76ers News

"WHO'S No. 1? If the question is whether Andre Iguodala is the No. 1 player around whom the 76ers will build their future, the answer remains more than somewhat hazy. If the question is whether Iguodala, as a restricted free agent, is president/general manager Eddie Stefanski's No. 1 priority, the answer is unequivocally yes. In a teleconference yesterday with reporters, Stefanski said Iguodala, " . . . is a very good basketball player. I think - I know - he's a guy we'd like to keep, going forward here. "Now, negotiations are negotiations," Stefanski said. "What I've said numerous times is, we're trying to get a 'team.' We're not built to run [the Detroit Pistons'] style, but if we can get a team like that and have a style we'd like to play, which is an up-tempo style, that would be our goal.""

"FROM THE MOMENT he took the job, Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski envisioned the type of team he wanted. Sticking to the building plan was one of the primary reasons he traded veteran shooter and popular teammate Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz. It was why he went to Maurice Cheeks and suggested the coach quicken the manner in which the Sixers play and find more minutes for the younger players. Now, reflecting on a surprising season in which the Sixers won 40 games and pushed the heavily favored Detroit Pistons to six games in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Stefanski is pleased to know that his young nucleus can not only play the style that he wants but can also have success doing it."

"Ed Stefanski said he has a number of off-season priorities, but deciding the future of 76ers point guard Andre Miller isn't at the top of the list. That doesn't mean the Sixers' president and general manager doesn't value Miller's huge contributions. It's just that because Miller is signed through the 2008-2009 season and can't be a free agent until afterward, Stefanski can focus on other issues. At some point, however, Miller's future will have to be addressed both by him and the team, because the decision will affect many of the other decisions the team is going to make this summer."

"The 76ers, as they drift into their most important off-season in a decade, have accomplished the easy part now. They have become interesting again, and, in a departure from recent history, not interesting in a dysfunctional, we-talking-'bout-practice kind of way. They are interesting again for the right reasons, because they play hard, have some talent, and are easy to root for. It is a likable bunch. Everyone appears to get along. They listen to what coach Maurice Cheeks has to say - another departure from the past - and there is promise for the future. You can put all that together, however, stir lightly, bake at 350 degrees, frost it elegantly, and the team was still 40-42 this season. Interesting, yes. Contending, no."

"Here are some off-season decisions that Stefanski will have to make: Andre Miller On Friday, Miller, the point guard, said he didn't know if he would like to stay with the team after his contract runs out next season. He will be paid nearly $10 million for the 2008-09 season. Miller is 32 and doesn't have the game that will decline swiftly because it's based on intelligence more than sheer athletic ability. The most important thing is whether Miller wants to stay. After speaking Friday, he gave the impression he wants to see the improvements before making a commitment."

"The Sixers finished 40-42 after an 18-30 start, reaching the postseason for the first time in Cheeks' tenure. They were eliminated from the first round with Thursday night's 100-77 loss to the Pistons, losing the best-of-seven series, 4-2. That performance notwithstanding, Cheeks said, "Our players played hard every night, and that's what a coach wants." "There were times it was tough, when we weren't playing well and people weren't coming to watch us," he said. "But we played hard, and as a result we got some wins.""

"Reporters with notebooks, tape recorders and microphones and minicams kept asking the 76ers players what the future might hold. The answer: None of them really knows. Not even president/general manager Eddie Stefanski knows at this point, other than that the roster will assuredly change."

"Point guard Andre Miller made several positive comments about his 76ers teammates on their exit day, after Thursday's 100-77 loss to the Detroit Pistons that eliminated them from their first playoff series in three years. While he had good things to say about the players and coach Maurice Cheeks, Miller wouldn't say whether he would like to stay in Philadelphia long-term."

"So, it appears Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks was incorrect when he told courtside fans and the media -- separately -- after Game 5 that he'd see them Saturday at the Palace. (But at least he was right when he guessed that Pistons fans didn't believe him.) Hey, maybe he'll show up for Game 1 of the Pistons-Magic series, just to keep his word. That actually would be pretty cool."

"The people of Philadelphia have a deservedly boo-happy reputation. So it wasn't surprising that the boo birds were flying five minutes into Game 6 between the Pistons and the 76ers. This time, they were flying directly at their own boys. Behind a 10-0 start and a 19-point first-quarter lead, the Pistons blew away the last shred of intrigue in a series that proved to be more suspenseful than most predicted. The Pistons carried it to a 100-77 win, disposing of the Sixers, four games to two."

"The Pistons owe the 76ers a thank-you card. Or maybe a fruit basket. Why? Because, despite the angst it caused, they say their six-game first-round series provided a necessary wake-up call. "Philadelphia gave us a hell of a series," coach Flip Saunders said. "They woke us up, and they probably made us a lot better going into the next round because of the things they did and the things we did to get back on track.""

"It was over before it started, the way people once felt this series would be. From the second half of Game 4 to the closing seconds of Game 6, the Pistons shook off rust and rumor and rediscovered themselves. They solved the riddle of this fast but limited opponent and stole its mojo. By the first quarter Thursday, the Pistons not only had time to pick up loose headbands, they could have purchased three-piece suits and waited to have them fitted. Whoever started games hot in this series tended to finish them that way. The Pistons opened with a 28-9 run."

"Eddie Stefanski wanted to be patient, wanted to be certain. He knew how easy it would have been for a new president/general manager to simply clean house, to start from scratch. But his instincts and experience told him not to approach the status of 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks or anyone else in the organization that way. In the end, he gave Cheeks a 1-year contract extension. And now, at some point in the near future, he is ready to at least speak with Cheeks about the possibility of an additional extension."

"Well, at least there is little chance that the Sixers will be fooled into thinking they have more than they actually do. It would be an insult to coach Maurice Cheeks, his staff and the Sixers players to label their surprise run to the NBA playoffs as fool's gold. Still, there was a danger that things could have been misinterpreted, making the Sixers' rebuilding project appear to be farther along than it actually is."

"The paradox is this: Several young Sixers grew leaps and bounds after Kyle Korver was traded away to the Utah Jazz in December... Maybe they're not even here without all those extra minutes that Korver's departure provided. But the last impression about this team, the lingering one amid a 100-77 blowout loss in an elimination game last night, is that Korver might have made a difference for them."

"This was spur of the moment. This was Reggie Evans' way of saying thank you. Even as the final buzzer sounded on the 76ers' 100-77 loss to the Detroit Pistons, the loss that ended their season, a good number of the announced 14,130 fans in the Wachovia Center stayed long enough to applaud. They weren't applauding the awful loss, which ended the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series in six games. They were applauding a season that had been much more than they had ever expected."

"Former 76er Doug Collins was no different from most in his reaction to the Sixers' qualifying for the playoffs. "They surprised me a lot, especially when they were 18-30," Collins said last night before the Detroit Pistons eliminated the Sixers in Game 6 at the Wachovia Center, where he was working as an analyst for TNT. "I didn't know if they could shoot well enough to be able to win," he said. "They lost their best shooter, Kyle Korver, and they still went on that run.""

"With guards Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups scoring at will, Rasheed Wallace didn't need to do too much at the offensive end to help the Detroit Pistons finally eliminate the pesky 76ers last night... But there was no question that the former Simon Gratz High School star played a pivotal defensive role through six games on the Pistons' smoothly operating five-man unit to get his team a second-round playoff matchup with the Orlando Magic starting tomorrow."

"The 76ers had something in common with their fans last night. They didn't show up, either. It had been an interesting opening-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, but by the time Game 6 rolled around, a fair number of the paying customers didn't believe the home team could force a deciding game. And, apparently, neither did the Sixers. Both were right."

"The 76ers experienced another slow start last night, and it led to the conclusion of their season. The last rites were administered quickly by the Detroit Pistons, who used a 30-12 first quarter to defeat the Sixers, 100-77, at the Wachovia Center and win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal, four games to two."

"The Orlando Magic could have made their flight plans to Detroit about three minutes into Game 6 here Thursday night. The Pistons opened the game by forcing three straight turnovers, which Richard Hamilton turned into seven straight points. Then the Pistons were off to a 19-point lead, riding it to a 100-77 series-ending victory over the 76ers. "

"Few Sixers players have been in this situation before, but head coach Maurice Cheeks has been there on both ends, as a member of the team facing elimination from the playoffs and as a member of the team on the brink of advancing. Of the two options, Cheeks obviously prefers the latter, but the Sixers are not in that position. As they prepare for tonight's Game 6 against Detroit at 8 p.m. at the Wachovia Center, they trail the Pistons 3-2 and would go home for the summer with a loss."

"Detroit or Philadelphia? Pistons or 76ers? Detroit native Darth Vader or Philly boy Bob Saget? Who would you rather try to beat up? The answer is as obvious as W.C. Fields' preferred epitaph. All things considered, the Magic would rather be in Philadelphia. That's why 97.2 percent of Orlando fans will be pulling for the 76ers tonight. If Philly wins and somehow takes Game 7, the only thing standing between the Magic and the Eastern Conference finals will be Andre Iguodala. With all due respect to Andre the Semi-Giant, any sane group of basketball players would rather face him than Chauncey Billups and the gang from Detroit."

"RASHEED WALLACE, in his own inimitable way, mentioned in a postgame meeting with reporters Tuesday night that no one would have to worry about a certain portion of the Detroit Pistons players' rear anatomy being tight. We will have to wait until tonight to see about the 76ers. Here's what we know: The Sixers need a victory in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series tonight in the Wachovia Center to force a decisive Game 7 Saturday night in Auburn Hills, Mich."

"Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks always has been one to keep a playful running dialogue going with the opposing fans behind the bench at road games. So it was not unexpected when it continued Tuesday at the Palace of Auburn Hills as the Pistons took a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series. To the fan who cheerfully speculated that the Sixers would be done in six, Cheeks replied: "We will see you back here on Saturday." Cheeks laughed yesterday as he recounted that prediction at the end of practice. "What did you want me to say?" he said. " 'See you next year?' ""

"The debate should now be settled among fans of the Philadelphia 76ers, between those who strongly believe Samuel Dalembert is just a misunderstood Haitian and those who believe just as strongly that he is from another planet. Alien nation, you win. Offered a fade by Willie Green's barber yesterday afternoon, Dalembert opted for, well, a forward. A highway-wide mohawk, to be precise. By itself, it was enough, but combined with the letters shaved into the side of his head, it placed a target on him, or at least a brighter beam than his play attracts on its own. "The mistake Philadelphia made tonight,'' rock 'n' roll legend Bob Seger said in a third-quarter interview during last night's 98-81 Pistons blowout, "was the mohawk.''"

"Center Samuel Dalembert had a hair-raising experience he hoped would loosen up and motivate the 76ers. The motivation part didn't work out so well, because the Sixers lost, 98-81, to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, the day Dalembert unveiled his Mohawk haircut. So now Dalembert lacks some hair and the Sixers lack any margin for error. Trailing the best-of-seven series by three games to two, they face elimination tonight in Game 6 at the Wachovia Center. The game begins at 8 o'clock. The haircut "is just part of my personality," Dalembert said"

"There are many theories on why the 76ers face playoff elimination by the Detroit Pistons in tonight's Game 6 at the Wachovia Center. Detroit leads the first-round series, three games to two. The second-seeded Pistons have more talent than the seventh-seeded Sixers, but during this best-of-seven series, Detroit has earned the reputation of a team that does not always play with urgency."

"Well, we will see whether the 76ers have one more bounceback in them. Since the first week of February, when their record dropped to 18-30, resiliency has highlighted the Sixers' last 3 months."

"Everybody says the same thing about Larry Brown. (OK, one of the same things.) He's the best in the business at turning situations around. Steve Jones says it. He played for Brown all the way back with the Carolina Cougars, Brown's first coaching job in the now-defunct ABA."

"Offered a fade by Willie Green's barber yesterday afternoon, Dalembert opted for, well, a forward. A highway-wide mohawk, to be precise. By itself, it was enough, but combined with the letters shaved into the side of his head, it placed a target on him, or at least a brighter beam than his play attracts on its own."

"Talk about cutting-edge stuff. Detroit scalped the 76ers, 98-81, giving the Pistons a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series and propelling them within one victory of a seventh straight berth in the second round, this time against the Orlando Magic."

"Turning point: The moment Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace laced up their sneakers. Billups scored 14 on 5-for-6 shooting and Wallace had four blocked shots and seven points as Detroit outscored the Sixers, 35-21, in the first quarter. There was no coming back for the Sixers."

"Maurice Cheeks has always considered Larry Brown a mentor and a good friend, which is why the current 76ers coach is glad that the former coach is back in the NBA."

"Pistons coach Flip Saunders had already sent in small forward Jarvis Hayes to relieve Tayshaun Prince, but then he quickly changed his mind. Hayes walked back to the bench, and Saunders called instead for rookie Arron Afflalo."

"Samuel Dalembert was, um, aerodynamic Tuesday night. The Sixers' starting center came to the Palace with a puffy Mohawk that made him look like a tall, skinny Mr. T -- minus all the jewelry and pity-the-foolery, of course."

"After a series-long struggle to find his way to the basket and his midrange shooting touch, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala took a slightly different approach to Game 5."

"And with him leading the way, the Pistons built on their second-half showing from Game 4 and beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-81, in a crucial Game 5 at the Palace."

"With their 98-81 rout in Game 5 on Tuesday night, the Pistons seemingly have the 76ers on their backs, up 3-2 with Game 6 in Philadelphia on Thursday."

"Andre Iguodala wasn't in the mood to look on the bright side. He had his best game of the series last night, but the 76ers lost, 98-81, to the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills and fell behind, three games to two, in their best-of-seven series."

"He has had the itch for some time now. That is why Larry Brown planted himself at Jay Wright's Villanova practices day after day after day, why Brown agreed to serve in some nebulous role with the 76ers for the last two years, why he went to the Final Four a few weeks ago. Brown wanted to coach, wanted to smell the game, wanted to teach, wanted to hear the rhythmic sounds of leather on hardwood."

"The series is not over. Not officially. Not mathematically. Not in a clean- out-the-lockers- and-exchange-off-season-phone-numbers kind of way. But it is over, at least if the Detroit Pistons want it to be over, which is always a question worth asking."

"Trailing by 14 points after the first quarter, the Sixers never cut the lead under double digits the rest of the way last night in a 98-81 loss at the Palace of Auburn Hills."

"Everywhere Andre Iguodala goes, he sees Tayshaun Prince - that balanced defensive stance, those angular shoulders, those long arms that always seem to be blocking his view."

"76ers forward Andre Iguodala probably wonders if he's trapped in a re-make of the Bill Murray classic movie "Groundhog Day." For four games, he has been stuck squarely in frustration. "

"The pressure and added intensity of the playoffs are supposed to swallow up young players. So how does that explain the play of 76ers rookie Thaddeus Young, who will not turn 20 until June?"

"Perhaps the youngest 76er of them all has the best approach for tonight's pivotal Game 5 of the team's Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Detroit Pistons. If you don't know what you don't know, don't worry about it and just go play."

"Even though the best-of-seven playoff series is tied at two games apiece, the perception is that the Detroit Pistons have regained their edge after Sunday's 93-84 win over the 76ers."

"It doesn't take an analyst to know who the Orlando Magic would rather see in the second round of the NBA playoffs. They all ordered cheese steak sandwiches to celebrate Monday night."

"Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Pistons outscored the Sixers by 18 points in the third period on the way to a 93-84 victory at the Wachovia Center. The best-of-seven series is tied at two games apiece."