Impressed at the Palestra

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.