When Eddie Jordan got canned from the Wizards, primarily because he mishandled his roster after his starting All-Star point guard missed two years due to injury followed by his starting center going down before the start of this season, most people said the same thing.
Thank goodness for Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a historically gifted recruiter who has been allergic to scandal. He represents a segment of his profession that could squeeze inside a foul lane.
Duplicity and college basketball are now one. I mean, if you name a program that has acquired a bigger-than-life player in recent years (Memphis and Southern Cal come to mind), it's like this: The odds are greater than Dick Vitale screaming into a microphone that such a program is destined for the NCAA slammer.
Hewitt disagrees. For one, he is high profile as president of the Black Coaches and Administrators and as a veteran of the Atlantic Coast Conference. So if he decided to shove a few of his peers under the bus, others would roll the wheels back and forth across his tongue.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
The 76ers are one of the big stories in this year's NBA Playoffs. Back when the season began they couldn't win a game. Now they're giving the Orlando Magic a run for their money, pushing the third seed to a 2-2 series tie before Tuesday night's Game 5, all without powerhouse Elton Brand. In this video, we get to know the 76ers a little bit better, learning about Andre Iguodala's leaping ability, what inspired Samuel Dalembert to play basketball, how Thaddeus Young got the No. 21, and everything there is to know about Royal Ivey's tattoos.
Thaddeus Young deserves all plaudits for this brave, clutch bucket that gave Philadelphia a two-point lead in the closing seconds of a Game 3 win over Orlando. Young never hesitated to attack, a real credit to his growing confidence as a 20-year-old weapon. But if not for fumbling the ball in the lane, Thad would be a goat instead of hero.
Five Things takes a look at five things to watch out for in marquee games with playoff implications.
We've got a trifecta of Game 3's on Friday. We've got an Eastern Powerhouse trying to prolong its relevance, and the new Eastern Order trying to showcase how dominant it really is. We have a scrappy underdog showing you that to overlook them leads to your own peril. And we have a physically and emotionally wounded star-crossed titan battling the basketball equivalent of a populist movement.
So what should you be paying attention to this evening? 5 Things has you covered. Let's talk about Cleveland-Detroit, Orlando-Philadelphia, and Portland-Houston.
It's sort of a critical time for Philly, with the playoffs well within reach but not guaranteed. According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Sixers have a magic number of three with nine games to go. But the loss really shows up when you at the race for the No. 5 seed.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Everyone knows that Flip Murray exists only in flashes. Everyone talks about "streak shooters," but Flip is actually a "streak human." He'll go a good 10, 12 days not even in existence. And then poof! he's the leading scorer for a playoff team for a week.
Flip's alive right now, y'all, racking up 30 points and five assists in a romp over Minnesota Monday night. He's averaging 24 points over his last three games. The three games before that? 23 points ... total.
Have you looked at the 76ers stats recently? Thaddeus Young is leading the team after 10 games with 16.3 points a night. To say that's a surprise is an understatement, especially after the Sixers invested nearly $160 million in Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala this summer.
To be fair, Brand isn't far behind with 15.5 points, and he's averaging a double-double with 10.3 boards, to boot. But Iguodala? He's been the team's fourth-leading scorer, chipping in a mere 12.4 points. Sure, some of the blame lies with a career-low (and likely flukish) 37.8% shooting percentage, but he's also fourth on the team in field-goals attempted, proof of how far he's slipped in the team's plans. I'm not worried, though; he's the team's leader and a savvy veteran -- he'll figure things out eventually.
But let's get back to Young, who's essentially doubled his rookie scoring average (8.3 points). Is this just a hot start that will eventually fade? Maybe to a degree, but I'm convinced the progress is for real. He spent much of last year playing out of position at the four, but since moving back to small forward his versatility, especially on the perimeter, is starting to shine.
When Ed Stefanski moved into Philly's front office last December, a lot of people figured it was just a matter of time before Mo Cheeks was handed his walking papers. After all, Cheeks was in the midst of the final year of his contract, and in this day and age of the salary cap and guaranteed contracts, the easiest way for a new GM to put his stamp on an organization is hand-picking a new coaching staff.
But instead of giving Cheeks the axe, Stefanski gave him a one-year extension in February. And after watching Cheeks orchestrate a surprising second-half run, in which the Sixers went from being 12 games under .500 to not only securing the seventh seed but also pushing the favored Pistons to six games, Stefanski rewarded Cheeks with another extension today. (How many years? Stay tuned -- exact details should come out after this afternoon's press conference.)
After Philly made a big splash earlier this summer by giving truckloads of money to Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala, I'm guessing today's news will barely register on the radar of most NBA fans. But in my opinion, locking Cheeks up should prove to be just as (if not more) instrumental to Philly's re-emergence as one of the top teams in the East.
Actually, it was Al Horford, who finished with 29 first-place votes. Durant finished with 28. It's too bad the ballots aren't open -- I'd love to see which NBA coach actually thought Durant was no better than the sixth-best rookie this year. (Remember, coaches can't vote for their own players but aren't limited by position.) Luis Scola (26 first place votes), Al Thornton (20) and Jeff Green (15) rounded out the first team.
When Eddie Jordan got canned from the Wizards, primarily because he mishandled his roster after his starting All-Star point guard missed two years due to injury followed by his starting center going down before the start of this season, most people said the same thing. 
Thank goodness for Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a historically gifted recruiter who has been allergic to scandal. He represents a segment of his profession that could squeeze inside a foul lane. 
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
Five Things takes a look at five things to watch out for in marquee games with playoff implications.
This isn't an April Fool's Joke, Philadelphia. Sixers stud Thaddeus Young will miss 2-3 weeks due to a ankle sprain and bone bruise, according to the Associated Press.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Have you looked at the 76ers stats recently? Thaddeus Young is leading the team after 10 games with 16.3 points a night. To say that's a surprise is an understatement, especially after the Sixers invested nearly $160 million in Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala this summer. 
When Ed Stefanski moved into Philly's front office last December, a lot of people figured it was just a matter of time before Mo Cheeks was handed his walking papers. After all, Cheeks was in the midst of the final year of his contract, and in this day and age of the salary cap and guaranteed contracts, the easiest way for a new GM to put his stamp on an organization is hand-picking a new coaching staff.
The NBA revealed it's All-Rookie Teams today, and by and large there weren't any huge surprises. But can you guess who the only unanimous choice to the first team was? If you guessed Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant ... you'd be wrong. 
