2009/2010 who will be better between the 2?

[DrunkOnMystery]

I agree the Sixers would be noticeably better in this scenario, but I'm curious as to why only the Sixers players are accounted for improving. Young and Williams improve(and they will), and Iverson plays smart and unselfishly(questionable, but having Brand will help), but we're assuming Dwight Howard, who's 22 and whose ppg has increased 3+ a year since he came into the league, will plateau?

[starvinmarvin17]

hold up when did iverson get back to philly

[JT3000]

^He's referring to the Orlando organization, not the city.

Genius.

He said Iverson loved "the city and fans" but T-Mac didn't, genius. I don't know why I'm even bothering. This scenario won't happen anyway.

[KrazySixersD]

Tmac living in a city and playing for the team are 2 different things.

This was just an argument me and my friend were having where he said if iverson came to the sixers they still wouldnt be better than the magic and I highly disagreed, so we wanted other people's opinions... Obviously, the vast majority has said the sixers.

We are assuming alot of the philly guys get better because, look how young most are... thaddeus young was the 2nd youngest player in the league last year, louis williams is only 21, and iguodala is only 24. Of course howard's improvement must be taken into consideration as well, but the other main players for orlando ( lewis and hedo) are in their prime and have hit their peeks. Iguodala, young, louis williams havent touched their peek, and maybe even dalambert could be put into that category as he yet to turn 27 yet.

[ponder276]

Okay so me and my buddy are having an argument right now about something completely stupid.

Okay so think in the 2009-2010 season, Me and my buddy are having a simple argument, if Philly were to be able to sign Iverson to the MLE in the 09 offseason and lose Andre Miller would they be better than Orlando? And have a better chance of winning a title?

(without any major trades)
Iverson---Nelson
Iggy---Pietrus
Thad---Hedo
Brand---Lewis
Dalembert---Dwight
6th Man Speights/Lou Williams---Courtney Lee/Fran V/Redick( Not really sure whom it would be for either team)

My simple argument is Iverson will be closing in on 35, which means his speed and scoring ability will have to finally diminishing.Thaddeus and Lou are not star players..and I don't feel Williams will ever really hit his potential...Not to mention noone really knows how Brand is feeling off of his achilles(Which is a pretty major sports injury)
I feel a 24 year old Dwight with 2 20 point scorers in Lewis and Hedo and a defensive specialist with Pietrus will be plain and simple better than Philly. The "Star" players for Orlando are much younger..


His Argument- Dwight Howard is soft, and due to the fact he has no jump shot he is not a dominant big man. That Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young are going to be star players, and Iverson will be the same old Iverson who has a good asst/TO ration and can drop 25-26 a game. That Philly is EASILY better plain and simple.

But it's really anyone opinion.(Also, by no means am I saying these will be the two best teams in the East..But who do you think of the two will be better?) NO PHILLY OR ORLANDO FANS PLEASE!

Obviously this is your friend's argument, not your's, but this part is just ridiculous. "Soft" generally means "avoids contact/physical play," and I honestly don't think there's a more physical player in the league than Dwight. He thrives on contact. I really don't see how the guy who led the league in FTA/G last season could ever be considered "soft."

Anyways, as a fan of neither team in particular, in the situation you outlined, I'd take Orlando by a slim margin. The Philly team you listed is slightly more talented, but seriously lacks outside shooting, and would have trouble against zone defenses. Plus Dwight has improved every year so far, and still has so much room left to improve (non-dunking offense, defensive rotations, etc.), that I see him being ridiculously dominant by 09/10.