<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, it?s a sprained ankle that?s kept him out of Philly?s last two games. But having A.I. sit out or play a limited role against the Phoenix Suns could help nourish the team?s spread record. The Sixers have been much more selfless and balanced on the attack with their star guard sidelined, and that?s the kind of offense you need to compete with Steve Nash?s crew. Iverson is currently listed as day-to-day. ?I think they?re trying to slow things down with a lot of ball movement in the half court," says Covers Expert Matt Fargo. ?That?s exactly what they need to do against the Suns. If they try to run and gun with Phoenix, they?re going to get blown out. But they scored just 22 fast break points in their last two games, so it shows they?re not trying to push it.? The Sixers had four players score heavy double digits and notched a combined 43 assists with their superstar sidelined. That helped them blow by the Knicks 91-76 as 3 ?-point favorites Saturday and down Orlando 89-81 as 7-point road dogs the following evening. "If you`re missing a player like Allen you have to overcompensate," Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks told reporters. "You`re not going to replace a guy who scores 33-34 points a game, but you can replace him in other areas when you get production from everyone." The Sixers have also been taking much better care of their own end of the floor during A.I.?s absence. New York shot just 35.3 percent from the field, down nearly 10 percent from its seasonal average. Philly also managed to shut down Orlando?s perimeter shooting (the Magic hit just 3-of-13 from 3-point range), and made some key stops in the fourth quarter when Orlando was threatening to rally. "When you`re missing 30 points, your defense better be a lot better," Chris Webber said. The last two defensive efforts have been impressive, but Philly needs to ratchet it up another notch versus the Suns. Phoenix leads the league in scoring 106.3 points per game. </div> link: http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.as...rt=68784&tid=25 well, this is very interesting. i dont neccesarly think the sixers are better without him, but the stats speak for themselves. without AI, this team has more ball movement, and more players get involved because there isnt a person to take the ball all the time. just a thought, if AI were to be injured for the season, do you still think we would make the playoffs. i do. although we dont have AI, guys like C-Webb, AI2, salmons, and sammy will all contribute. what do you think?
We all knew it was only a matter of time before an article like this came out. It was two wins against two mediocre teams, at best. I would not be jumping for joy saying we are better without AI. True the ball movement and defense has looked better without Allen in the lineup. However, a huge reason for that was the level of competition they where facing. One thing that these two games did make me think though is that the offense should be run through Webber, and we should move Allen to the shooting guard spot, while at the same time bringing in a Eric Snow type player to man the point.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Avery:</div><div class="quote_post">I saw this coming a mile away! I'm not going to even bother replying to that trash.</div> Same here...
Now why dont the same ppl who write this trash come out after a game like tonight and say ok I was wrong Bunch of jackasses I tell ya
I still say Ollie needs to log more minutes tho he plays better D than AI. I know AI gets alot of steals but this year his D isnt the same. I also think Louis Williams could provide a spark and he should still see some minutes. I actually think us playing good without AI is a great thing. It gives players like Salmons, Dalembert, and Iggy confidence in their games. I want to see AI come back but still see Salmons shooting and Dalembert and Iggy trying to get going offensively. Webber will shoot better than he did tonight, and Korver seems to only play well when AI is in.
AI's defense is the same as year's past... it's just as bad. I hear you about Louis. I think we should be giving him some minutes in the game... but Mo wants him to learn the position this year from everybody, and hopefully he'll get minutes next year. Who knows, maybe his play recently might give him a couple of minutes even when AI returns.
AI's injury has been a blessing in disguise. This has given the other guys opportunities to feel comfortable and know they can help the team out. But we can only take so much of AI's absence because we have DET and CLE coming up. So we need AI NOW!
I agree, but tonight was the right night to sit him out... no need to risk further hurting the ankle in a game we probably would have lost even with AI... unless he scored 60+. Hopefully he'll be able to go against Detroit.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BigMo763:</div><div class="quote_post">AI's defense is the same as year's past... it's just as bad. </div> I think AI has definetly lost a step on defense. He used to be a lot quicker although he is stoll one of the fastest players in the league it does obviously appear he has lost a step on defense. Kevin Ollie should get more minutes in the rotation IMO.
