Tag Archive: spencer hawes

Is Doug Collins On The Burner?

February 27, 2013 Randy Neil

After last night’s incredibly pathetic loss to the Orlando Magic, Doug Collins held his usual post-game press conference but decided to be a bit more candid in his answers. Collins openly blasted several players for their lack of effort and continued to shift the blame from his lack of coaching to ambiguous factors like cohesiveness and intensity. The wheels are all but falling off of the 2012-13 76ers’ season…

With a press conference like that, you can’t help but feel frustrated.

On one hand, it’s nice to hear Doug Collins hold players accountable for their very apparent lack of effort. His prolific quotes and general honesty help you feel for the guy. It’s clear that he’s passionate about this sport, which I love, and Doug Collins made some great points in his arguments. We don’t have a single player on the court from our blockbuster trade this Summer. The people we traded away are having either career seasons or at least contributing to their team at a high level.

On another hand, Collins answers were very selfish and irresponsible. Doug Collins spent much of this off-season trying to obtain decision making privileges that are only typical for a general manager. He had the final say on this Andrew Bynum trade debacle, it was ultimately his call to trade away those players, and at the end of the day it’s his responsibility to make the roster he has currently play at its best. Do I think he’s doing that? Not really.

Plus, no one really makes a stink about how we sputtered into the playoffs last year. Thanks to a torn ACL and a worn-down Celtics team, the last 2 months of the 2011-12 season were swept under the rug, but it was pretty clear that Collins was losing some of the locker room then, too.

dougcollinspressconferenceMuch has been made about the decisions Collins is making on a game-day basis. Evan Turner, who in spite of improved career averages, has spent almost every game coming off the bench, rather than starting. It’s clear that Turner and Collins don’t see eye to eye. That’s been apparent since day one.

Arnett Moultrie, our coveted draft pick, has gotten almost zero playing time, and it’s starting to piss people off, as well.

In some respects, though, you can’t blame him for the overall body of decisions that has been made in his tenure as the 76ers head coach. Would anyone have seriously not pulled the trigger on the Iguodala/Bynum trade back in the summer of 2012? Our roster is pretty shallow and pathetic, so our record doesn’t necessarily reflect bad coaching. You can’t fault him for his principles and passion, but sometimes they blindly lead him, and others, into the fire.

Do I think Doug Collins is going to be the head coach next year? It’s tough to say.

Collins has never coached on the same team for more than 3 years. His team is beginning to turn on him, there are no solid veterans to help cope with this losing process, and he doesn’t really want to deal with it.

With that said, things can’t change really quickly for a team with nothing to lose. Say Bynum does come back (btw, did you notice the stab Collins took at Bynum during the press conference? Ouch.), but say that he does, plays hard, wins us some games, and even signs a deal to stay in Philadelphia. That, in itself, would be enough to keep Collins. He wants a big inside man, and this was supposed to be it for him.

Collins emotion does get the best of him, so I don’t always take his quotes to heart after a big win or loss, but I do recall Collins saying, “I’m a Sixer for life. They were calling to get me out of here, and let me tell you, I’m a Sixer for life.”

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Let’s Rate Our Sixers!

February 20, 2013 Randy Neil

It’s been an unbelievably brutal season for the 76ers and their fans this year. It seems like forever ago I was sitting directly behind Iguadala on opening day as the Nuggets came to town for our season opener. Those were wonderful times. There was so much promise and hope for the season. I remember seeing Andrew Bynum that night, feeling anxious and uncertain about his future here. There was a bit more excitement back then, but the uncertainty and confusion is about the exact same.

Now that the All-Star break is over, things look completely different, and I’m trying to figure out what’s going to happen next year. Some players worked out, some players didn’t. It already seems like the season is over, so let’s get to figuring out who’s worth keeping…

Jrue Holiday

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10. No question that Jrue has been filling the role of a starting point guard. Earning his first All-Star appearance (which was awesome by the way), Holiday’s numbers have been way up and he’s transitioned into the ‘leader’ of this team quite nicely. I had questions of how well Jrue could manage the game, and although there were some shaky moments in the first leg of the season, he’s been quietly carrying the load throughout the season. Almost too quietly, if you ask me.

Evan Turner

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10. There’s no doubt that Turner has been more efficient in scoring this season. He’s averaging over 4 more points a game, a higher shooting percentage, a higher 3-point percentage, free throw attempts, rebounds-per-game, steals, blocks, assists, the list goes on. It seems as though the chemistry between him and Jrue are great, so breaking up this young core (ala trade rumors) would probably be a mistake. There is no question, at this point in the season, however, that Jrue is the leading man.

Lavoy Allen

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10. Lavoy has been consistent, averaging almost identical numbers from last season, even with the transition from power forward to center. Just as quietly as he switched roles, Lavoy managed to bring his rebound average almost a full 2 points this season, along with points per game. Allen set his career high for rebounds this year in a loss, but it was nice to see the young man assert himself so well.

Spencer Hawes

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10. If 10 points a game and 4 rebounds makes you an MVP (as Philly fans have been guilty of cheering), then Spencer Hawes would be the 5 year reigning champion. Problem is, it doesn’t. I would probably love having Spencer Hawes as our back-up center, but with the way things are right now, he’s getting a majority of the minutes and I’m not satisfied with the production. Nikola Vučević is doing what he’s doing, with less minutes and worse teammates. It’s not Spencer’s fault that he’s been forced to be our big man full-time this season, but for once, young man, can you just box out under the glass??

Nick Young

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10. Bleh. If this is Lou Williams 2.0, I’ll take Lou Williams, thank you very much. Many arguments have been made about how Nick Young has been an improvement off the bench. The 700 Level even wrote that “And that’s because as much of a reputation as Young might have as a gunner or a ballhog, he never really steps out of line. He doesn’t demand the ball and jack up contested threes in crunch time. He might take some less-than-great shots, but you never really go “What the hell was he thinking?“” Ummmm…. the exactly what I’m saying 90% of the time this man gets the ball. He is a ball hog and he takes shots that have me scratching me head constantly. A wasted possession if you ask me.

Kwame Brown

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10. This man is an absolute waste of space and everyone fretted him joining the roster since day one. Not only did was waste $6 million on this waffle-handed wash-up, but rumors have it that he is a pretty difficult teammate as well. He clogs up no lanes, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Andrew Bynum

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10. Maybe I should do negative numbers? What a disaster this entire season has been, but the icing on the cake will be when Bynum plays the last 10 games of the season when all of the results are futile, simply to audition for another team. We gobbled up this man’s contract, but as the 700 level so correctly suggests, maybe the Magic weren’t so crazy for giving up Howard in this 3-team trade for almost nothing in return. Maybe they knew something that we simply didn’t. Bynum updates have almost gotten so redundant that there is not much point in listening to them. Oh, he’s day-to-day you say? Could practice in a couple of weeks? Looking and feeling a lot better? Great… all of that does me no good until I see Bynum at Wells Fargo Center WEARING a Sixers jersey. In the meantime, I don’t care about his hair. Who gives a shit? Bynum would be wise to tread lightly going forward, as the tide is turning in the city of Philadephia.

Not mentioned, but Thaddeus Young and Jeremy Pargo are interesting highlights in the season as well. Jason Richardson, however…. is another story.

There doesn’t look to be much light at the end of the tunnel for the 2012-13 season. Hopefully, our young core of Holiday, Turner, and Young can continue to grow and carry the load. Plus, you know, the Flyers are doing a lot better…

I leave you with Jrue Holiday stealing the show at the All-Star game by singing Rihanna…

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Tim Kurkjian has Never Heard a Dr. Evil Impression

July 16, 2012 Adam Thomas

So last night, after a nice weekend at the beach, I get home and turn on some ESPN to get caught up on what happened in the world of sports when I was away. Much to my delight/chagrin, ESPN was running a clip of Tim Kurkjian where he interviewed Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster and asked him to do some impressions and man oh man was it high comedy.  Just kidding. It was actually incredibly confusing/perplexing. The reason?

Dempster busted out impressions of Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard and Harry Caray. Now, I get the Harry Caray one, since he plays for the Cubs, but Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard… are you kidding me? That movie came out in 1997 (with Fat Bastard coming on the scene in 1999). But there was Kurkjian, giggling like a school girl. No joke. He was literally “cracking up” and thought that it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Has Kurkjian never heard a Dr. Evil impression before?  You know who else does a good Dr. Evil impression? EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH!

Perhaps he was a little drunk. Or something. It was weird.

Moving on….

I got a text from Randy while I was on the beach and it said that the Sixers had signed Kwame Brown. I thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t. Man, Doug Collins is such an idiot. As the Liberty Ballers pointed out, the Sixers may be starting a front court of Spencer Hawes at the 4 and Kwame Brown at the 5. GOOOOOOOOOOO! That looks so terrible on paper that it’s not even funny.

Seriously though, why did they draft Vucevic last year and Arnett Moultrie this year, if they were just going to go out and sign terrible veterans to take their minutes away? Is that really their draft strategy? Taking guys that they are never going to use? I am really down on the Sixers at this point. They don’t look better than last year’s team, they don’t look markedly worse, they look about the same. Which means more of the same: squeaking into the playoffs followed by a 1st round playoff exit and then the drafting of someone in the 16-20 spot who does nothing for the team. Awesome.

Phillies have won two in a row!  Happy Happy, Joy Joy!  It’s always fun to watch them win, even if they are 14 games out of first place.

And man, how good are those Nats? I hate to admit it, but I don’t think anybody from the NL is going to beat them in a 5 or 7 game series. They have the bats, they have the arms, and if they get hot at the right time, they may take this year’s World Series.

It’s never too early for Super Bowl predictions so here is my first prediction of the year.

This year’s Super Bowl will be…..49ers vs. Bengals. BOOOOOOOM!

Of course, I may change that after training camps and all that stuff shakes out, but that’s just my gut feeling right now.

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Random Thoughts: Eat your Damn Oatmeal!

June 24, 2011 Adam Thomas

1.) I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning.  This was a mistake.  Oatmeal is not a meal.  It’s what horses eat.  Well, the oats part at least.  But hey, like the picture says, “Eat your damn Oatmeal!”

Quick aside: Did anyone ever catch that SNL skit with John Goodman as Wilford Brimley?  All you need to know is that he sat on a horse and said things like this:

“When I said I watch my diet, I guess I mean I watch the minivan from Buddy’s Barbecue pull up and unload about $200 worth of pork ribs onto my driveway. While I stand in the doorway hiding my food boner in my Bermuda shorts.”

2.) Welcome to the Sixers, Nikola Vucevic!  Man, I always knew I wanted to clone Spencer Hawes.  Every time I saw  Hawes out on the court I thought, “Man…if only we had TWO of him!”

Good lord, the Sixers should run a clinic on how to be completely average in every way.

3.) Speaking of average, Iguodala has not yet been traded, but he will be soon. I hope.  Look, the Sixers need to get a shooter.  Monte Ellis can shoot.  The Warriors need a defender. Iggy can defend.  It makes sense. Do it.  And yes, these short sentences directly correspond to my incredible hunger.

4.) I went to a Blue Rocks game yesterday and oh my goodness what a game it was.  The Blue Rocks scored 8 runs in one inning, which nearly gave Mr. Celery a heart attack. It was also 90’s night so they had Wayne, Garth and Waldo (of “Where’s” fame) running around the crowd.

Let me say this about the Blue Rocks: Scoff all you want at the games (at times, you may never see worse defense played in your life) but it is a genuinely fun time.

Also, to totally contradict what I just wrote, last night the Blue Rocks’ 3rd baseman made the greatest defensive play I’ve ever seen live in my life.  A player on the other team hit a SHOT down the third base line in the top of the 9th (when the Rocks were threatening to somehow give up their 6 run lead) and the third basemen sprang like a feral cat, dove, back handed the ball, got up to his knee and gunned the runner out at first.  He got a raucous applause from the crowd.

Also, kudos to the Blue Rocks catcher (named, Bonilla I think) because the pitchers were bouncing balls before they reached home plate all night long and he knocked them all down.  He was doo-doo with the bat, though, which may hinder his shot at the bigs.

5.) I’m reading The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick and if anyone is looking for some interesting historical book to read, look no further!  This man is an incredible writer and reading about Custer will make you want to hit your head with the heel of your hand and shake it in disbelief about 10 times per page. What a moron!

The book starts out with Custer on his horse chasing down a buffalo, he has a great opportunity to shoot the buffalo, puts the gun to the beast’s head and decides, “Nah, this is too much fun, I’ll give him a little bit longer.”

So he doesn’t shoot.  The buffalo turns and leans in towards the horse, which scares it to no end, the horse rears up and instead of shooting the buffalo, Custer accidentally shoots and kills his own horse.  He is thrown from his saddle, gets up and looks at the buffalo who just kinda looks at him like, “stupid human” and then walks away.  Custer is now stranded deep in Indian territory with no horse and only his dogs to get him back to his troops.

If that isn’t the best allegory to sum up a man’s life, than I don’t know what is.

6.) I laughed hysterically when I read about the end of that show “The Killing.” Since I don’t have TV (I may have mentioned this 10000 times before), I had only been reading the AV club summaries to see who the killer was.  AND THEN THEY DIDN’T EVEN REVEAL WHO THE KILLER WAS! Haha, so funny. That show sounded like it sucked on so many levels, and if you want a good laugh, you need to read an interview by the show runner who sounds so delusional that it is almost sad to read. It’s like a parent who says their kid is an honors student, but is in actuality, the dumbest kid in school.

Anyway, that’s it for me.

Go Blue Rocks!

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76ers Toughest Test of the Year

April 27, 2011 Randy Neil

Well the Flyers won yesterday, advancing to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The Sixers… well… they have a lot more work cut out for them if they hope to reach the same accomplishment.

Last Sunday, the Sixers were able to something they haven’t done all year… beat the Miami Heat. Tonight, Philly fans are hoping they accomplish another goal not yet achieved… win in Miami.

If they do win tonight, the flood gates will open up. The lashing the Heat received from the media after their Game 4 loss probably irritated them, so if Philadelphia actually does manage to win, look for it to get even worse. On the flip side of that, Miami has had 72 hours to basically stir their emotions into something productive. They are probably going to come out very aggressive tonight and keep the 76ers on their toes the entire game.

The 76ers need nothing short of a miracle again. The younger players that received praise for Philly’s victory last Sunday are going to have to produce better stats. Not to say they weren’t deserving of said praise; I’m saying they need to play even better to handle a team that’s going to play with much more determination.

I’m hoping Turner and Iguodala get almost identical minutes. Evan Turner was the breakout star in Game 4, and in contrast, Iguodala became the villain (more-so than ever.) You’re looking at a veteran with 7 years experience who has never won a playoff series attempting to lead a team without averaging more than 10 points a game. People just aren’t buying it. His defense is great, his assists are amazing, but people are fed up with the somewhat lethargic offense he produces. He’s a vital factor to this team’s chances of staying afloat, but he shouldn’t be the main factor. It’s hard to believe that Iggy is only 27 years old.

I’m looking forward to Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand, and Tony Battie establishing some presence in the paint. In order for the Sixers to have any chance, they need to equal or out-rebound the Heat throughout the game. We need the big boys to step up, and maybe while they’re at it, start some shit talking as well.

Tip-off starts at 7pm ET at American Airlines Arena. This can be our greatest accomplishment of the season or a humbling experience for our youthful team to grow on. It’s going to be a tough game for sure. Here’s hoping the best 76ers show up. Bring the king…. mother fucker.

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It All Looks Downhill From Here

April 5, 2011 Randy Neil

Ugh. My first pessimistic 76ers post in 4 months. It’s right before playoff time and things could possibly be in turmoil. Lou Williams, arguably the heart and soul of the Sixers locker room, is out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury. After an MRI on Sunday, it was reported that his injury was more serious than initially assessed and no one has given a time frame for his return.

In response to the injury, the 76ers signed this guy, Antonio Daniels. Don’t know who he is? Most people don’t. But he’s been an NBA player on 7 teams for a 13-year career, winning 1 NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs. He’s been to the play offs 10 times. That was the good part of the story. The bad part is he played only 4 games the entire 99′ Spurs Championship play off run. Daniels has spent the last 10 years being traded from team to team as a ‘average’ bench player and played last year in the NBA D-League after his contract was bought out by the Timberwolves because he wasn’t getting any minutes.

The Sixers signed Daniels to a 10-day contract to finish out the rest of the season without Lou, with a chance to extend it for the playoffs pending Williams’ injury.

We play the Celtics tonight in Boston and I’m not going to even watch it. I’ll be at a Rick Ross concert because I enjoy paying a rich person to tell me how much better their life is than mine through music. The next day we play a home game against the Knicks.

It’s 3 more games after that and then we hit the playoffs. Most likely, it’s still going to be the Miami Heat, a team we just recently lost a heart-wrenching game to. With Lou Williams I would think our team could have a shot. Without, I don’t have any hope.

It’s been a great year watching the 76ers. This season has been a drastic improvement from last years and I walk away from this certainly feeling more satisfied than I would have guessed. I want to end it now, on a good note, rather than at the hands of Lebron James and the Heatles.

We upset the #1 team in the West. We upset the #1 and #2 team in the East. We finished above .500 with the 6th seed in the East. It’s a year to be proud of. I will be buying a Spencer Hawes jersey. Lol.

Here’s to the year. It’s been a good one. #showyaluv

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