Posts tagged MauriceCheeks at FanHouse

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

Continuing with the "youth is served" meme that keeps popping up this postseason, let's take a look at the 76ers. The last time this team was in the playoffs, they were riding the backs of aging superstars Allen Iverson and Chris Webber. This time around, they have but one player (32-year-old Andre Miller) in the rotation older than 27.

While listening to Mo Cheeks talk to the press before last night's Game 5 match with the Pistons, I couldn't help but notice how much he seems to enjoy the responsibility of teaching as well as coaching.

"I enjoy coaching. I can't play anymore, so this is the closest thing I can do to play. I enjoy all of the things that come with it -- I don't enjoy you guys too much [laughter] -- but I enjoy all the things that go with coaching, and that is what I tell my players. ... I particularly enjoy when I see Lou Williams and [reminding] him about being up the floor and [how he'll have] a chance to get a steal up the court -- and I'll look up and he's up the floor and he's getting a steal. Those are some of the rewards of coaching.

"I'm pretty fortunate in that I have players that listen, they try to go out and do all these things right. And I'm very fortunate in that area that I have these guys that go out there and try and do things right and listen, and they don't always do them right [laughs] but they're out there trying to do them. And that's a very fortunate thing for me as a coach, and I think that's rewarding for our coaches is that you have these guys, you're trying to teach them, you're trying to show them different things about the game and then they go out and try to do it."

A report from the New Orleans Times-Picayune states that Byron Scott will be announced as the 2008 NBA Coach of the Year tomorrow. It is Scott's first time to win the award.

Scott guided the Hornets to one of the biggest turnarounds in the NBA this season, and the 2nd seed in the West. While the other finalists were considered mainly due to their management of unbelievably amazing rosters full of talent (Doc Rivers), playing above expectations (Maurice Cheeks), or weathering a storm of injuries (Rick Adelman), Scott managed an ensemble of challenges. He guided Chris Paul into being one of, if not the best point guard in the league. He turned David West and Tyson Chandler into household names and made the Hornets one of the most consistent teams in a hyper-competitive Western Conference on both sides of the ball. He did all of this with arguably one of the thinnest benches in the league.

Jerry Stackhouse recently stated, along with saying he'd like to fight him, that he didn't "think Byron Scott is the best coach." Well, Jerry, with your team on the brink of elimination, your starting spot revoked for Jason Terry, and Scott's Hornets in position to move to the next round, maybe you might want to rethink that. And even if Stack doesn't think Scott is the best coach, for this season, at least, Scott's peers disagreed.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Pistons-Sixers Game 3 tonight.

1. The Road Home: So it appears that Philadelphia is starting to get all excited about the Sixers again. Which is fun for them. And important. If the Sixers can't protect their home court in Game 3, this series can get out of hand quickly. The Pistons can snap the trap if they smell blood, you don't want to wake them up. The Sixers also need to come out and hit shots to get the crowd excited. What you don't want is to let Detroit hang around. Put them down hard and fast, or they will close on you. You won't be sneaking up on them like you did in Game 1.

2. Iggy No Biggie: All year long I hear about how great Andre Iguodala is. Every game I watch, he's marginal. He can fill a stat sheet fine, but the Pistons have completely swallowed him whole this series. The Sixers need to break 95 to win tomorrow night, and they wont' get there if Iggy doesn't have a breakout game. The Pistons have actually turned to the ridiculously long Tayshaun Prince to contain him and it's been effective. Pick and roll plays are in desperate need of improved efficiency, and Samuel Dalembert may want to stray from the lane to set the pick more in order to create the separation Iguodala needs.

In an already spectacular opening weekend, the Sixers decided to up the ante a little bit. After being down as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Sixers stormed back and upset the Pistons 90-86 to take a 1-0 series lead in Detroit.

If someone told you that Andre Iguodala was going to have only 16 points off of 4 of 15 shooting, and Rasheed Wallace would have 24 points and nine rebounds, you'd probably think the Pistons won. Likewise, if I told you that the Sixers only shot 42% from the field, and only 33% in the first half, you'd think the Pistons won. And in fact, Detroit was shooting 48% at the half. They ended up at 39% for the game. The Pistons failed to score more than 20 points in either of the two final quarters.

So who was the hero of the day for the Sixers? Thaddeus Young? Nope. Louis Williams? Nuh-uh. Andre Miller? Well, he did have 20 points to lead the Sixers, but no. It was Reggie Evans. Yeah. That guy. Evans scored 11 points and 14 rebounds, including a game clinching put-back to secure the win.

The 76ers, fresh off a win over the Spurs, are feeling pretty good about life. Their playoff positioning suddenly looks safe, with Philadelphia slotted in at the #7 spot with five whole games separating them from ninth-place Atlanta. (New Jersey's at #8, a half-game ahead of Atlanta.)

So the postseason seems likely. But can the Sixers do anything once they get there? No.

Right now, Detroit would be the opponent. The Pistons are among the league's elite; spunky as you like, Philly still can't expect to hang on more than a game with Detroit Basketball. The Sixers could jump to #6, where Washington currently sits. That opponent? Orlando isn't quite elite, but very strong. Philly wouldn't be favored in any home games in the series (barring a Dwight Howard injury).

Even if Philadelphia manages to climb to the #5 seed (faltering Toronto's got a two-game edge), LeBron James awaits. The sixth-seed, thus, is the best option... and the opponent there is 20 games over .500. Not looking beautiful, Philly. Still: The fight this team has turned out two straight springs should be commended. Talentwise, the team has no business beating out New Jersey, Atlanta, or Charlotte. But they will. Cheers to Maurice Cheeks.

Philadelphia's rebuild project is certainly in progress and likely will be for at least another year. This summer clearly marks a vital moment. Ed Stefanski has a few priorities: Decide how much you're willing to spend to keep Andre Iguodala, figure out how much you have to pay Louis Williams to keep him, and pick a free agent forward to target.

The first two decisions might already be out of Philly's hands -- the market on hyperathletic two-guards hasn't been terribly volatile, and $9-11 million per year for Iguodala should be assured; Williams, depending on how neatly wrapped Maurice Cheeks keeps him the remainder of this season, should draw sub-T.J. Ford money... likely $6-7 million a season. That leaves substantial room behind for a free agent, no matter how much cap space Andre Miller's almost-assured exit liberates. Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders aloud if restricted free agent Josh Smith might be a nice sight. And how he would! Smith might be the best shotblocker in the nation, and Samuel Dalembert's got that skill, too. Both Smith and Iguodala have some the ability to hawk the ball on the perimeter, too -- this'd have the makings of an explosive defense.

Emeka Okafor looms as another restricted free agent with equal reason for excitement. But the advantage of looking Smith's way? That dastardly Atlanta ownership situation. If it's still a disaster, will the warring Hawks owners be able to reach legal consensus on matching a Philly offer in the seven days allotted? If the stingy one gets control, will he gladly watch Josh walk away? Restricted free agents are hard to nab away; I suspect Atlanta's RFAs will be easier acquired for wanting teams.

No one seemed too confident in Maurice Cheeks' continued employment with the 76ers when Billy King recently made way for Ed Stefanski. Cheeks himself seemed quietly nervous. It appears Mo will stick for this season, but veteran observer of the Sixers Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks Cheeks will be unfairly dismissed this summer.

If there indeed is a new coach next season, please don't look back and minimize the work Cheeks has done. He has gotten this group to play hard just about every night. He has been open to suggestions, ways to improve. He has had the players' backs, never publicly criticizing them, and they have given him what they have.

The problem is, they don't have enough.

To be clear, Jasner does not fault Stefanski for the predicted move; overall, it really is the unwinnable situation it appears to be. Which stinks, because this happened to Cheeks in Portland -- the franchise cleared out most of the trash, and Cheeks happened to go along to the landfill with it.

Is he a good coach? That's too hard to measure. He has done nothing to preclude future employement, though; Cheeks will be back in the league before you know it. And hey! He still has a job! This (Jasner's column and my post) sounds like a eulogy; meanwhile, Cheeks is taking the streaking Sixers through shoot-around. Let's revisit the subject in April.

I don't want to overblow things here, but...

• The 76ers have won four straight, including a win over the Rockets and a pair against the rival Knicks.
• Samuel Dalembert was a block away from triple-double against Minnesota Wednesday night.
• Andre Miller's averaging more than 10 assists/game over the last five.
• Jason Smith and Thaddeus Young are in David Thorpe's top 20 rookie rankings.

Was Billy King some sort of vicious hex on the shoulders of Maurice Cheeks and his charges? Does Ed Stefanski come bearing antibiotics? Can this team actually make it to the playoffs this year? Eh, who cares. At least the (few) fans following the Sixers have something to cheer for, like this one-day-old windmill from Andre Iguodala.



If nothing else, Philly deserves to be watched... but which puts this version one step below the must-watch Allen Iverson Sixers.

The reasons behind Billy King's dismissal in Philadelphia were hardly questioned; the timing has been seen as odd, though. Some (myself included) wonder why it didn't happen when King's final experiment (Allen Iverson + Chris Webber) blew up masterfully; others (such as King himself) wondered why the boss wasn't able to carry out his rebuilding plan. Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen (via Sixers Shots) might have an answer.

One league source reports that team chairman Ed Snider was pushing for Larry Brown to reclaim control of the Sixers from coach Maurice Cheeks. Some within the organization sensed that the coup would happen before the end of the season.

But the rest of the Comcast-Spectacor ownership board didn't like the highly expensive idea of restoring Brown to power, which is why Comcast president Peter Luukko appears to have been granted new control over the 76ers. It was Luukko who made the initial call that wrested Stefanski from the Nets.

Essentially, Larry Brown planned a coup attempt through Snider, but Snider's fellow board members didn't want to pay/deal with L.B. again, so Luukko took over to keep L.B. out of the picture while (hopefully) restoring order to the front office? Wow. Months ago, I noted Brown had improbably become something of an NBA leper. I had no idea it was this bad, where the mere possibility of Brown taking over costs other people their jobs.

Thomsen said sources believe Brown will be a coach somewhere else by next fall. But seriously: Who's going to hire him? He's divisive, high-maintenance, and probably $10 million a year. Chicago? Atlanta? Washington? I don't see it. And does this mean anything for Maurice Cheeks, who doesn't seem very confident? I'd guess he'll stay on through the season, so long as he doesn't step in Ed Stefanski's path. But he should probably load up the inkjet and spell check that resume just in case.

Billy King was fired on Tuesday; will Maurice Cheeks make it to the end of the week? We'll have to wait and see, because on his first day on the job, new Sixers president Ed Stefanski gave no indication what other changes might be in store aside from telling reporters he's "evaluating top to bottom. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Cheeks, who is in the final season of his contract, told reporters that while he had talked to Stefanski only briefly, he received no assurance that his job was safe.

"I don't have an answer to why it happened. That's not my position," Cheeks said, when asked about King's firing.

"It happened, and now we have to move on. The only thing I can do is try to go out there every day and control what I can control, and that's trying to get our team better. That's basically all I can do."

The fact that Cheeks is in the last year of his contract makes me think he's probably not long for the Sixers. The Sixers have absolutely no chance of doing anything this year, so the coaching staff's primary obligation should be to prepare the team for the future.

But as an impending free agent, Cheeks knows there's a good chance he'll be looking for work next summer, whether he stays on board with the Sixers for the rest of the season or not. Will his emphasis be winning a few extra games now or developing the roster for the next guy to take over? Unless he gets an enthusiastic vote of confidence in the form of an extension, I think it's only natural and probably unavoidable that his priorities will be slightly different, which might prompt Stefanski to make a change.