<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The 76ers' roster stands at 15 players, the maximum allowed under NBA rules in the regular season, but that doesn't mean rookie forwards Ivan McFarlin or Steven Smith can take it easy. The Sixers are mum on how many players they will carry going into their season opener Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Maybe they'll go with 15. Perhaps they will make it 14 for flexibility, in case a team cuts a player of interest to them by 6 p.m. Monday, when opening-day rosters must be set. They could even reduce the number to 13, the league minimum. If they decide on 15, McFarlin and Smith apparently are safe. If it's fewer than 15, barring a trade, chances are one will be packing his bags, or maybe both. "We don't know how many we're going to carry just yet," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said yesterday after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "We've got a few days to make that decision, and we've got a few practices left to decide whether we're going to do it or not, and we'll go from there." Sixers president and general manager Billy King declined a media request for an interview. A team spokesman said he would address the media on Monday. Regardless of how many people they carry on their roster, the Sixers will be permitted to dress only 12 for each game under NBA rules. McFarlin and Smith, both signed in the off-season as free agents to make-good contracts, might be nervous on the inside but said they wouldn't worry about what they cannot control. "As long as I know as I'm doing my best and they see that, hopefully they'll make the decision" beneficial to him, McFarlin said. "You've just got to come out and play hard. You can't worry about what they're thinking right now. They'll give me a decision or tell me later on down the road so I've just got to be prepared and be ready." "I'm just trying to focus on practice every day and trying to keep that out of my mind as much as possible," said Smith, a two-time Atlantic Ten player of the year at La Salle. "There's nothing I can do to control it outside of how much effort I give and how hard I play here in practice. That's the only thing I can control. Everything else is out of my hands." Each player showed a different facet of his game that had to impress the Sixers' decision-makers. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound McFarlin, who played last season in France, displayed a nose for the ball off the boards. In his five preseason games, he averaged 5.2 rebounds in just 14.6 minutes of playing time and his 13 offensive rebounds were the most on the team. He scored 4.4 points per game and shot 50 percent from the field. Smith, who is 6-8 and 235, also exhibited a knack for offensive rebounds and knocking down the midrange jumper. He averaged 4.8 points and 1.3 boards in 7.0 minutes and made half of his shots from the floor. Cheeks likes what he has seen from both rookies. "Both of them are hard workers and energy guys," he said. "When they come off the bench, they bring the type of energy that you need maybe to change the game around. Defensively, McFarlin gets his hands on a lot of balls. He's always around the ball. Smith has been a well-coached kid who executes, defends, runs the floor. He does a lot of things well. "It's not easy when you have guys like that. They're not great players but they do the things that help you win games. I think that's the biggest part for both of those guys. I think they both realize that the chance of making the team is based on them doing those winning things. And you can never have too many guys that help you win games." McFarlin and Smith certainly have done what they've needed to do. The question is, has it been good enough for either of them, or both, to stick? "It's a waiting game," Smith said. "It's pins and needles, but I wouldn't rather be anywhere else." </div> Link Kind of interesting, I don't really think any of us thought we would not keep all 15 players. It just brings more pressures to the youngsters. There spot is not guaranteed, and now they will have to prove they belong
I say keep Smith, 4.8 points in 7 minutes is pretty damn good. I think if given consistent playing time in preseason he could have averaged around 8-12 points. He was nice during the summer league as well, I think Smith is a keeper.
Yeah, keep Smith and just cut McFarlin(although he's a great rebounder and solid defender, I'd keep Smith if I had to pick). He's been producing very well, I remember when Carney was injured during the summer league Smith had a big game, it also seems like he can score when it's needed, he'd be a nice spark off the bench, keep him. King needs to get knocked silly with a baseball bat if he cuts Smith.
