Sixers @ Heat 2/23/08

[ryst]

Not sure if im the only one who noticed this, but why in the hell was Reggie Evans playing the last 5 minutes of the game and the first 2 of OT? How does Cheeks not realize he is in the game and if he did, what adavantage does him being in a game when we either need a) to score and b) defense help. Once Thad came in, the team turned around a 5 point Deficit around in the matter ofa minute and never looked back. These are mistakes that Cheeks can not continue to make.

well , they gave him one more year to do it

[SouthJersey]

What are the well experience assistance likes Lynam and Bibby doing then? Someone has to let Mo know that Reggie cant be closing out games. The offense is a mess with him in there; any intellegent coach is gonna just let Evans have the ball on offense bc he he wants to score but can't, is a bad passer, and cannot hit any free throws. I was goinf freaking crazy watching the game last night.

[tk76]

It seemed to be Sam more than Evans who was making mistakes in that stretch.

[SouthJersey]

OK Sam turned the ball over, as did AI, but both of them can recover from mistakes bc they are good players. Reggie is always out of position and makes it harder for players like Sam and AI to run an offense properly. I think Reggie is a good option for playing with the "second unit" of Lou Will, Carney, and Smith, but having him out there for the end of the game and OT is just asking for a loss. We did it in the beginning of the year and got off to a terrible start, dont go back to that now. We're too far out of the Lottery to get a good pick.

[dond]

Not sure if im the only one who noticed this, but why in the hell was Reggie Evans playing the last 5 minutes of the game and the first 2 of OT? How does Cheeks not realize he is in the game and if he did, what adavantage does him being in a game when we either need a) to score and b) defense help. Once Thad came in, the team turned around a 5 point Deficit around in the matter ofa minute and never looked back. These are mistakes that Cheeks can not continue to make.

This just in ...

The coaching staff of the Sixers (that include Cheeks), know exactly what kind of player Reggie Evans is and his strengths and weaknesses. You can be sure that they had him in the game for some reason that may or may not have worked out in the manner they had hoped. These moves only become "mistakes" after you see how things go. Unfortunately, the coaching staff does not have the Luxury of waiting until they see how it goes and then decide not to do it.

They had him in the game and then watched to see how things were going and decided to replace him with Thadeus Young. That is how things are done all of the time. Coaches watch and when they see things are not going well they make a substitution to see if that works better. They do not KNOW if it will work better ... they hope it will work better. Then they make their next adjustment ... and on and on and on .... that is the coaches job during a game.

Fans on the other hand can sit back and watch and then tell the coach what he SHOULD HAVE DONE. Well, guess what ... they already know that. They were watching too. Then .... and only then ... does it become a "mistake". And .... coaches make a ton of mistakes every game ... it is unavoidable.

[SouthJersey]

OK, your right. Reggie Evans was the logical choice to be in the game and next time he's in at the end of the close game he will make all clutch shots that he normally does make.

The thing that get's me is this quote by you:

They had him (Evans) in the game and then watched to see how things were going and decided to replace him with Thadeus Young. That is how things are done all of the time.

Yeah but the thing is they replaced him in OVERTIME. How are they gonna replace a guy who had a +17 in a game where there 20 ties when the game is over? Mo should know better then to do something like that. He's a good motivator, but he needs to get better with substituitons and calling plays.

[Hops2thesky]

Not being able to watch the game, I was pretty surprised by two lines in the box score....

The first was Thad's... 4-6, but only 5 rebounds in 27 minutes... So there I was, a little disappointed by his rebounding.

And I scroll down, and see Shawn Marion's box score...
2-5, 6 rebounds, 5 to's in 39 minutes.

Did Thad and Reggie just do that good of a job on Marion, and just box him out so well, that he did not get any boards?

[Johnny Broad-Street]

Thad's defense was very good last night. He's going to be a great all-around player IMO

[is1531]

Not being able to watch the game, I was pretty surprised by two lines in the box score....

The first was Thad's... 4-6, but only 5 rebounds in 27 minutes... So there I was, a little disappointed by his rebounding.

And I scroll down, and see Shawn Marion's box score...
2-5, 6 rebounds, 5 to's in 39 minutes.

Did Thad and Reggie just do that good of a job on Marion, and just box him out so well, that he did not get any boards?

You have to realize Miller and Iggy hardly give Thaddeus the ball and Cheeks never calls plays for Thaddeus.Miller and Iggy are good,but they are still the club brothers,which means you have to take care of each other first.

Young busts his hump on defense on every play and has to get this own shots off the offensvie glass.It's not fun to watch this on a daily basis.Young is the new kid on the block and Iggy and Miller treat him that way on the court.I do not approve of this method.

[dond]

You have to realize Miller and Iggy hardly give Thaddeus the ball and Cheeks never calls plays for Thaddeus.Miller and Iggy are good,but they are still the club brothers,which means you have to take care of each other first.

Young busts his hump on defense on every play and has to get this own shots off the offensvie glass.It's not fun to watch this on a daily basis.Young is the new kid on the block and Iggy and Miller treat him that way on the court.I do not approve of this method.

So you think there is some sort of conspiracy to prevent Thadeus Young from getting shots ? Remember one thing ... everyone connected with the Sixers is mostly concerned with one thing ... winning the game. If they think running plays for Thadeus Young will help them win the game, they will do that.

[Johnny Broad-Street]

You have to realize Miller and Iggy hardly give Thaddeus the ball and Cheeks never calls plays for Thaddeus.Miller and Iggy are good,but they are still the club brothers,which means you have to take care of each other first.

Young busts his hump on defense on every play and has to get this own shots off the offensvie glass.It's not fun to watch this on a daily basis.Young is the new kid on the block and Iggy and Miller treat him that way on the court.I do not approve of this method.

I think this has more to do with Cheeks giving Thad a manageable amount to work on. Instead of bogging him down with running plays for him right now, and everything he seems to be telling him to go out and hustle and find his way to the rim for easy buckets and finishes. This is pretty common with young guys who show basketball intelligence. Once they find their way, then the coach can safely install offense for them knowing that their game won't be disrupted by the additional responsibility

[dond]

OK, your right. Reggie Evans was the logical choice to be in the game and next time he's in at the end of the close game he will make all clutch shots that he normally does make.

The thing that get's me is this quote by you:

They had him (Evans) in the game and then watched to see how things were going and decided to replace him with Thadeus Young. That is how things are done all of the time.

Yeah but the thing is they replaced him in OVERTIME. How are they gonna replace a guy who had a +17 in a game where there 20 ties when the game is over? Mo should know better then to do something like that. He's a good motivator, but he needs to get better with substituitons and calling plays.

There are a lot of reasons for replacing someone at any moment in a game. Maybe Thadeus Young was looked like he was tiring ... Maybe ... Maybe ... Maybe ... I have no idea why players are substituted when they are ... I just know that if the coaching staff made the substitution there was what they thought was a valid reason to do so and a do not think it should be judged after the game is over as some sort of general lack of coaching skill by Maurice Cheeks that he needs to "improve upon". It was a judgment decision made during the course of the game that may not have worked as well as you (or anyone else) might have liked but it was just one of dozens of judgement calls that are made on a nightly basis. Some work out well, others do not ...

[ankle420breaker]

-= original quote snipped =-



There are a lot of reasons for replacing someone at any moment in a game. Maybe Thadeus Young was looked like he was tiring ... Maybe ... Maybe ... Maybe ... I have no idea why players are substituted when they are ... I just know that if the coaching staff made the substitution there was what they thought was a valid reason to do so and a do not think it should be judged after the game is over as some sort of general lack of coaching skill by Maurice Cheeks that he needs to "improve upon". It was a judgment decision made during the course of the game that may not have worked as well as you (or anyone else) might have liked but it was just one of dozens of judgement calls that are made on a nightly basis. Some work out well, others do not ...

Making a judgment call doesn't justify anything. Coaching is all about judgment calls.... what SouthJersey is saying is that Mo's judgment was ill-advised in regards to Evans getting the run down the stretch over Thad... and its Mo's job to put together a lineup to finish the game... he overlooked Thad who was a +17 overall. I don't dislike Cheeks, but I don't see how you can portray him to be so flawless.

[tk76]

-= original quote snipped =-
It was a judgment decision made during the course of the game that may not have worked as well as you (or anyone else) might have liked but it was just one of dozens of judgement calls that are made on a nightly basis. Some work out well, others do not ...

And this is a Sixer's message board where we review the decisions made in hindsight and discuss whether they were the right decision, or should be changed in the future.

Where does it say that you are less of a fan if you dare question decisions that the coaches and players make on the court. That is what being a fan is.

When you go to a movie are required to like it and is it presumptive to question the acting or storyline? Same thing with our basketball team.

[dond]

I never said he was flawless. I just object to the manner in which he is being criticized. Let me explain ...

Here is the criticism broken into various parts ...

Not sure if im the only one who noticed this, but why in the hell was Reggie Evans playing the last 5 minutes of the game and the first 2 of OT?

My answer to that would be ... I don't know ... do you ??? I am sure there was some sort of reason. Or are you suggesting that Reggie Evans should never play the last 5 minutes of any game that is close and never play in an overtime period ?


Here is the next part of the posting ...

How does Cheeks not realize he is in the game and if he did, what adavantage does him being in a game when we either need a) to score and b) defense help.

I really do not even understand that sentence but I find it disrespectful to suggest that Cheeks does not realize that Reggie Evans is in the game.


And ... the next sentence ...

Once Thad came in, the team turned around a 5 point Deficit around in the matter ofa minute and never looked back.

My comment to that ??? Great ... I am glad Cheeks put him in and I am also glad Thadeus played well and the Sixers won the game. It is being presented here as PROOF that Cheeks had made a coaching mistake by not having him in earlier. It is not PROOF of anything it is simply what happened.

And finally ...

These are mistakes that Cheeks can not continue to make.

This sentence suggests that Cheeks is continuing to make poor decisions as a coach and that those bad decisions are so obvious even a fan sees them and can point them out. That is, to me, ridiculous ...

So ... In summary ...

I have no problem with someone questioning what coach Cheeks does but I have serious issues with presenting things as though anyone on this forum being able to point out definite mistakes on something as nebulous as substitutions during the game. Please ....

[dond]

And this is a Sixer's message board where we review the decisions made in hindsight and discuss whether they were the right decision, or should be changed in the future.

I have no problem with that. I only have a problem when that discussion is presented as though that decision was a coaching "mistake" made by a coach who makes a lot of "mistakes" that a "good" coach would not make.

Where does it say that you are less of a fan if you dare question decisions that the coaches and players make on the court. That is what being a fan is.

I have no idea where it says that. I certainly didn't say that.

[freshie2]

So many people questioned Thad's ball handling, and now people are wondering why he's not getting plays run for him?? Most plays go through the PG and swing players...Thad is playing a PF primarily, and is getting the same opportunities as Sam. Generally rolling to the basket and slashing in the lane.

Boy, I hope Thad doesn't get upset that he's a 19 year old kid, getting 20+ minutes a game for an NBA club, but he's not getting plays run for him. His time will come...I don't think he's being ignored.

[tk76]

Sorry Dond, I think my post was harsher than I intended. You certainly have every right to defend Mo, just as other posters have a right to criticize. Neither side should act like they have some sort of moral authority.

[dond]

Sorry Dond, I think my post was harsher than I intended. You certainly have every right to defend Mo, just as other posters have a right to criticize. Neither side should act like they have some sort of moral authority.

Well, thank you for that ... I appreciate it.

We all get a little heated here from time to time and I have done so myself at times. So ... no harm done.

And ... as for defending Mo ... well, I guess that is what I do .... only because he has no voice here. I try to provide a little balance to the discussion when he is being pummelled mercilessly with, what I consider, unsound or no reasons. The truth is ... he may be making mistakes ... (in fact, I am sure he is) but I would have to hear ... Larry Brown or Pat Riley or Bobby Knight or someone like that declaring his moves as "mistakes" before I would lend credence to it. Just imagine how hillarious it would sound if someone on this forum watched a famous surgeon perform an operation and the patient died and the person watching began to explain to his friends how the surgeon screwed up the operation. I view some of these criticisms exactly the same way.