The Sixers put the lid on a very nice 2012 preseason last night with a win over the NYK in Syracuse.  Even without a true point man (Holiday and Turner were rested & Wayns got injured during the game) the 7-6 looked very impressive last night.  In case you did not watch it online, Dei Lynam at csnphilly.com has this recap.  We’ll post some of our own thoughts later today.

Sir Charles had some comments on what the acquisition of Bynum will mean for the 76ers.

Ian Thomsen at SI.com loves what he sees from the teams in the Atlantic Division.

SI.com lists the Sixers home opener vs. Dre and the Nuggs as one of the games to watch this season.  We agree!!!

We all know that “The Answer” had a killer crossover, but over at Ball Don’t Lie they have posted a video of Iverson getting faked out of his jock strap during his rookie season by none other then former Cav point man Mark Price. 

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The 76ers have had a pretty solid start to the 2012 preseason, especially considering they are playing without their prized off-season pickup, Andrew Bynum.  The thinking goes that the team will only improve once Andrew hits the hardwood, so the team’s 5-1 start to this preseason sans-Bynum is pretty promising. 

The Sixers have bested Eastern Conference foes Boston (2x), Cleveland, Brooklyn, and Orlando, with their only loss coming in overtime at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall to the Nets.

One of the brightest points for the 7-6 this preseason has been the play of the newly-acquired Nick Young (15 & 6 rbs. last night), who has taken little time to find his flow in Philly’s offense.  A slasher with nearly unlimited range, Young can score in a variety of ways and provides Philly with the type of threat that they’ll need to compliment Bynum.  As a bonus he has shown an ability to rebound and flashes of a defensive presence that he had not displayed previously in his career.

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Following Monday’s preseason drubbing of the Boston Celtics, Sixers owner Adam Aaron made the status of Andrew Bynum’s knee a little clearer on twitter.

Aaron’s tweets on Bynum’s knee are below:

…He did not have surgery in Germany, he had injections.

…He will not have surgery next week, just a routine injection he gets every year.

…While conditioning in September Andrew Bynum got the bone bruise in his knee, which was unrelated to the procedure.

…And, if all goes to plan Andrew Bynum will join the Sixers at practice on Oct. 24^th.

This update should at least let fans give a tentative sigh of relief as there’s now a timetable for the big man’s return.  However, whether or not his knee still feels sore only 5 days from now remains to be seen.

The “routine injections” Aaron is speaking of are injections of Synvisc-One.  On the company website for Synvisc-One it explains that the drug is designed to treat Osteoarthritis, which is a very common form of arthritis pain in the knee.  In the case of Osteoarthritis, pain is caused by (in Bynum’s case) whatever cartilage is left in his knees trying to protect the ends of the bones from deteriorating and the fluid that’s in the joint losing its capability to absorb shock.

The injections are supposed to help the joint fluid with absorbing shock, and commonly can add up to six months of relief for the patient.

Sounds like good news, right?  Until you read a little bit further.

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Value is often a topic that is mentioned in both articles and comments.  There is an approximate possession value in an NBA.  Without getting into specifics like the value of a possession goes down the farther into a quarter you get or that an offensive rebound is more valuable for certain players, I will break down based on averages the offensive performance of the 76er players through 3 games.

The average NBA possession is worth 1.05 points.  Here are some other values:

 Turnovers -1.2 OREB +.985 2pt make +.95 3pt make +1.95 Miss -.7

 This doesn’t take into accounts assists, in parenthesis is each players assist total…

Maalik        +11.06 in 69 minutes (17)

SwaggyP   +9.93 in 86 minutes (6)

Holiday      +7.63 in 73 minutes (18)

Kwame      +7 in 32 minutes (1)

Thad         +4.21 in 71 minutes (4)

Lavoy        +3.54 in 83 minutes (2)

D. Wright     +3.03 in 44 minutes (4)

Hawes      +2.73 in 67 minutes (10)

Wilkins      +1.24 in 27 minutes (0)

Royal        +1.49 in 26 minutes (1)

Moultire     -.81 in 40 minutes (0)

JRich        -4.26 in 41 minutes (3)

ET            -11.33 in 89 minutes (10)

What these numbers tell you the approximate value of each player on the offensive end, while it isn’t perfect, it’s the quickest and most efficient way to figure out value without going further down the rabbit hole while sitting at the bar after a game with friends.

I know what you are thinking, “What pray tell is down the rabbit holes?”

 
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If winning mattered in the preseason, the 76ers would be off to a more than promising start; especially after demolishing the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.

But of course, exhibition basketball is strictly about evaluation, with winning being a benign afterthought.  After all, the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett (allowing Spencer Hawes, who had 17 points in 17 minutes, to look like Moses Malone).  Meanwhile, the Sixers have yet to see their new centerpiece, Andrew Bynum in action, as his knee continues to be injected (legally, of course) and recover.

Though, even with Bynum’s absence, the 7-6′s preseason performance has shown why they are in need of the big man’s service.

In the most simplistic terms, it still has been difficult for the Sixers to score in their set offense.  It’s just ugly to watch at times.  The struggle for shot creation has carried over into a brand new season as they have no dynamic offense weapons to create space and scoring opportunities for teammates.  While, they’ve continued to thrive on fast break opportunities, they continue to look sluggish in half court situations.

That’s why Bynum’s presence is beyond anticipated, as he will just make it easier for everyone, including Jrue Holiday.

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Tonight the 76ers (1-1) will hit the hardwood down at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time this pre-season as they take on the Boston Celtics in their 3^rd preseason game.  Personally, I’d like to see the Sixers bounce back from their overtime loss to the Nets and the lackluster performance against a bad Orlando team with a big W tonight.

However in the pre-season certain things are more importnat than wins and losses.  So with an eye on the start of the regular season and the eventual return of Andrew Bynum, I will be taking notes on three items with this 76ers roster tonight.  

1)  Seeing what Moultrie can do with extended mintues.

Rumor has it that rookie Arnett Moultrie (pic at left) will be getting the start tonight for the 7-6.  This makes sense especially because earlier in the day the 76ers tweeted that Kwame Brown will not be active tonight.  Also Kevin Garnett will more than likely according to Doc Rivers not play tonight, which means Moultrie should put up some big numbers and get some confidence flowing.  With only two points on Saturday against the Nets in 11 minutes of action I’d like to see Arnett get plenty of burn and be more aggressive in attacking the rim.

 
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