2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews: Philadelphia 76ers
Posted by Neil Paine on October 20, 2010
Welcome to our 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews, in which we contact the finest team bloggers on the web and ask them to contribute their thoughts on the squad they cover. What follows is their take, along with the team's depth chart (courtesy of ESPN.com), projected 2011 stats via our Simple Projection System, and polls where you get to have your say. Enjoy!
Philadelphia 76ers
Coach: Doug Collins
2010 Summary:
Record: 27-55, Finished 4th in NBA Atlantic Division
Pythagorean W-L: 30-52 (24th of 30)
SRS: -3.92 (23rd of 30) ▪ Pace Factor: 91.6 (23rd of 30)
Offensive Rating: 106.1 (20th of 30) ▪ Defensive Rating: 110.3 (24th of 30)
2011 Depth Chart (with 2010-11 projected per-36 minute stats ... yellow = newcomer)
| Pos | Player | Age | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FG% | 3PM | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Jrue Holiday | 20 | 12.6 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 0.460 | 1.3 | 0.403 | 0.767 |
| PG | Louis Williams | 24 | 17.9 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 0.449 | 1.3 | 0.332 | 0.809 |
| PG | Chris Quinn | 27 | 12.3 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.413 | 1.8 | 0.383 | 0.829 |
| SG | Andre Iguodala | 27 | 16.4 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 0.456 | 1.0 | 0.314 | 0.730 |
| SG | Evan Turner | 22 | ||||||||||
| SG | Jodie Meeks | 23 | 14.5 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.410 | 1.9 | 0.330 | 0.790 |
| SF | Thaddeus Young | 22 | 15.9 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 0.494 | 0.8 | 0.356 | 0.722 |
| SF | Andres Nocioni | 31 | 15.8 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.412 | 2.2 | 0.384 | 0.761 |
| SF | Jason Kapono | 29 | 12.7 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.434 | 2.0 | 0.396 | 0.750 |
| PF | Elton Brand | 31 | 15.5 | 7.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.470 | 0.1 | 0.326 | 0.728 |
| PF | Darius Songaila | 32 | 13.4 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 0.495 | 0.1 | 0.280 | 0.835 |
| PF | Craig Brackins | 23 | ||||||||||
| C | Spencer Hawes | 22 | 14.1 | 8.5 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.479 | 0.6 | 0.329 | 0.695 |
| C | Marreese Speights | 23 | 18.3 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.494 | 0.1 | 0.265 | 0.761 |
2010-11 Blogger Outlook by Jordan Sams, libertyballers.com
The Sixers biggest strengths are Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner. All three have shown both the ability to be above average perimeter defenders as well, as great players in transition. The Sixers will go as far as they take them.
The team's biggest weaknesses are just about everything else. They can't shoot, score in the half-court, rebound or defend the paint. That's a recipe for a bad team, which is what the Sixers look to be in 2010-2011.
Whether this season is considered a success or failure is dependent on how much or little the young players develop individually. Will lights-out scorers like Lou Williams and Marreese Speights finally add a defensive dimension to their game? Will Jrue Holiday live up to the pre-season hype? Will Thaddeus Young bounce back from a disappointing year? Is Evan Turner a bust? Regardless of wins and losses, it'll be a great season if the young players show significant improvement.
Poll Time
October 20th, 2010 at 8:29 am
The 76ers will be interesting this year, I think. They're young and right now, it's make-or-break year for a couple of the young guys [Speights, Holiday] if they will actually step up and become more legit NBA players [or if the 76ers will give up on them], both have contracts that are team options for 2011-12.
They remind me a bit of the Atlanta Hawks of the past couple years, one star in their prime [Andre, although he's not as talented as Joe Johnson], with several young players drafted by the team that management is hoping will blossom,
October 20th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I don't think Jrue needs to "step up" to become a legit NBA player. He's already one of the better defensive PGs in the NBA, and did a fine job running the offense the second half of the season. He needs to work on his shooting/scoring, but he's already a solid all around player.
Speights needs to learn to play D and generally stop looking clueless out there. He's kind of like a less confused Anthony Randolph, at least Speights has an offensive game. He needs a lot of work, no doubt.