<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Maurice Cheeks is doing some things differently in his second year as head coach of the Sixers. In addition to focusing more on defense, Cheeks is coaching more by feel in the fourth quarter, rather then relying so heavily on his starters to handle the bulk of the late-game minutes. If that means starters find themselves on the bench down the stretch, so be it. During the Sixers' ?Flo-rida exacta? weekend ? Friday's 105-103 win in Orlando and Sunday's 107-98 home drubbing of Shaq-less Miami ? only two starters (Allen Iverson, who went all 24 minutes, and Andre Iguodala, 23 minutes, 1 second) ranked among the top five in fourth-quarter minutes. Sixth-man Kyle Korver (22:16), backup center Steven Hunter (15:03) and rookie Rodney Carney (12:00) were third through fifth. Chris Webber, he of the five all-star games and $20 million contract, played 6:02 in the fourth and was taken out for several crucial final-minute defensive possessions aga-inst the Magic and did not play at all down the str-etch vs. the Heat. Samuel Dalembert, who is in the second year of a six-year, $62 million contract, was on the floor for 2:55 of the fourth in the Orlando game and never left the bench against Miami. ?I'm not coaching the game in terms of someone accepting or not accepting their role. I'm just coaching the game as is,? Cheeks said after yesterday's practice. ?As I told the players today, there are a lot of games left and a lot of guys are going to be in position to help us win games. ?I think that's where I'm at now ? going with the matchup that I think is going to help us win and not individualizing everything.? Carney was the unlikely contributor Friday. He played all 12 minutes in the fourth, hitting a big 3-pointer and defending Grant Hill well on Hill's 16-foot jumper that was short just before the buzzer. Carney didn't play at all in the final period Sunday. Against Orlando, Steven Hunter went the entire fourth quarter and had six points, two rebounds and a block in the period. Essentially, Cheeks is going with a smaller lineup, featuring four small forwards and guards, and only one big man. In the fourth quarter of the Magic game, Webber (6:02), Hunter (3:03) and Dalembert (2:55) shared the minutes in the middle. ?With Chris in there, he can definitely shoot the ball out to 3-point land, so whenever we need added offense Chris is going to be a big part of our team,? Hunter said. ?On the defensive end, me and Sammy are our best big men on the team, so whenever coach needs more shot blocking and rebounding he's going to count on us to do that.? Hunter said he's fine with the concept of sharing the late big-man minutes. ?As long as we can win games, I'm happy whether I can play five minutes or 30 minutes,? Hunter said. ?All the winning teams get the glory.? Webber, who is shooting 34.2 percent from the field but leads the team in rebounding with 10.3 per game, may not have the same mindset. He wasn't happy after Friday's game, when he mentioned the term ?scapegoat,? but wouldn't elaborate. Webber tried to be diplomatic Sunday, saying how the Sixers' 3-0 record was ?the biggest thing,? but his dissatisfaction was palpable. He was unavailable for comment yesterday. The Sixers hope to remain the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Pacers tonight. ?There's a lot of "small' basketball being played now, as opposed to a big forward and a center,? Cheeks said. ?That doesn't allow us to play a lot of big guys all the time. ?I'm just trying to coach the game as it presents itself from a team standpoint. ?That's what this is ? a team. I think we're winning as a team and we'll lose as a team.? </div> Link Cheeks seems to be doing a fine job thus far into the season. He is preaching defense, and seems to me a lot sterner and stricter than in the past years. It's good to see him stick it to the players (Webber and Sammy) when they are playing poorly on the defensive end. Keep it up Mo' Cheeks
