Impressed at the Palestra
A summary of the Philadelphia 76’ers live scrimmage at UPenn
By: Theo “Truf” Williams
On Sunday, the Philadelphia 76’ers hosted an open practice and scrimmage for public consumption at the Palestra, the home of the UPenn Quakers. About 2,000 fans were in attendance, on a brisk Sunday night, which also saw Philadelphia hosting the Eagles vs. Jets blowout at Lincoln Financial Field. Upon walking through the doors of the Palestra, I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting to see, and if I was honest with myself, I would likely admit that I was going to see how mediocre the Sixers are, despite their impressive showing at the Verizon Center, against the Washington Wizards. What can I say? I’m a skeptic at heart.
I walked into the arena, and took myself a seat under the score board, just as the team shootaround was wrapping up. Not long thereafter, Coach Doug Collins walked onto the court, to a strong impromptu round of applause from the fans, surely in appreciation for returning a level of respectability and accountability to a franchise that had fallen on hard times. Collins addressed the crowd, and though the acoustics in the Palestra made it difficult to understand what he was saying, I believe I picked out the phrases “Play hard”, and “Teaching”, and then came the player announcements. Lou Williams, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Jodie Meeks and Spensor Hawes all received solid rounds of applause, meanwhile Elton Brand and Andre Igoudala’s receptions were lukewarm at best. After about 80 minutes of drills, and practicing, the Sixers (and even more so, the fans) were ready for their long awaited scrimmage, and this is when the 2011-2012 Philadelphia 76’ers caught my attention.
Lou Williams absolutely stood out during last night’s scrimmage. Lou made several long range shots, as well as a few crowd pleasing ball handling maneuvers that culminated in successful drives to the basket. As of right now, he is projected to sit the bench behind starters Jrue Holliday and Jodie Meeks, but if he continues to play like he did in last night’s scrimmage and perform how he performed against the Wizards last week, if not a starter, Lou could very well be an early season pick for NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Spenser Hawes’ development continues to impress me. While watching him during the practice session, I recall noting to myself several times that it seemed like Spensor was either hobbling, taking it easy and even one time I remember him not stretching like the rest of his teammates, so I wasn’t expecting much out of Philadelphia’s big man. Well, apparently I was mistaken, because once the scrimmage began; it was clear who the dominant big man on the floor was. Spensor, not only hit several shots close to the basket, showing a bevy of post moves while doing so; he also looked very comfortable shooting and knocking down a few mid-range jump shots, even taking a shot from beyond the arc. In an era where there are very few dominant Centers, Hawes definitely has All Star potential.
I only have one word for the Sixers starting Point guard Jrue Holiday: SICK! What else can I say about the Sixers third year man out of UCLA? Nothing! So I will simply leave it at that!
Perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise out of Sunday night was from the undrafted, 6’5” (more like 6’3”) combo-guard rookie out of Northern Illinois, Xavier Silas. Silas, the son of long time San Antonio Spur, James Silas and godson of NBA Hall of Famer and Philadelphia legend Julius Erving, was 7th in the nation in scoring last year. He’s a little undersized to be a consistent 2 guard in the league, and I’m not sure if he has the ball handling or decision making ability to be a point guard in the NBA just yet, but he has been said to have an uncanny and “old school” work ethic, and has definitely shown the ability to hit the mid to long range jumper on a consistent basis. Under the tutelage of Coach Collins, I see a bright future for this young man.
On the flip side, I was rather underwhelmed by the Sixers big money players Andre Igoudala, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young. Yes, Iggy was the nights leading scorer, but I see zero improvement from the inconsistent mid-range jump shot that has plagued his career. While watching him play, I just got the impression that he was trying to do too much, taking several bad shots, forcing shots in the lane when there were open players collapsing to defend him. Meanwhile, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young weren’t necessarily bad; they just simply did not make the impression on an inner-squad scrimmage that you would expect of them.
Overall, I feel like the Sixers played hard for the home crowd and are far more advanced than they were last year at this point. Apparently, they won’t contend to be Division; Conference or NBA champions, with the likes of Miami; New York; and Chicago, but I can definitely see them making some teams very uncomfortable in the upcoming season, into the playoffs. I will, however, predict with the condensed NBA season and rigorous schedule, older teams like the Boston Celtics won’t be able to keep up (especially with Jeff Greene out for the season), and the Sixers, with possibly the best bench in the league, will finish the season 2nd in the Atlantic Division, with the 5th or 6th seed going into the playoffs.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Eagles Improbable Run
Playoffs, Playoffs? I'm talking Super Bowl!
This past Sunday, the fans of the NFL were treated to an intriguing final week of regular season football, full of plots, storylines and scenarios. For instance, The San Diego Chargers defeated the hated Denver Broncos to win the "Hochuli Bowl", in a high scoring blowout for the AFC West division title. Or, you have Chad Pennington coming back, now with the Miami Dolphins, to the Meadowlands to embarrass his former team, the NY Bretts (oh my bad, I meant Jets), and steal the division after going 1-15 the previous season. You even had the poor Detroit Lions, entangled in a futile struggle against history, attempting to prevent themselves from becoming the first NFL team to go 0-16, and from joining the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers as just the second franchise to go winless for an entire season.
Speaking of those Bucs and futility, they faced off in the "Battle of the Pirates" or the "Chucky Bowl" (a reference to TB's head coach and former Oak coach Jon Gruden), against the Al Davis’ less Oakland Raiders, to try and save their floundering season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had started the season off with an impressive 9-3 record, holding serve with a tie for first in the NFC South. But, after loosing 3 games in a row, the Bucs were on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs altogether. Going into that game Tampa knew they had to beat the Raiders, if they were to have any hope of their season staying alive.
Tampa Bay had seemingly put their foot on the throats of the pitiful Oakland Raiders with a 24-14 lead and 11:27 left to go in the game. But after the Bucs were called for a 43 yard pass interference call, a Jamarcus Russell touchdown pass, Bush (Michael not Reggie) running shop on the great Kiffin defense and a broke down Cadillac, Tampa Bay and their playoff hopes faded away.... But who cares about that game??? No one outside of Tampa/St. Petersburg, I can tell you that much. The only reason why anyone, anywhere outside of western Florida even cared about that game was because of one city, one team....Your Philadelphia Eagles!!!
With that Tampa Bay loss, the Eagles were now in a win and in situation for the playoffs against the hated, over-publicized, T.O. loving, Pop Star dating, Philadelphia hating, divisional rival, Dallas Cowboys. Ladies and Gentlemen, Lets get ready to Rumble!!!!! Listen, anytime T.O. is coming to The Link, you already know its going to be a battle, but when you add the fact that a trip to the playoffs is on the line, that game should be nothing short of war. Think about it, you have the luxurious Dallas Cowboys. A team that resembles the NY Yankees, with their billion dollar roster, and billion dollar chemistry issues, going up against the underachieving, fan revolting, Philadelphia Eagles. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up, especially considering the fact that Philly needed the Raiders to get a W in order to have a shot at the playoffs. There was something in the air, and no, it wasn’t the smell of Lee’s Hoagies and Cheesesteaks. It was something else, was the smell of destiny? I think so.
From the opening kickoff of the Eagles-Cowboys game you could already see things were falling in line for Donovan, Andy and the rest of the Eagles squad. Seriously though, you had to know something was up when Nick Folk booted the ball out of bounds on the opening kickoff to place the Eagles on their own 40 yard line. Personally, I don’t think I have ever seen the Link as electric or the fans as spellbound as they were this past Sunday night. Even Andy Reid showed his team pride when he started waving his arms up and down to further pump up the crowd, and that man never shows emotion! And, after all of the smoke had cleared and all of the dust was settled your Philadelphia Eagles walked away with a bludgeoning 44-6 victory over those Cowboys, and a fresh trip to the NFL playoffs.
I just want to say something real quick, to all of you Eagles fans that bailed out on your team, those of you who sold your tickets because you thought it would be pointless to waste your time at a game you believed would be meaningless, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You are the fan Jimmy Rollins was referring to when he said that Philadelphia fans are front runners. You are what Randy Quaid was to the Cleveland Indians in the Major League movies. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all or even most Philadelphia fans are front runners. Most Philly fans are true blue (or green for that matter) fans, but true Philly fans will not bail on their team simply because of a particular distain for any one coach or player. True Philly fans will stay with their team until the very end, and I didn’t see that in the weeks leading up to the Cowboys game. Trust me; I’m not trying to bash Philly fans, as sensitive as you may be at times, lets be real, a great majority of you were actually rooting for your Eagles to loose!
But I digress; now your Philadelphia Eagles have defied all odds and have made it to the post season that has eluded the franchise in recent years, winning 4 of their last 5 games. They are coming into the playoffs with something more important than a great regular season record and arguably more important than home field advantage. The Eagles are going into the playoffs loaded with a train full of momentum, beating their opponents 145-60 over that 5 game span. The Eagles have been playing great football as of late, and it all starts with Coach Andy Reid. Andy Reid finally decided to revert back to his football 101 class that he took when he was a lowly assistant for Mike Holmgren, and finally runs the ball!!!! It’s a miracle, I can’t believe it! And in my humble opinion, if this trend continues, I truly believe that the Eagles have the momentum and ability to go all the way to the Superbowl, but that’s a BIG if.
If the Eagles are to have any realistic shot at winning the Superbowl, one person must have at least 5-10 touches per game in the playoffs, and will tell you who. No, it’s not Westbrook and it’s not Deshaun Jackson. One man will be the deciding factor into exactly how far the Philadelphia Eagles can go into this years playoffs, and his name is Correll Buckhalter. In games where Buckhalter received more than an abysmal 2 carries, the Eagles went 5-1. Now, I’m not trying to say that he’s going to be the key playmaker for the Birds and break off 50 yard rushes every game. But if Buckhalter is running the ball more than a handful of times per game that means that the Eagles are making a conscious effort to run the ball.
Not only does running the ball consistently add another much needed dimension to your offense, but if you’re giving carries to Buckhalter that gives you another dimension to your running game. Buckhalter is a lot better at running between the tackles than Westbrook and that would force opposing defenses to put more players in the box. This in turn prevents the opposition from specifically keying in on Westbrook, allowing him to open up his game for a big play as well as keeping the defense honest when it comes to the pass. Now all of a sudden you can effectively use Deshaun Jackson with a play action streak. See how simple it can be, Coach Reid? You run the ball, you win!
Listen, I don’t want to get ahead of myself here. If the Eagles do make it to the Superbowl it will be a very formidable task that should be celebrated any way that you look at it. The Eagles absolutely cannot look passed the Minnesota Vikings, because if they don’t do as I previously suggested and run the ball in order to control the clock, the Vikings and their nearly unstoppable running duo of Chester Taylor and “All Day” Adrian Peterson will. This will assuredly result in a loss for the Birds and bring back calls for Andy Reid’s head on a platter. But, if they stick to the plan, and run the ball I believe the Vikings, the Giants and everyone else in Philadelphia’s path, has a lot to worry about…
This past Sunday, the fans of the NFL were treated to an intriguing final week of regular season football, full of plots, storylines and scenarios. For instance, The San Diego Chargers defeated the hated Denver Broncos to win the "Hochuli Bowl", in a high scoring blowout for the AFC West division title. Or, you have Chad Pennington coming back, now with the Miami Dolphins, to the Meadowlands to embarrass his former team, the NY Bretts (oh my bad, I meant Jets), and steal the division after going 1-15 the previous season. You even had the poor Detroit Lions, entangled in a futile struggle against history, attempting to prevent themselves from becoming the first NFL team to go 0-16, and from joining the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers as just the second franchise to go winless for an entire season.
Speaking of those Bucs and futility, they faced off in the "Battle of the Pirates" or the "Chucky Bowl" (a reference to TB's head coach and former Oak coach Jon Gruden), against the Al Davis’ less Oakland Raiders, to try and save their floundering season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had started the season off with an impressive 9-3 record, holding serve with a tie for first in the NFC South. But, after loosing 3 games in a row, the Bucs were on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs altogether. Going into that game Tampa knew they had to beat the Raiders, if they were to have any hope of their season staying alive.
Tampa Bay had seemingly put their foot on the throats of the pitiful Oakland Raiders with a 24-14 lead and 11:27 left to go in the game. But after the Bucs were called for a 43 yard pass interference call, a Jamarcus Russell touchdown pass, Bush (Michael not Reggie) running shop on the great Kiffin defense and a broke down Cadillac, Tampa Bay and their playoff hopes faded away.... But who cares about that game??? No one outside of Tampa/St. Petersburg, I can tell you that much. The only reason why anyone, anywhere outside of western Florida even cared about that game was because of one city, one team....Your Philadelphia Eagles!!!
With that Tampa Bay loss, the Eagles were now in a win and in situation for the playoffs against the hated, over-publicized, T.O. loving, Pop Star dating, Philadelphia hating, divisional rival, Dallas Cowboys. Ladies and Gentlemen, Lets get ready to Rumble!!!!! Listen, anytime T.O. is coming to The Link, you already know its going to be a battle, but when you add the fact that a trip to the playoffs is on the line, that game should be nothing short of war. Think about it, you have the luxurious Dallas Cowboys. A team that resembles the NY Yankees, with their billion dollar roster, and billion dollar chemistry issues, going up against the underachieving, fan revolting, Philadelphia Eagles. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up, especially considering the fact that Philly needed the Raiders to get a W in order to have a shot at the playoffs. There was something in the air, and no, it wasn’t the smell of Lee’s Hoagies and Cheesesteaks. It was something else, was the smell of destiny? I think so.
From the opening kickoff of the Eagles-Cowboys game you could already see things were falling in line for Donovan, Andy and the rest of the Eagles squad. Seriously though, you had to know something was up when Nick Folk booted the ball out of bounds on the opening kickoff to place the Eagles on their own 40 yard line. Personally, I don’t think I have ever seen the Link as electric or the fans as spellbound as they were this past Sunday night. Even Andy Reid showed his team pride when he started waving his arms up and down to further pump up the crowd, and that man never shows emotion! And, after all of the smoke had cleared and all of the dust was settled your Philadelphia Eagles walked away with a bludgeoning 44-6 victory over those Cowboys, and a fresh trip to the NFL playoffs.
I just want to say something real quick, to all of you Eagles fans that bailed out on your team, those of you who sold your tickets because you thought it would be pointless to waste your time at a game you believed would be meaningless, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You are the fan Jimmy Rollins was referring to when he said that Philadelphia fans are front runners. You are what Randy Quaid was to the Cleveland Indians in the Major League movies. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all or even most Philadelphia fans are front runners. Most Philly fans are true blue (or green for that matter) fans, but true Philly fans will not bail on their team simply because of a particular distain for any one coach or player. True Philly fans will stay with their team until the very end, and I didn’t see that in the weeks leading up to the Cowboys game. Trust me; I’m not trying to bash Philly fans, as sensitive as you may be at times, lets be real, a great majority of you were actually rooting for your Eagles to loose!
But I digress; now your Philadelphia Eagles have defied all odds and have made it to the post season that has eluded the franchise in recent years, winning 4 of their last 5 games. They are coming into the playoffs with something more important than a great regular season record and arguably more important than home field advantage. The Eagles are going into the playoffs loaded with a train full of momentum, beating their opponents 145-60 over that 5 game span. The Eagles have been playing great football as of late, and it all starts with Coach Andy Reid. Andy Reid finally decided to revert back to his football 101 class that he took when he was a lowly assistant for Mike Holmgren, and finally runs the ball!!!! It’s a miracle, I can’t believe it! And in my humble opinion, if this trend continues, I truly believe that the Eagles have the momentum and ability to go all the way to the Superbowl, but that’s a BIG if.
If the Eagles are to have any realistic shot at winning the Superbowl, one person must have at least 5-10 touches per game in the playoffs, and will tell you who. No, it’s not Westbrook and it’s not Deshaun Jackson. One man will be the deciding factor into exactly how far the Philadelphia Eagles can go into this years playoffs, and his name is Correll Buckhalter. In games where Buckhalter received more than an abysmal 2 carries, the Eagles went 5-1. Now, I’m not trying to say that he’s going to be the key playmaker for the Birds and break off 50 yard rushes every game. But if Buckhalter is running the ball more than a handful of times per game that means that the Eagles are making a conscious effort to run the ball.
Not only does running the ball consistently add another much needed dimension to your offense, but if you’re giving carries to Buckhalter that gives you another dimension to your running game. Buckhalter is a lot better at running between the tackles than Westbrook and that would force opposing defenses to put more players in the box. This in turn prevents the opposition from specifically keying in on Westbrook, allowing him to open up his game for a big play as well as keeping the defense honest when it comes to the pass. Now all of a sudden you can effectively use Deshaun Jackson with a play action streak. See how simple it can be, Coach Reid? You run the ball, you win!
Listen, I don’t want to get ahead of myself here. If the Eagles do make it to the Superbowl it will be a very formidable task that should be celebrated any way that you look at it. The Eagles absolutely cannot look passed the Minnesota Vikings, because if they don’t do as I previously suggested and run the ball in order to control the clock, the Vikings and their nearly unstoppable running duo of Chester Taylor and “All Day” Adrian Peterson will. This will assuredly result in a loss for the Birds and bring back calls for Andy Reid’s head on a platter. But, if they stick to the plan, and run the ball I believe the Vikings, the Giants and everyone else in Philadelphia’s path, has a lot to worry about…
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