<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The 76ers were among the worst teams in the NBA in defense and rebounding last season, which had a lot to do with them not making the playoffs. That will change this season, said general manager Billy King and second-year coach Maurice Cheeks. The two trotted out phrases like "team defense" and "defensive principles" throughout their news conference Thursday, one day before the Sixers are to leave for Barcelona, Spain, for training camp. The players, who will be the ones responsible for playing that kind of defense, will be available to the media today. But it's basically the same cast of players who allowed 101.3 points per game, 25th in the league; allowed opponents to shoot 46.3 percent from the field, 22nd in the league; and were outrebounded by a per-game average of 42.77 to 40.22. And it's the same team with an aging power forward in Chris Webber, a reluctant team defender in Allen Iverson and an enigmatic center in Samuel Dalembert. "We want to get a team that's going to scrap," King said. "We're going to focus on two areas this year: team defense where everybody's held accountable, and rebounding the ball. If we focus on those two things, we're going to have a good year. We've all got to be accountable for everything we do on the court and we've got to realize it's going to take a team effort." That, apparently, is the culture change that King was referring to after last season ended in a 38-44 record. That's why King said he didn't overhaul his roster during the summer, which could have included trading Iverson, something that King considered. He said continuity was more important than an overhaul, and that younger players such as Dalembert, Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver are ready to come into their own, much like Aaron McKie, Eric Snow and Theo Ratliff did in 2000-01 in helping the Sixers reach the NBA Finals. That's why Cheeks was talking a lot tougher coming into camp this season, saying that his players will focus on team defense or they won't play.</div> Source
This might work out like 2001, it might, because the NBA off-season was alot like a suicidal bomb. Detroit's starting centers are as followed: Nazr Mohammed,Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess. Your going to score against the Pistons this year. Or how about the Miami Heat? They basically are returning their NBA title team. However, at the same time, the reason it was an NBA title team, was because of Dwyane Wade's 37 PPG average in the last 4 games of the series. Can Dwyane Wade do that for a consistant 82 games? Probably not, but if he could, it'd be the next coming of Michael Jordan. But, the Heat are basically like us now: Alot of their success, will depend on SuperFlash. How about the Cleveland Cavaliers: I think they pretty much stayed the same as well, but I also think they're a worse team because of that. Zydrunas Ilgasukas has a limited, if not NO offensive game. He has an 18-foot hook shot, that can hit the shot clock at times, much less the basket. And his jump-shooting abilitys are little to none. Is Larry Hughes over the death of his younger brother? I severely doubt it, but that's exactly what the Cavaliers are going to need to duplicate their 50-32 season from a year ago. Or how about the Chicago Bulls: I think the Chicago Bulls are contenders, depending on how things pan out for them: Ben Wallace is going to have to have a break-out year offensively. Jim Paxson went with the defensive minded Wallace over a guy like Joel Przybilla, and that could either cost the Bulls or grant them the championship. The Bulls are going to need some low-post presense, to free up the following: Ben Gordan, Kirk Hinrich, Loul Deng, Chris Duhon, Andres Nocioni. If Ben Wallace, P.J Brown can actually provide some kind of resistance to opposing big men offensively, the Bulls can light up the score-board. But if not, well, it'll be a long season or Bulls fans. How about the Indiana Pacers: Even if, they acquired SF Al Harrington and the athletic ability that's needed to run away in a weak Eastern Conference. I question Rick Carlisle's desire to run the floor and make the shots, after all, he refused to allow Ron Artest to be the 1st option, which is exactly why they're in this mess, instead of having an NBA championship. (Yes, Artest is better then Jermaine, quote me on that). How about the Dallas Mavericks: All eyes are on Dirk Nowitski, Dirk is going to need to have similar success to last season if the Mavericks have any chances of making it back to the Finals. Also, Dallas got a bit deeper in their bench, by acquiring several key pacers, including Anthony Johnson. But, if the Dallas Mavericks catch the injury bug, it could be similar to the 2002-2003 76ers season. All of these teams have flaws, so do we, but we have one thing that these teams don't have: The dissapointment of a losing season. Let's hope momentumn can carry us BACK to the NBA finals.
I think if they fixed their defense, they could go deep in the playoffs. It's the teams only real weakness at this point.
