So your thoughts on Samuel Dalembert, will he improve?

[tk76]

Does Sammy have what it takes to become a all-star?

No, Sammy does not, but if a bunch of other centers like JO are hurt, and the Sixers are on their way to a 60 win seaon, I wouldn't doubt that he makes the squad.

[psykosacul]

no, dalembert wont improve. but i dont think he has too. i think last year he took the mental leap we needed him too... he had less foolish errors and didnt look to be goofing off and being air headed as much. all we can ask from him is double digit rebounding and 2+blocks a game. scoring doesnt mean squat as long as he dunks the balls he should

[jmon]

There is no definitive "2nd best center" in the East IMO. I would say he has as good a chance as anyone for that back up spot.

[tk76]

All I ask from Sam is to continue to stay out of foul trouble and not demand touches to showcase his 37%eFG jumper and laughable post skills.

Unfortunately, I do expect Sam to complain about lack of iso touches, just like he did when the team was on its big winning push to make the playoffs.

Hopefully his teammates can ignore it as Sammy being Sammy, just like when he went with that comical Fro.

[sixerswillrule]

All I ask from Sam is to continue to stay out of foul trouble and not demand touches to showcase his 37%eFG jumper and laughable post skills.

Unfortunately, I do expect Sam to complain about lack of iso touches, just like he did when the team was on its big winning push to make the playoffs.

Hopefully his teammates can ignore it as Sammy being Sammy, just like when he went with that comical Fro.

The post moves I hope to never see again. What he tries to do there is flat out ugly, there is no arguing that. But as far as the jump shot goes, I liked what I saw from him last season. That statistic may be true but there is no doubt he showed some nice range and improved a lot in that area. I even remember him hitting a shot with his back foot on the three point line. Of course I do not want him shooting from there on a nightly basis, but I would like to see him keep taking that 16 footer. The problem sometimes last season was that he would be too hesitant, passing up the wide open shot in order to attempt something much more difficult. Hopefully Brand will open things up for him and Sammy will find his role. But yes, please no more post moves...

[is1531]

With respect to Big Sam, it's plain and simple, what you see is what you get. If you like a lot of butter, its located right on Sam's fingers. Watch Miller make a pass inside to Big Sam, then watch the ball slide off Buterfingers Dalembert. I wonder if we get to see Mohawk again this season.

[tk76]

Reggie Evans is actually FAR BETTER at rebounding than Brand. Brand is closer to Jason Smith in rebounding ability than Reggie Evans.

jmon, you have made some insightful posts, but this one seems to be way out in left field.

If you are basing this on Evans being a great rebounder then maybe I can understand it- but I disagree.

Brand led the NBA in O-Boards for two seasons, and was in the top 4 for 7 of his 8 full NBA seasons. That makes him one of the best O-Board guys in NBA history, or at least his era.

Brand ranks #6 in active re bounders (10.2/game), he is an elite rebounder, and if anything you can use him as a measuring stick for role players like Evans, who rebounds great on a per minute basis (slightly more than Brand, but he gets to rest between his short runs.)

Smith is a below average rebounder, even on a per minute basis (7.5 per 35 min is less than stellar.) He really does not belong in the conversation when you are conversing about to elite rebounders.

Evans is an elite role player rebounder and Brand is one of the best rebounders of his era. Smith is a rookie who will hopefully not be a liabiility on the boards.

[Sixerscan]

Brand was top in O boards like 8 years ago.

Evans career grabs 21% of available rebounds, Brand 15% and the last 3 years it's been below that. Smith was 12% last year.

Gonna have to side with jmon here, well maybe not going far enough to say he closer to Smith, but Evans makes his team a far better rebounding team than Brand does. Evans really is nuts on the boards. Yes he plays limited minutes, but the year he played the most per game (04-05) he had the highest percentage of his career 23.9% (Think about that, all the missed shots when he was in the game and he grabbed nearly 1/4th of them )

[tk76]

You can make an arguement either way.viewtopic.php?f=26&t=829842&start=15
RealGM • View topic - So your thoughts on Samuel Dalembert, will he improve?

But being top 4 in the league every year (7of 8 years) is quite an accomplishment.

Ebvans might be better- at least he is in spurts, but Jason Smith does not belong in a conversation that would include the likes of Ben Wallace, KG, Duncan and Mourning

[Sixerscan]

He's a big man that plays A LOT (BTW anyone that thinks Brand is only playing 30 MPG you're nuts. The guy played 34+ this past year still coming back from injury) So he comes up with some big raw numbers. Remember Webber hauled down 10 a game a few years ago?

He hasn't been top 10 per minute since 02. I don't have those rankings for percentages (Which at the end of the day is really the most important thing, much like hits are only relevant in relation to how many at bats you have) but I would imagine that is similar.

He's absolutely a good rebounder (something to be said for the raw rebounding totals he gets) but Evans is just amazing, too bad the rest of his game is so, um, raw...

[tk76]

Both Brand and Sam are great offensive rebounders (as well as Evans.) That should come in handy given the teams potential jump shooting issues- at least they will get plenty of opportunities

I think Smith is a decent offensive rebounder too, but has some issues holding his ground on the d-Boards. Speights, looks promising on both ends.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

Yeah, with those O-Boards, we can heavily dictate the pace of the game and how much we score the ball. That's going to be a key reason why this team will be so tough to beat. It's dominance inside and on the boards.

[83SixersRocked]

I don't think Sam will be better at the beginning of the year. I think both he and Iguodala will go backwards at first (offensively), since the focal point of the offense will change. Iggy will be further from the basket most of the time when Thaddeus is at the 3. I do think Sam will have more room in halfcourt sets though, if only to get a few rebounds. Once Sam and Iggy find their niche, which I expect would happen by mid-season, I think we'll see all-around better play.

I look forward to seeing them play Orlando in the second half of the season. The Magic are he next good team they have to pass to win in the East. I think they already passed Cleveland. Toronto just doesn't scare me (yet).

[tk76]

The Orlando match-up is an interesting one. I don't know how we cover their PF away from the basket, or how they cover ours in the post. It should be an interesting battle of wills.

[freshie2]

Sammy actually left the Canadian team so he could work out with Bill Walton...he'll be fine.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

We match up so much better with Orlando then we did last year. Simply by having Reggie Evans to back up Elton Brand and that gives us 2 guys to muscle up Dwight Howard. And having Thad and Iggy on the wings gives us some size up front which we're gonna need as Hedo and Rashard are two big ass perimeter players. Orlando's bench isn't much, but ours is pretty solid. So I think it would be a six game, 4-2 series win for the Sixers.

[cavsfan_osiris]

I'm not as concerned about SamD because of the Brand addition. Dalembert + Brand = solid tandem, of course assuming Brand is 100%. That's where the improvement is going to come. Brand takes some pressure off Dalembert.

That's what I really like about a team adding a significant player like Brand. He helps other guys improve. Whether or not Dalembert actually improves his game the addition of Brand makes his life easier.

[geiger]

Brand won't be muscling up Howard, but he will abuse Rashard Lewis in the post.