I SAW THEM PLAY LIVE at the Spectrum as a kid, multiple times. The team with Dr. J., Mo Cheeks, and Charles Barkley. I remember crying at my grandparents home on Merion Ave. in 1983 when my dad said I was too young to go to the championship parade. The traditionally blue-collar team from the gritty, tough, beautiful, and historical city of Brotherly Love. The city that birthed Wilt Chamberlain and welcomed Allen Iverson with open arms. Whose landscape is perfectly fit with the "Rocky" theme song as the background music.
The city whose passion for sports are both legendary and infamous (that wasn't Santa btw...that was a drunk man wearing a Santa costume getting booed, ha!). The city that desperately desires to WIN. The city that has thousands of little boys from West Philly, North Philly, or even Norristown dreaming of one day seeing their team win. The world great, NBA- franchise, Philadelphia 76ers.
The city whose passion for sports are both legendary and infamous (that wasn't Santa btw...that was a drunk man wearing a Santa costume getting booed, ha!). The city that desperately desires to WIN. The city that has thousands of little boys from West Philly, North Philly, or even Norristown dreaming of one day seeing their team win. The world great, NBA- franchise, Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers currently stink! They are absolute, unequivical, TRASH-- with the visible-green stream of stench exuding its funk from the bottom of the standings and 24 consecutive losing box scores. I'm not even being mean. It is documented truth, evident in their 15-55 record. There is not alot of pride being circulated about this season.
LETS LOSE FOR A BETTER LOTTERY PICK
Is it a good idea to have a team set-up...to LOSE? How about deliberatly putting the worst team on the floor to have a better chance for a lottery pick? I ask these questions based on a FB conversation I had recently with a few of my sports-fanatic brethren. The topic was the 76ers.
Most understand the whole "destroy and rebuild" philosophy, but come on! This is beyond painful. The 76ers are record-breakingly, and unneccesarily bad. They have lost 24 games in a row and it's been suggested that they have been losing on purpose.
Although I refuse to believe that its deliberate losing on the players behalf, with a record so bad and worsening, its hard to argue that its not being done by the front office. I mean, Jrue Holliday? Gone. Evan Turner? Gone. Spencer Hawes. Gone. And by the time we could get Danny Granger, he didn't even want to see how the jersey looked. Gone.
STRATEGY: LETS LOSE!
Is losing on purposee in preparation for the future a viable strategy for success?
In the teams defense, the 76ers are the youngest team in the NBA with a roster average of 23.6 years of age (as of 3/23/14). Jason Richardson, at 33, is the elder statesman on the roster--but he hasn't played all season. Thaddeus Young, Michael Carter-Williams, and a couple of other young players show alot of promise. With the return of last years franchise-level pick, Nerlens Noel, and the draft lottery coming up, most fans are looking forward to a bright, exciting future.
Philadelphia now have a strong chance of hitting the lottery and landing players like Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Nick Stauskas, Andrew Wiggins, or Doug McDermott. Not a bad list of choices. But are any of these players the next coming of Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, or Durant? Will the addition of any of those players combined with the top current roster players be a legit competitor vs. the Heat, OKC, or Indiana in the next 3 years? And will a perennial all-star, veteran want to ever come to Philly? Open your eyes...
LETS LOSE FOR A BETTER LOTTERY PICK
Is it a good idea to have a team set-up...to LOSE? How about deliberatly putting the worst team on the floor to have a better chance for a lottery pick? I ask these questions based on a FB conversation I had recently with a few of my sports-fanatic brethren. The topic was the 76ers.
Most understand the whole "destroy and rebuild" philosophy, but come on! This is beyond painful. The 76ers are record-breakingly, and unneccesarily bad. They have lost 24 games in a row and it's been suggested that they have been losing on purpose.
Although I refuse to believe that its deliberate losing on the players behalf, with a record so bad and worsening, its hard to argue that its not being done by the front office. I mean, Jrue Holliday? Gone. Evan Turner? Gone. Spencer Hawes. Gone. And by the time we could get Danny Granger, he didn't even want to see how the jersey looked. Gone.
STRATEGY: LETS LOSE!
Is losing on purposee in preparation for the future a viable strategy for success?
In the teams defense, the 76ers are the youngest team in the NBA with a roster average of 23.6 years of age (as of 3/23/14). Jason Richardson, at 33, is the elder statesman on the roster--but he hasn't played all season. Thaddeus Young, Michael Carter-Williams, and a couple of other young players show alot of promise. With the return of last years franchise-level pick, Nerlens Noel, and the draft lottery coming up, most fans are looking forward to a bright, exciting future.
Philadelphia now have a strong chance of hitting the lottery and landing players like Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Nick Stauskas, Andrew Wiggins, or Doug McDermott. Not a bad list of choices. But are any of these players the next coming of Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, or Durant? Will the addition of any of those players combined with the top current roster players be a legit competitor vs. the Heat, OKC, or Indiana in the next 3 years? And will a perennial all-star, veteran want to ever come to Philly? Open your eyes...
DATA ANALYTICS VS OLD SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM
The man mainly responsible for the 76ers current state of loserdom is 76er President of Basketball Operations, General Manager, and native-Oklahoman Sam Hinkie and his data analytics-- the in-depth study of statistics that dig deeper than the usual points per game, rebounds, or field-goal percentage. Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma, Hinkie has earned his M.B.A. from Stanford, advised N.F.L. teams on improving their draft strategy, consulted for Bain & Company, and was the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Houston Rockets. He is a strong proponent for the use of tracking player performance using data analytics. He believes the use of spreadsheets and numbers is the best way to build a team. Hinkie had reasonable success bringing Houston to life by using gathered data to improve decision making in the draft, free agency, trades, and game strategy. Although Hinkies resume, accomplishments, and experiences are remarkable, only time will tell how this 76er's voyage (tanking) with analytics will end.
The man mainly responsible for the 76ers current state of loserdom is 76er President of Basketball Operations, General Manager, and native-Oklahoman Sam Hinkie and his data analytics-- the in-depth study of statistics that dig deeper than the usual points per game, rebounds, or field-goal percentage. Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma, Hinkie has earned his M.B.A. from Stanford, advised N.F.L. teams on improving their draft strategy, consulted for Bain & Company, and was the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Houston Rockets. He is a strong proponent for the use of tracking player performance using data analytics. He believes the use of spreadsheets and numbers is the best way to build a team. Hinkie had reasonable success bringing Houston to life by using gathered data to improve decision making in the draft, free agency, trades, and game strategy. Although Hinkies resume, accomplishments, and experiences are remarkable, only time will tell how this 76er's voyage (tanking) with analytics will end.
TIME WILL TELL
I'm sure data analytics is a valuable tool when evaluating various aspects of the game. However, my basketball intuition tells me that if Hinkie, who never played competitive sports past high school and never coached at any level, understood the level of pride we have in the sport of basketball, how much passion our city has for our teams, or if he could truly feel the pulse of the Philly fanbase, we wouldnt be talking about record breaking losses, data analytics, and detailed numbers. We would be speaking the language of our divisional opponents; the Heat's Pat Riley, the Celtic's Danny Ainge, the Net's Billy King, and the Knick's Phil Jackson. There are no spreadsheet or resume in the world that will EVER compete with that type of basketball knowledge and wisdom.
There is no strategy worth losing 24 games in a row. There is no excuse. I'm embarrased.and I love my team too much to sit quietly and watch. I'm officially putting in my offer to be the next GM of the 76ers.To ensure nothing like this would ever happen again, my first hire would be Allen Iverson- President of Pride and Passion for Philadelphia.
Can a little boy from West Philly/North Philly/Norristown still dream of his team being a champion?
I'm sure data analytics is a valuable tool when evaluating various aspects of the game. However, my basketball intuition tells me that if Hinkie, who never played competitive sports past high school and never coached at any level, understood the level of pride we have in the sport of basketball, how much passion our city has for our teams, or if he could truly feel the pulse of the Philly fanbase, we wouldnt be talking about record breaking losses, data analytics, and detailed numbers. We would be speaking the language of our divisional opponents; the Heat's Pat Riley, the Celtic's Danny Ainge, the Net's Billy King, and the Knick's Phil Jackson. There are no spreadsheet or resume in the world that will EVER compete with that type of basketball knowledge and wisdom.
There is no strategy worth losing 24 games in a row. There is no excuse. I'm embarrased.and I love my team too much to sit quietly and watch. I'm officially putting in my offer to be the next GM of the 76ers.To ensure nothing like this would ever happen again, my first hire would be Allen Iverson- President of Pride and Passion for Philadelphia.
Can a little boy from West Philly/North Philly/Norristown still dream of his team being a champion?
Or does he have to lose 24 games in a row, first?