The headlines are daunting. The terms are strewn with negativity. The words scream of failure. The phrases are condescending.
Sagging. Slumping. Slipping. Faltering.
The professional basketball team known as the 76ers started strong in this strangest of shortened NBA seasons. They won 20 games before they played 30. Compared to recent years, the 11 games above .500 start made positive headlines. Detractors were heartened by the energy and enthusiasm that enveloped the organization.
Coach Doug Collins received much of the credit for the fast start in the condensed season of 66 games due to labor strife. The roster was essentially the same as 2011 except for some modest draft picks. Collins used his emotional approach of positive reinforcement and substantial knowledge of basketball to motivate his mostly young troops.
The theory was that because the team remained intact it would be better suited to survive, perhaps even thrive, in the physically demanding back-to-back-to-back games coupled with the rigors of travel and the absence of meaningful practice time.
But those who still follow the NBA know it’s a superstar league. The Sixers are not blessed with a high profile athlete and despite the best efforts of Collins and the energetic new ownership group, the team is still a middle of the road squad. This is very apparent as close games tick down to the final moments and no one can be relied upon to hit the big shot or create his own high percentage play before the shot clock expires.
The Sixers were a nice story early in this abbreviated season because they played hard for Collins and he preached being positive and playing team defense. You have to love Collins for his knowledge, experience and communication skills, but there are no miracles coming to this team any time soon. The NBA is problematic for many basketball followers because significant improvement is difficult to achieve. There are only a handful of clubs with the big name talent necessary to win a championship.
Until the salary cap restrictions on trades and other player movement are altered, it will remain a league of superstars dictating their will upon the less fortunate. Coaches really don’t make a difference. It’s a one-on-one game in a league with too many teams and plenty of mediocre play. The multi-millionaires with guaranteed contracts have little motivation to perform at their best night after night, especially in a stupefying year of so many games crammed into so few days.
There is luck and big money involved in NBA success. Once superstars earn their freedom they choose the best cities where fellow big names reside. They shun even their hometowns in exchange for the limelight and, of course, the best opportunities to win a championship.
As fate would have it, the times the Sixers have been lucky enough to garner the top selection or even the second pick in the draft they came away with diminutive, lightning quick Allen Iverson, and two years ago, the college player of the year in Evan Turner. Iverson led the team to the NBA Finals but couldn’t do it all by himself, despite the excellent defensive team assembled by the legendary Larry Brown. Iverson was a dynamic scorer who achieved MVP honors, but he wasn’t the sizeable superstar to build a team around. It’s a big man’s game.
The jury is out on Turner but he’s done little to convince fans that he’s going to be a game-changer for the Sixers. The former Ohio State standout appears to have some skills but is not necessarily fast or quick. He rebounds well but is not a particularly effective defender. For the second selection in the entire draft, he’s just an average professional player and that doesn’t help get the team to the championship. It was not a draft deep in talent and that was simply unfortunate.
Free agency has not been kind to the organization in recent years. They were hungry for Atlanta swingman Josh Smith but he was a restricted free agent. The Hawks could match any offer. So the Sixers put their emphasis on Elton Brand, a 6-8 forward who was coming off of a serious leg injury. The Los Angeles Clippers tried to keep Brand but he wound up signing for what he termed “The Philly Max,” meaning Philadelphia offered every cent they could under the collective bargaining agreement.
Unfortunately, Brand suffered a serious shoulder injury shortly into his Sixer tenure. Despite being a good guy and teammate, he has never performed to the level of his massive contract. And, in the NBA, when you swing and miss on an expensive free agent, you are stuck in mud and mediocrity for several years to come.
Most of the current roster consists of Sixer draft picks. Since the team usually selects somewhere in the teens, very few of those guys were expected to be superstars. That’s why I won’t beat up Andre Iguodala or Jrue Holiday or Thaddeus Young. The Sixers have drafted as well as anyone considering where they were picking and who was available.
Let’s not get too negative about the way this regular season is ending. The so-called “sagging Sixers” are an average NBA team and nothing is going to change that except a bona fide superstar, despite the best efforts of an excellent coach and new ownership.
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net
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