Sixers are Just Bad

A season that began with high hopes has now deteriorated into damage control. Elton Brand is out for a few weeks. Mo Cheeks is out for good. The ball won't go in the hole. The team isn't in sync. Last year's team that exceeded low expectations has been replaced by a squad that can't meet high ones.

What went wrong? What needs to be changed?

There are 3 schools on the subject:

1. The first school holds that the team just needs time to acquaint itself with Elton Brand. Like last year, it needs to adjust midseason, learn how to run, and then it will once again become a force. If you adhere to this school you see a lot of promise in outlet passes by Brand and Dalembert leading to Young and Iguodala and Williams dunks. You also have to be hoping that the Sixers D will improve.

2. The second school--held by most fans I've encountered--states that the Sixers are a good squad in desperate need of a shooter or two. Add a bit of an outside threat to the present mix and you'll have a solid playoff team. Plug in Wally Szczerbiak or Daniel Gibson instead of Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall, and you've got a much-improved team. Many who adhere to this view see Andre Iguodala as a 3, who should slide over when the shooter-whose-better-than-Willie-Green joins the team to play the 2. The big problem with this scenario is: where does Thaddeus Young play? The best answer: he plays the 4 and Brand slides to the 5 while Dalembert comes off the bench. Alternatively, Young could back-up both forward positions.

3. The third school is the most truly negadelphian. It says that the Sixers--despite having a roster full of promise--are poorly composed and poorly assembled. Andre Iguodala is not a shooting guard in any way. It was a big mistake to give him a huge contract in the summer. Andre Miller is not the point guard of the future. Pieces like Brand, Dalembert, and Miller don't fit with pieces like Young and Williams. There's too much duplication on the roster: Brand-Dalembert-Speights give you the same thing. Iguodala and Young give you the same thing. And why does a team need two undersized two guards (Green and Williams) coming off the bench--with a third (Rush) waiting in the wings while a fourth (Ivey) sits? The extra baggage needs to be cleaned out so that the team will be more dynamic and versatile. Keep Young, Speights, and Williams. Keep Brand. Get rid of Iguodala, Dalembert, Rush, Green, and potentially Miller. That would mean some serious house-cleaning and definitely taking a big step back (losing vets like Iggy and Dalembert would make the team very young) before any forward-steps could be taken.

Those are the 3 schools......we'll have to see what happens next....