garb. Or, as the cashier said, "anything with the circle on it". Hm....

Is that really the best play they could call up? I'm not talking about the prayer heave from Iguodala, but the isolation play on the previous possession. Iguodala is just not very good in those situations. Iguodala shoots a woeful 31.3% on isolations from the top of the key. Down by 1 with 20 or so seconds left? We need to find a higher percentage shot.

I agree with Brian at DepressedFan that the rotations tonight were questionable, but I'm going to leave analyzing rotations against Boston until it's 100% certain we're playing them in the playoffs.

Nice to see Thad back and healthy. Unfortunately, we may only see him for 4 more games this year.

Mythbusters: Iguodala the Slasher

nospam@example.com (Derek Bodner) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:25:43 -0500

Andre Iguodala's commonly labeled a slashing wing player, requiring shooters on the perimeter to open up the lane for his forays into the paint. I've repeatedly disagreed with this assessment, including in my 2009-2010 Sixers Preview. Iguodala's first step is average (respective to the rest of his dynamic athleticism), his body control is below average, and his touch around the hoop sometimes erratic. This, in my opinion, is holding him back from being a legitimate #1 scoring option as much, if not more so, than his jumper.

This post is not to try to put down Andre Iguodala the player. I've thought this about Iguodala's half-court game for quite some time, and I fully appreciate the overall game he brings to the table. I generally agree that Iguodala is not overpaid, and don't want to see him traded for cap space. That being said, I do recognize the need to get a better half-court offensive player in here, and think that will greatly help Iguodala concentrate on what he does best.

Let's examine a couple of metrics. The general gist of the article will focus on two things:
- Andre Iguodala's shot distribution
- Andre Iguodala's effectiveness in those situations.

I'm then going to compare that data to his previous years, as well as to some other wingmen in the league.

Continue reading "Mythbusters: Iguodala the Slasher"

Jrue Holiday's weak hand

nospam@example.com (Derek Bodner) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:28:03 -0500

One of the often stated strengths of Jrue Holiday coming out of high school was that he was a good finisher with either hand. Watching him last year at UCLA, it seemed he almost preferred driving left. This year in the NBA, it's becoming increasingly obvious. I decided to look at the stats and determine whether the stats backed up our anecdotal observations.

After the jump we'll take a look at Holiday's tendencies on isolation situations, and how efficient he is during those situations. The charts include breakdowns from both his 1 year at UCLA and his rookie year in the NBA (up to this point).
Continue reading "Jrue Holiday's weak hand"

Sixers drop a big one

nospam@example.com (Derek Bodner) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:42:52 -0500

In the quest for lottery balls, today's loss more than cancels out the surprising win against the Raptors two days earlier. This loss had it all. Atrocious defense, crazy lineups, blaming his star players, a coach who looked like he didn't car, turnovers galore, and a rookie continuing to evolve.

Quick Thoughts:

Jrue Holiday is now leading the team in points per minute over the last 5.
On Jrue, he obviously had another good game scoring the ball, and had another good game from downtown (2-4). He got beat a couple of times on dribble penetration, and had some lazy turnovers late, but overall was one of the few bright spots.
Dalembert also played well, although surprisingly had the worst plus/minus on the team. That being said, why we decided to run our offense through him and his midrange game to start the game I'll never know.
Like Eddie Jordan making a substitution then forgetting there was only one second left on the shot clock?
Young hustled. Like the defensive rebounds. He was a threat to turn the ball over every time he put the ball on the floor or tried to pass.
Similarly, Louis Williams had more luck throwing to the Pacers tonight than the Sixers.
Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala played, I think. Jordan sat them for the final 19:28 and 15:21, respectively. When asked about it post game, Jordan said he stuck with the guys who gave him energy at the end. When pressed on whether Iguodala and Brand failed to provide energy, he said not as much as the group at the end.
(any time you're playing Kapono over Iguodala for extended periods of time, I disagree with the coaching strategy. Since we're trying to tank and get Jordan fired? I'll live with it.
Meeks made his first field goal as a Sixer. Beginning of an era.

Charlotte on the tail end of a back to back? Another losable game. If the Sixers can go 3-10 over their last 13, this team may be on the precipice of blowing up internally, if they haven't already.