Ed Stefanski has made the move to the dark side

Kyle Korver is gone. The Ed Stefanski reign as GM has begun. He has moved to the dark side with his 1st personnel change. He could have waited all season with a pass and not make a move. But now he has put his own stamp on this team. Too bad for Kyle. He's a nice kid. I liked the move to acquire him in the 03 draft. The Sixers acquired him from the Nets for cash (think Ed new 'bout Korver then). Kyle had excepted his role as the 5th year veteran and bench player. He was certainly a fan favorite. But he is what we thought he was. He will never be more than he is right now. A good player ... a good guy, but not a star. So I'm okay with his departure.

Good luck to 'em.

What about Gordan Giricek? I'm sorry to say I don't know too much about him. I know what kind of game the Jazz play. A 5 year pro from Croatia should be able shoot the ball. Not a star. But it doesn't matter. Its not about Giricek. It's about his contract. Which expires at the end of the season. The Sixers resigned Korver in 05. Stefanski's clearing some cap space and announcing to the league he intends to be a playa in this summer's free agent market.

There's a new sheriff in town. Philly fans take note!

Hey Ed? Can you come down to marketing? We need to know what we're gonna do with all these #26 jerseys.

Sixers fade away in Indiana

Talk about your disappearing acts. The Sixers display another one of those games in which they fade as the game progresses. This time in Indiana. They started off well enough in the 1st period (winning it 28-26). But then the wheels fell off. Losing every other period. Sammy D got off to a slow start, but picked it up in the second half. Nobody else responded.

Same old story. Iggy shoots poorly ... no help from the bench (Korver shot poorly) ... the defense just wasn't good enough ... Sixers loose.

I hope they bounce back tomorrow nite. They're back home ... its the Lakers ... its Friday nite ... yo where's the party at?

Dalembert has his Mojo back

If Sammy D plays well there's a good chance the 76ers win. Its just that simple. The 92-86 win over the Cavs last nite makes this point crystal clear. You can talk about the importance of the Andre duo, but Sammy's play makes the little train that could go. When Sammy D is on the Sixers have "D"efense ... When Sammy D has the mojo the Sixers get "D"unks in the middle.

I was really looking for the Sixers to extend their streak with a win Friday nite. But he disappeared and the Sacramento Kings (0-9 on the road) win their first road game. Johnny Salmons scored 19 for the Kings (he's still a stiff for my money). A 5 game win streak would have been sweet. But a 3-4 week was all I was hoping for. So it was left to a game versus the Cavs on the road to cap off the week.

Thanks to Sammy the week ends on an impressive note. He played 43 minutes last nite. Iggy was strapped with foul trouble but still played 33 minutes. I'm okay with that. I think he plays too many minutes. The Sixers have to be capable of playing when he is not on the floor. Last nite they actually took control of the game with Andre on the bench.

The Cavs have lost 8 out of their last 9 games. Most of them without LeBron. "We're not playing very good basketball," he said. "Right now, we're not a very good team." James managed 21 points (6 below his league leading average of 29.4). But he took only 18 shots. The Sixers double teamed him with extreme prejudice and the rest of James' teammates could not respond. Only Gooden shot well and you can live with that. But the Cavs never rotated the ball back to James after the double team. Result .... Sixers win!

Looking back the Sixers had an excellent week. The road win is a welcomed sign. They Sixers have a lot of road games on the menu and the left coast death march is on the horizon. BTW, I would be remiss if I didn't comment on Thaddeus Young. Mo has found steady minutes for him and the kid has responded. 10 minutes last nite. He was on the floor when the Sixers took charge of the game. It's good to see the two top draft picks contribute. I hope the trend continues and Dalembert keeps his Mojo.

What a difference a week makes

As I said before I was more relived than happy last week-end when the Sixers beat the Knicks twice after a disappointing losing patch. It would take a solid week to restore a little passion. The menu this week made it a plausible notion. After the Rockets on Monday nite they hosted two losing teams (T-Wolves & Kings) and traveled to Cleveland who have been toothless due to Kings James injury. I thought ... win 3-4 this week and I will be impressed.

But I bailed on Monday nite's game. The Holiday party season has started and I fully participated in the nite's festivities without a thought as to how the Sixers fared against the Rockets. Perhaps the 50+ point spanking they gave the Sixers at home last year was still in the back of my mind.

To my suprise the week started out with an impressive win over the Rockets. They didn't just win ... they blew them out. I heard talk they need to work on playing with a 31 point lead. Jeez ... what a problem to have. Now the Sixers were carrying a 3 game win streak.

I rolled down to the Wac Wednesday nite. The place still looked empty. The recent win over Yao and T-Mac wasn't enough for many who already had paid for the game to show up. Another prime time performance by Sammy D gave the Sixers control of the game. All of a sudden Green and Korver are hittin their shots. But it was only the T-wolves (I still can't name a starter for this team). They were expected to win this one and the did. But a 4 game win streak of any kind ... not too shabby.

The return of Johnny Salmons and the Kings should net another win. 5 straight would be one the NBA's best. But it still won't get the Sixers on Sport-Center or NBA Coast-to-Coast.

Can we play the Knicks everyday?

Two games versus the Knicks ... two wins ... that was easy. The Knicks are where just HORRIBLE tonite. But you have to give some credit to the Sixers. They took advantage of the Knocks weaknesses. Driving hard to the cup to score points in the paint. Reggie Evans was a beast on the boards (14 REBS) tonite and erased Knicks forward Randolph for the second straight game. Randolph (18 PPG) scored only 6 points in 2 games. The Sixers even managed to contain the lil' rat, Nate Robinson. He scored 25 (all in the 2nd half), but he was emblematic of the Knicks play ...Selfish and uninspiring.

The Sixers win two straight for the 1st time this season. I sat in on last nites win at the Wac Center. As Sixers beat writer, Marc Marducci noted today, the Sixers have a penchant for winning on Fridays. The Friday nite crowd of 11,000 didn't mind at all. But the game lacked the electricity you might expect on a Friday nite. Perhaps like me they were more relieved than anything when it was apparent mid way through the 4th that the Sixers would not collapse.

But there where many positives to take away from this home and home series with the Knicks. As promised Mo Cheeks expanded the rotation. Everyone looked fresher. Thaddeus got some minutes and did well with them. Jason Smith continues to mature. I just love to watch his game ... the way he runs the floor and how effortless his shot looks.

Ok ... lets keep it real. The Sixers are 7-13 but no longer last in the division. It took 20 games to win two back to back. Next you'd like them to have a winning week. Like next week ... maybe.

Stefanski: 'I'm a Philly guy' ... So What?

Sixers - Stefanski: 'I'm a Philly guy'. So what? I heard a number of people comment that it's great that new GM Ed Stefanski is a "Philly Guy" or even that he will be good for the organization because he's a "Philly Guy". And sure I'm a Philly guy. I know what they mean ... passion for sports, hard work, identifying with the fans and all that jazz. But that does not automatically translate into winning. Philly hasn't exactly become synonymous with winning lately ... has it? Using "Philly Guy" as credentials for a winner don't mean JACK!

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea he's from Philly. It makes a good human interest story, but it don't make you a winner.

Firing Billy King isn't the answer ... but its a start

There's an old joked that goes something like .... What do you call a 100 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean ... answer .... I good start!

So it was natural for all my friends to contact me this AM to find out what I thought about the announcement that Billy King had been fired. What's that I said ... I thought that happened 3 years ago. You mean there has been someone in charge all this time?

A better question to ask is "Why now". If this is a ploy to distract fans from the uninspired performance the Sixers gave last nite against the Hawks it worked. But what do you do for an encore? The Charmain signed off on Billy's 3 year plan (maybe that was a 4 year plan). There's not much a new GM can do at this point in the season. No one's gonna barter with a pauper. The Sixers don't have much that other teams value. It doesn't matter if you do or don't like Ed Stefanski as a GM.

There is some speculation on the wire that it's a knee jerk reaction to the hollow attendance at the Wac center and/or Comcast viewers. If that's the case you can't pin it all on Billy. Okay ... the product on the floor is all him. But I'd be willing to bet the November receipts for basketball isn't all that great in Philly anyway. A new GM ain't gonna but fannies in the seats. Unless that GM is Pamela Anderson or someone with even bigger TaTas.

My theory is Snider dumped Billy now, because Ed Stefansky is available now and he may not be later. Anyway I don't hate Billy King. I got over that 3 years ago. Good luck to 'em.

Yea the Sixers have been a bit disappointing so far.

Yea ... the Sixers have been a bit of a disappointment so far. That's not going to shock anyone. Saturday's disappointing flame out against the Net was exhibit A. They were up by 16 at the half and let that lead evaporate to 1 by the end of the 3rd period. You just can't allow for lapses like that. They have had a few comeback wins this season. That can be exciting, but its no way to make a living. The Sixers have to win winnable games such as the Net game. The loss rendered the ugly win Friday nite versus the Wizards useless. Just like the goose egg they laid up to the Wizards after another smashing comeback win earlier in the season. You just can have these kind of lapses and call you self a professional basketball team.

... I'm not saying the the Sixers are unprofessional in the vane of say the New York Knicks. But you can't excuse some of the performances the Sixers have presented so far this season. Even with the season's lowered expectations.

Naturally what few fans are following the Sixers these days have started pointing fingers . There are only 3 choices here (1) Players, (2) Coaching, or (3) Management. Right now we are fingering the players. Somebody's gotta step up.

Igoudala has struggled with his shot and should bear some of the fans ire. That's part of being the go to guy. He has been contributing in other ways. The starting shooting guard position has been woeful. But Willie green is what he is and Rod Carney just might be what what we hoped was not. Korver has been playing below expectations. He doesn't get the benefit of doubt anymore. He's a 4th year player (a veteran on this team). He has to show consistency. His defense and rebounding is just not good enough to justify minutes if he's not gonna score. From my seat, Sammy D could be more consistent. We see flashes like Friday nite, but he was a non factor in the previous game against the Jazz. He has to racket his game up if the Sixers are gonna win. The Sixers defensive presence is undeniable when the Sammy's lite is on. It's just not dependable.

Come on Sammy. Bring your lunch pail to work every nite will ya?