Luka’s Corner

Philadelphia did not make any moves since draft night, when they acquired Jason Smith of Colorado State from the Miami Heat for Daequan Cook of Ohio State. That same night, the 76ers drafted the extremely athletic Thaddeus Young of Georgia Tech University at pick #12 in the 1st round. Young is a forward with an impressive jumping ability and is laterally quick on the court, but he is raw in most other areas. He can score on the fast break, but very rarely creates his own shot by beating a defender. It will take a few years for Young to be able to play in the NBA on a consistent basis, and the skill that needs the most work is his jump shot. He is not a skilled shooter, but if he develops a shot, then that will open up the game for him even more in the future. Smith, on the other hand, has a very different game from Thaddeus Young. He is a 7 ft. center who is fundamentally very strong, since he is able to hit the three-pointer consistently. Smith is also a very solid rebounder (averaged 10.1 RPG last season for CSU), and a hard worker. Unlike Young, though, he is not a great athlete and does not have the ability to rise up for thunderous dunks or swat a tremendous number of blocks. Instead, he is more of a classic center with good shooting ability.

Both of these draft picks should be very relevant in 76ers roster, receiving around 15-20 MPG each. I project Young’s stats to be around 8.6-8.8 PPG (mostly on the fast break) and around 4 RPG, since he will have to be a backup to Phili’s lone star, Andre Iguodala. Smith should have around 5.8 PPG and 6-6.2 RPG because he will have to be a backup to both Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter at the C position.

Of course, the main move for Phili (and the whole league) last year was the departure of Allen Iverson, one of the best players in 76ers history, to Denver. Everybody thought that Philadelphia would be even worse without AI (they were below .500 at the time), but they forgot about the other AI in Iguodala and Andre Miller, the player Phili got for Iverson.

Iguodala and Miller, along with the center Dalembert, lead Philadelphia to a record better than .500 since AI left. With Miller running the team, Iguodala running the floor, and Dalembert controlling the middle, Phili proved to be a team with great potential. Iguodala emerged as one of the best all-around players in the league last season, with a stat line of 18-6-6-2. On top of all that, Iggy is also one of the most explosive forwards in the league, with the ability to run the open floor and finish over defenders in the process. I expect his stats to actually get better in the 08 campaign: 18.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 2.2 SPG for the season. Miller, the starting PG, brought the team together with his consistent passing ability. He constantly found AI running the floor and Dalembert posting up, averaging 7.8 APG last year. I project Miller’s stats to stay around the same (at around 7.5 APG). Lastly, Dalembert was the post-up man who made it all happen for Phili. His confident rebounding made it possible for Miller to find Iguodala in the open floor and his unique shot-blocking intimidated opponents. Last year, he averaged 8.9 RPG and 1.9 BPG, and I expect the numbers to rise even more after his career season in 07. I expect 9.4 RPG and 2.1 BPG next year.

Pros:

-Philadelphia has a player to build around for the future in Iguodala. He is an explosive scorer, but also a good passer that makes his teammates better.

-The 76ers have the potential to become a very good defensive team. They have a consistent shot-blocking center in Dalembert, along with a forward with quick hands in Iguodala who is able to dominate a game defensively.

-Phili is becoming deeper and deeper with these recent draft additions. Young and Smith join a sub rotation that includes Kyle Korver, Steven Hunter, and Willie Green.

Cons:

-The 76ers are not the most efficient team on offense, considering that they only have one consistent offensive threat (Iguodala).

-Phili is not the most seasoned team, since none of its players have been an important part of a championshiop roster.

-Miller is reaching the end of his career (he is 31) and Phili will need to find a true PG to replace him when he retires. This will mean more rebuilding.

Predicted lineup:

C-Samuel Dalembert, PF-Shavlik Randolph, SF-Andre Iguodala, SG-Rodney Carney, PG-Andre Miller

6th man-Kyle Korver, 7th man-Steven Hunter, 8th man-Thaddeus Young

Predicted stat leaders:

Points-Andre Iguodala (18.8 PPG)

Rebounds-Samuel Dalembert (9.4 RPG)

Assists-Andre Miller (7.5 APG)

Blocks-Samuel Dalembert (2.1 BPG)

Steals-Andre Iguodala (2.2 SPG)

Final Prediction: Philadelphia will fall short of the Playoffs with a 34-48 record.

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