The Philadelphia 76ers
**The 76ers acquire Nando De Colo and PJ Tucker from the waiver wire as a one-time pickup because their GM bailed on the draft and someone had to add two more guys**
PG: Ty Lawson, Isiah Thomas, Nando De Colo
SG: Arron Afflalo, Shannon Brown
SF:Jared Dudley, Evan Turner, PJ Tucker
PF: Brandon Bass, Al Harrington, Jason Thompson
C: Nikola Pekovic, Marcus Camby
Rotation: Player (mins at position)
PG: Ty Lawson (34), Isiah Thomas (14)
SG: Arron Affalo (33), Nando De Colo (15)
SF: Jared Dudley (33), Evan Turner (15)
PF: Brandon Bass (31), Al Harrington (17)
C: Nikola Pekovic (31), Marcus Camby (17)
Deep Bench: PJ Tucker, Jason Thompson, Shannon Brown
Starters Offensive Strategy: Ty Lawson initiates everything in the first unit, which he's more than capable of doing as maybe the most underrated point guard in the NBA today. He's an extremely craft and gifted playmaker and is very capable of getting just about anywhere he wants on the floor, whether in isolation or in a pick-and-roll setting.
This works well, because Lawson has two guys in the front line who are fantastic pick and roll players. Brandon Bass and particularly Nikola Pekovic are both extremely talented as the pick and roll man, and the offense will center around a drive-and-dish philosophy. Jared Dudley and Arron Affalo will wait on the wings for kick-outs while Lawson gets into the paint and makes the decisions.
Starters Defensive Strategy: Defensively the team is solid, but likely not strong, at least among its starters. Pekovic is a bruiser who will not shy away from a hard foul, but he's also just not that great a defender yet. Bass was underrated in Boston last season as a defender, but that's with what I like to call the 'KG Bump'. I think the defense though is a solid rebounding unit and tough all-around, especially on the perimeter, so I think they should at least be average.
Bench Guards: The gameplan is to play Lawson big minutes, but when he's out micro-wave extraordinaire 'Lil' Isiah Thomas comes in to start showing people that its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the bite in the fog that matters here. And Thomas, well he'll be biting fog. Nando De Colo will be next to him on the perimeter. De Colo is a perfect fit next to Zeke Junior, because De Colo lacks the quickness to guard other point guards, and Thomas lacks the playmaking skills to be an effective floor general. They're like Tango and Cash up in here, and neither will likely see the floor without the other one out there too.
Bench Forwards: Jared Dudley is a glue guy, a good shooter, a tough defender, and a tough rebounder. A leader of men, and tweeter of jokes. But behind him is a versatile guy who showed both extreme promise and extreme ineptitude last season, and both had very startling results. Evan Turner should be able to run with the second unit, and should make them better both offensively with his smooth handle and passing skills, and defensively with his length and athleticism. Al Harrington is old hat at this by now and knows how to handle 20 minutes of prime time off the bench as well as anyone, and PJ Tucker will be a darkhorse for kicking ass and taking names.
Bench Centers: Marcus Camby heads up the defense on the second unit, and should keep them running hard and fast with his steady rebounding and help defense.
Conclusion: I think the first unit is a very well organized unit that fits together well and has well-defined and manageable roles that play to their strengths, and I think the second unit is full of matchup problems and versatile, multi-tooled players who can make a difference. This team might not bet a playoff team, but its not going to be the worst team in the East by any stretch either. Very similar to the actual Denver Nuggets.
Topic: 2012 CB Draft Atlantic Division Press Conferences (Read 57066 times)