dueling forecasts in cnnsi

On Oct 25, 9:08 pm, Chris Fried <chris....TakeThisOut@coruscant.stwing.upenn.edu>
wrote:
> Sixers will win as many as they did last year... The key to this season is
> whether the team is going to give Mo another year with this team + FA
> talent.
>
Those two things are not complementary points. Cheeks has never
known what to do with the talent that he has nor has he ever devised a
coherent system into which particular free agents could be recruited.
Anyhow both of those things don't really represent anything of what
could be a 'key to this season'.

As for this season, most of the variables that could have helped
turned out bad for the Sixers. They did not draft anyone who could
contribute significantly this season (sorry Jason Smith, your minutes
are coming out of desperation); Joe Smith left; at least by preseason
indications, Iguodala is not leading the offense (nor has Cheeks
restructured it in a way to make it so; and Dalembert's injury woes
have killed yet another training camp for him. The result is that the
Sixers' frontcourt will very likely be the lowest-scoring in the
league, and it's quite possible that the team as a whole will be as
well. There should be an improvement in rebounding and defense but it
won't be anything to strike fear into other teams. It will not be
nearly good enough to compensate for the lack of offense. Frankly, I
would be pretty shocked to see the Sixers win as many as last year.
The run of wins at the end of last year was largely illusory,
capitalizing on teams with severe injury problems or other teams
apparently keeping players out to improve their draft positions. 20-25
wins unfortunately seems more likely.

The team does have some nice pieces. Dalembert and Korver are ideal
role players; Williams could be quite good if his ego doesn't explode
and he gets selfish; the team can hope that Young was worth passing on
more immediate contributors; and even if Iguodala doesn't realize all-
pro status he would remain an ideal complementary-star player; and if
somehow a marquee free-agent could be acquired in a year or two the
team could be something. The question on that front then becomes:
would a marquee free-agent come to a team run by Cheeks and King?

--IK
 >> Stay informed about: dueling forecasts in cnnsi 

On Oct 26, 7:24 am, "Kurt Straub" <jkurtstr....DeleteThis@comcast.net> wrote:
> Thanks for coming, Wes, stick around, OK? :-)
>
> ---- Kurt Straub
>
> <wro....DeleteThis@temple.edu> wrote in message
>
> news:1193368787.647411.208100@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>

Thanks Kurt. I had planned to return but it seems to take longer than
it used to for me to refocus from one topic (Phillies) to another
(Sixers). Must be that getting older thing that's going around.

wes
 >> Stay informed about: dueling forecasts in cnnsi 

On Oct 25, 9:08 pm, Chris Fried <chris....RemoveThis@coruscant.stwing.upenn.edu>
wrote:
> Sixers will win as many as they did last year... The key to this season is
> whether the team is going to give Mo another year with this team + FA
> talent.
>
Those two things are not complementary points. Cheeks has never
known what to do with the talent that he has nor has he ever devised a
coherent system into which particular free agents could be recruited.
Anyhow both of those things don't really represent anything of what
could be a 'key to this season'.

As for this season, most of the variables that could have helped
turned out bad for the Sixers. They did not draft anyone who could
contribute significantly this season (sorry Jason Smith, your minutes
are coming out of desperation); Joe Smith left; at least by preseason
indications, Iguodala is not leading the offense (nor has Cheeks
restructured it in a way to make it so; and Dalembert's injury woes
have killed yet another training camp for him. The result is that the
Sixers' frontcourt will very likely be the lowest-scoring in the
league, and it's quite possible that the team as a whole will be as
well. There should be an improvement in rebounding and defense but it
won't be anything to strike fear into other teams. It will not be
nearly good enough to compensate for the lack of offense. Frankly, I
would be pretty shocked to see the Sixers win as many as last year.
The run of wins at the end of last year was largely illusory,
capitalizing on teams with severe injury problems or other teams
apparently keeping players out to improve their draft positions. 20-25
wins unfortunately seems more likely.

The team does have some nice pieces. Dalembert and Korver are ideal
role players; Williams could be quite good if his ego doesn't explode
and he gets selfish; the team can hope that Young was worth passing on
more immediate contributors; and even if Iguodala doesn't realize all-
pro status he would remain an ideal complementary-star player; and if
somehow a marquee free-agent could be acquired in a year or two the
team could be something. The question on that front then becomes:
would a marquee free-agent come to a team run by Cheeks and King?

--IK
 >> Stay informed about: dueling forecasts in cnnsi 

Thanks for coming, Wes, stick around, OK? :-)

---- Kurt Straub

<wroehl.DeleteThis@temple.edu> wrote in message
news:1193368787.647411.208100@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
> The first link burries the Sixers, picking them to finish 15th in the
> East. The second is much more positive. I suspect the season will
> play out somewhere between those two perspectives--they won't be as
> bad as some think (mostly because the Knicks and other flavors of the
> month (we're looking at you, Boston) won't be as good as predicted)
> but it would take every break falling their way for the season to be
> memorable in a good way.
> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/specials/preview/2007/...uting.r
> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/specials/preview/2007/...my.line
>
> wes
>
 >> Stay informed about: dueling forecasts in cnnsi 

I just read the first poster's second cnnsi link and found it
exceptionally good. Since it doesn't predict records, I wouldn't say
that in terms of projected record it was much more positive than the
first, it's just since it wasn't focusing on strict win-loss criteria
it was able to play up the good better than most previews--and most of
what it says more or less corresponds to my previous comments on this
thread. With the exception of the Shavlik Randolph optimism--who I
don't think would ever play a minute for any legitimately contending
team--I pretty much agreed with its analysis. It's a strange
situation: the Sixers do have some nice developmental pieces and may
even (now with Iverson gone) have some vision for how they want to
construct their team. I'm intrigued by the 'three-year plan' that
Snider let be known in the press. I'm just not at all convinced that
they would know what to do with its realization if they ever get it
together with the King/Cheeks tandem.

--IK
 >> Stay informed about: dueling forecasts in cnnsi