Saturday, May 09, 2009

You’ve just been thumped out of the Playoffs … what’s next?

You’re a professional basketball team. You’ve just been thumped out of the Playoffs … what’s next … Disney World?

It’s taken me a while to consider posting another journal entry after attending the spanking that was the Sixers last game of the season (Actually is was a tweet from Andy’s blog Looking Ahead For The 76ers that nudged me). As a long suffering fan and loyalist I was totally embarrassed! :( It is an understatement to say they did not meet the great expectations that were laid upon them. It was more like … these guys really stink.

But all but one team loses their last game. What’s next … let the figure pointing begin. I thought some of the silliness after the season (negative comments about the coach from Theo, Theo & Miller skipping the last team meeting, etc.) is an indicator that the locker room was full of questions marks. Sixerville was not the Whoville of the previous two seasons.

So the head coach is the first place to point the finger. Tony DiLeo’s status is a question mark. I don’t want to lay it all at his feet, but I don’t think he should be head coach next year. I have to give him props for what he did. He was placed in a terrible position. He did an admirable job. Heck he did a great job considering where they where heading. But I think a head coach with more credentials is needed to get them past the .500 level. Bobbing around the .500 level for another season is not tenable.

DiLeo should stay with the team. I credit him more than anyone for the talent the Sixers have been able to find in the draft. But the GM needs to get another head coach soon. So he can get “his” guys in here for next season and that starts with the draft.

But honestly I can’t dwell on the Sixers too much. It’s still painful when I do that. So my doctor says “Don’t do That”. The way they finished did not help their fans. It is those performances that everyone seems to remember. Not the comeback against the Rockets or the Lakers road win on the games’ last shot. It was the total lack of effort in Game 6.

… So what’s next?

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