(a sorta) League Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

Detroit, Charlotte, Indiana, Golden State, Minnesota and New York are not the League’s sorriest teams. But they are looking at lotteryville unless they click on all cylinders. Same goes for the 3^rd best in the East’s Atlantic Division.

Philadelphia 76ers

PG Louis Williams Royal Ivey Jrue Holiday

SG Willie Green

SF Andre Iguodala Jason Kapono

PF Thaddeus Young Marreese Speights Jason Smith

C Elton Brand Samuel Dalembert Primoz Brezec

By far the most talented team in this tier, Philly is very weak at the two positions that matter most: Point guard and center. Losing Andre Miller is really going to hurt the 76ers. I like Louis Williams as a third guard, but as a point needing to feed Iguodala and Young on the wings, and Brand in post? Williams will need to transform his game big time if Philadelphia is going to play in the post season. As for center, there is some debate of starting the 6’8 Brand in the pivot over the here-today-gone-tomorrow Dalembert. Miserable.

If small ball is the plan in Philly, they certainly have the juice at the wing position to make things exciting. Iguodala is in his prime. His athleticism is top tier, and he is proven as an offensive focal point. Young has the length and strength to play the quick four. Willie Green brings scoring and toughness. Though Brand will likely never regain his All-Star form, he is a polished scorer and rebounder. His presence on the offensive glass will produce easy baskets in the half court-something that may otherwise be in short supply for Philly.

The fate of the 76ers season is largely in the hands of Williams, and to a lesser extent Marreese Speights. Both players are just 22, and have shown plenty of NBA upside. Williams is a deft penetrator, and he knows how to get himself to the line. He has the potential to be a ballhawk on D. He is not a distributor. As a lead guard for an offensively talented team, that is a problem. Speights has been compared to teammate Brand, both in build and game. Until he matches Brand’s consistent intensity, the comparison is silly. Like many young players, Speights has struggled to produce night in, night out. For Philly to make it back to the playoffs, they need 25-28 minutes a game from Speights. Tall order.

Eddie Jordan has his work cut out. It will be interesting to see how successful he is at running those Princeton sets with this crew. Philly has a lot of guys who like to put it on the deck. If gets Williams plays well and the team sees success, the 76ers certainly have the talent to compete for the post season. But early struggles could lead to team disarray and a quick slide to lotteryville.