Are Iverson & Webber Too Good? Heading into this season the main question for the Sixers was, can Iverson and Webber co-exist? Now it's not surprise that they compliment each other well, but do they compliment each other too much? Again, it's no question that they are a hell of a duo, but are meshing a little too well? Too well to the point where the others guys on the team are completely non-existent? While this would be the #1 thing(AI & Webber) that would ultimately determine their success the team success I think they are being too heavily relied on. You could say that the others guys needs to get involved but at the end of the day it's up to Webber and AI to get them involved. Statistics can be deceiving; the assists numbers AI is putting up is not fooling me. I'm not saying he doesn't get his teammates involved because he does but not to the point where he gets his teammates to actually contribute on a consistent basis. He must think, ?Oh we are playing the Spurs, seems like everyone is going to get shut down, so time to go into jack mode?. I think that?s the problem because he tends to do that against the superior defense teams. To keep things short what I want to say is that in order for this team to be the team that we expect Iverson and Webbers needs to bring it down a notch and let others guys get big nights. A 34 PPG from AI and 20 PPG from Webber throughout the whole season will not be healthy for the team nor them because that is a lot of work they would be putting in right there. If they want to contend for the East Conference title(VERY POSSIBLE) the young guys needs to get more involved on a nightly basis. Iverson scoring average should drop to 28 PPG while Webber should drop to 18 PPG. I think spreading 8 points to the other guys would make them soo much more dangerous. When you look at the team stats, offense is not a problem, however at time it can be. Against great defensive teams their offense lacks versatility because it literally becomes a two man game with Webber and AI, but for the most part their offense is fine. So whatam I saying? If this team is going to be any good, they need to get it done a better way on the offense end that means other guys scoring because when they are involved on one side of the floor they will put in work on the other side of the floor. If the ball isn?t being shared on offense why would guys put in work on the defensive end? Ever wonder why Iguodala hasn't been playing defense as of late? Here is what he has been doing on offense in the last four games: @ Spurs: 9 Points @ Hornets: 2 Points @ Celtics: 9 Points vs Blazers: 8 Points I'm just using him as an example because the whole team is not playing defense. Our defense wasn't even spectacular from the get-go, but at least we were #1 in the league in forcing turnovers. However, as of late we only manage to force about 11-12 turnovers per game. Since the guys aren?t' getting the ball on offense why bother working on defense? I just can?t stress it enough on how important it is for Iverson and Webber to get the others involved. In the 6-game winning streak Iverson averaged 9 APG. The team as a total averaged about 26 APG. As of late with our losing streak(s) AI barley averages 7 APG and the team as a whole at times only gets 15 assists or less for a whole game. I'm not saying Iverson is the only culprit because like I mentioned Webber is part of this as well, but everything starts with AI. So if he brings it down a notch so will Webber. Any thoughts? I?m personally getting tired of AI dropping 40 and still losing. I was enjoying the games he had early on where he would get 32 and 12 AND WIN.
well, i agree and disagree. AI and C-Webb are complimenting each other well. but too well? is that even possible? but i do agree that AI needs less looks and he needs to dish it to other guys like AI2 and Korver. also, stephen hunter has not been doing much lately and i think it is because of the lack of shots he has had, and the lack of "ball in his hands time." if you look at the boxscore, AI and C-Webb average at least 25 shots each, and that's a little too much. but i wouldnt worry too much, because if it was a huge problem, mo cheeks would definetly let them know. i think the main problem as to why we are losing so much is 1, all of our guys need their looks, and 2, we arent playing good D. hopefully all this changes soon and mo cheeks lets them know at practice.
Avery, I do agree with you because right now the 76ers are playing 2 on 5 a lot of nights, and losing whenever that happends. AI and Webber are the leaders of this team, and in order for the team to be successful those two must answer and find a soloution for the problem or problems. I wonder if the coaching staff ever thought of running an offense similar to that of the Kings? I'm talking about when they had Webber, Bibby, Peja, and Christie. Well if you need your memory refreshed that was a very good team that played very well together, and with memories of them a few seasons ago contending in the West, there should be no reason why the 76ers couldn't do the same thing and be successful like the Kings were. Philly has AI, who is Bibby who just shoots more shots, a Dough Christie type of player in Andre Iguodala (good defender), a perimeter shooter like Kyle Korver, the role Peja played, Webber who is Webber, and then basically a shotblocker downlow who can't make plays on offense like Divac could. But do you see where I am getting at? In that Kings offense, players stregths were utilized well and as you see the players they had are somewhat similar to the players the Sixers have right now. The most important reason those Kings were a good team, was the fact that they shared the ball a lot. Instead of playing with two players and one stepping up every once in a while, the 76ers need to find a way to get everybody involved on a consistent basis.
they will do fine as long as webber and iverson stay injury free iverson is all banged up, but he still plays..which i respect a lot webber...well...we shall see how his surgically repaired knee hold up in 2nd half of the year, afterall, it matters more in playoff crunch time than now
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">AI and C-Webb are complimenting each other well. but too well? is that even possible?</div> You're right. I just wanted to stir things up to get peoples attention. However, though my main thing is that I think they are out to compliment and feed off each other too much. Like it's only a two man team when in actualilty they have some quality guys around them.
Too good? Not sure, but the Sixers are headed in the right direction...they struggle a lot defensively and they need some people who will rebound the ball and get stops...I still think, for them to reach their peak, Korver will need to be a role player off the bench and not be depended upon for a consistent scoring output night in and night out...
