The Sixer Sense Season Preview: Sixers vs Southwest
By Dante Nelson
In this post, we’ll look at how the Sixers stack up vs teams in the Southwest division. The teams included are the Spurs, Mavericks, Hornets, Grizzlies, and Rockets. Let’s get to it dawg.
Spurs:
Mar. 27, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker during game against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Spurs defeated the Suns 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
Ah the Spurs. These guys have been the silent contenders. Year after year they rank among the best but for some reason they don’t get a lot of national media attention. And even with their big 3 growing older, the rest of the roster is just good enough to stretch the championship window open. This year will be more of the same.
Tim Duncan may not be the best PF in the league anymore but that doesn’t mean he’s not a threat. Manu Ginobili refuses to age. And Tony Parker is hitting his prime hard. This team is a team that I unfortunately don’t know too much about. But obviously, they are a great group of guys.
I think the Sixers can contend with the Spurs. It’s a matter of stopping Tim Duncan. Obviously Bynum will be assigned to Duncan for two reasons: One, there’s no PF on the Sixers’ roster that can size Duncan up effectively. Spencer Hawes playing PF is about as laughable as…well it’s just laughable. Lavoy Allen is tough but may be too short and just inexperienced. Of course, he did a great job on Kevin Garnett, another tall PF. So I guess Allen could work. And that brings me to point number two. Allen could just stay on very undersized Center Blair.
Turner and Holiday will have their hands full dealing with
Peter
Tony Parker and Ginobili. Manu usually comes off the bench so it really comes down to if anybody on the Sixers’ bench could do anything. And right now the starting 5 isn’t set in stone. I personally don’t know who would start at the SF and SG spots, as well as PF. Anyway, Parker has been a stud recently and is possible the best player on the Spurs.
One of the things the Sixers had trouble with a guard penetration. Parker is a guy that knows how to get into the lane. With Bynum patrolling the paint, the Sixers have a better chance of slowing Parker down. And that may be the biggest key to stopping the Spurs: Stopping the guard penetration whether it’s Manu or Parker.
Mavericks:
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE
Ah the Mavericks. They had a good off-season. Are they back to contending status? I actually think so. Some key acquisitions during the off-season includes Elton Brand, O. J. Mayo, and Chris Kamen. Oops, I forgot about Darren Collison. The Mavs losing Jason Kidd hurt but getting Collison extends their future chances since Kidd is pretty old. Kamen could be the Tyson Chandler they need. Oh dear Lord not defensively, but Kamen is a Center the Mavericks need.
Mayo is the scoring punch off the bench they need. Brand is a solid PF off the bench that can score, rebound, and defend. I miss Brand. Anyway, Dirk Nowitzki’s time is coming to a close so you know the Mavericks are trying to get in at least one more championship run out of them before they have to find another franchise player.
So the Sixers need to stop the Mavericks starting with Nowitzki, if that’s possible. They way Nowitzki shoots, it’s pretty hard to block anything. He can shoot from anywhere including 3-point range so when he’s hitting shots, he’s just about unstoppable. Other than that, keep an eye on the other players. One of the key problems the Mavs had is the lack of a guy to help Nowitzki score. With Jason Terry gone, this is definitely a problem for the Mavs.
And so I think if the Sixers’ D is on point, they should be able to hold down the Mavericks.
Grizzlies:
Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE
I just want to start off by saying I’m happy I no longer have to hear the foolishness of trading Iguodala for Rudy Gay. Just…no. Alright so the Grizzlies are a team that were doing very well until injuries settled in. While losing O. J. Mayo was a blow, the team is still in a good situation. Still a playoff team but still a way from contending.
Marc Gasol is a rising star at the Center position. Rudy Gay is Rudy Gay. Conley is doing his thing. I think the team lacks a star player. Sure Gay is a solid player but I think on a contender he’s the second best player, maybe 3rd. But hey, it’s working for them. Zach Randolph is their PF but he’s now on the wrong side of age 30 so the team may need to start thinking about finding a replacement. Again, they’re not a contender but this is a team that you have to be careful of.
They remind me of the last year Sixers. Nobody was really the top guy; it was balanced effort. So the Sixers may have a hard time being able to completely shut down the team. Rebounding is an area the Sixers need to focus on as the Grizzlies have some good rebounders on their team. Also, Sixers need to run as much as they can. I wonder if the Sixers will lead the league in taking care of the ball. That’ll give them an advantage. There’s an advantage against every team when you take care of the ball.
Hornets:
“Just look at that brow, bro.” Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
The future is bright for this team. Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis will be the core to build around for a franchise that really has been through a lot in the past couple of seasons. This NBA owned team will probably not make the playoffs but they will probably be fun to watch anyway. They also snagged Austin Rivers to play PG. I’m guessing Robin Lopez would be the starting Center.
The Sixers should be able to beat this team. I’m led to believe that Davis won’t be a superstar just yet and is slightly over-hyped. Yes I watched him in college and during the Olympics. Very athletic. And he can dunk. Yay. So the Sixers just need to stop Gordon. Of course, most of this team hasn’t been in the league for too long so there could be breakouts waiting to happen. With a coach like Monty Williams (former Sixers player), the team should be decent defensively.
Again, the Hornets should be fun to watch but will most likely miss the playoffs.
Rockets:
Oct 1, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets power shooting guard Kevin Martin (12) poses for a portrait during media day at the House of Blues. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE
So during the off-season, the Rockets stocked up on a lot of wing players as they were trying to make a push for Dwight Howard in a trade. They sort of blew up their roster to make a deal. We all know how they turned out. At this point, it’s unclear who will be on the final roster for the start of the season. And so, my preview for this team is probably going to suck.
There’s 20 people on the team roster. Twenty. At least 5 people have to go. Let’s look at who will most likely stay on the team. Jeremy Lin is an over-hyped players who is Chinese and I guess the Rockets are missing Yao Ming. Patrick Patterson is another player the team has. But, there are just so many wing players. My God. I’m looking at the roster now on the official team site. I just don’t know who they would keep or not. They really needed that trade. Kevin Martin is a scorer that doesn’t seem to have a healthy wrist, which is needed for scoring. Jesus.
There’s somebody on the roster but his date of birth isn’t listed. Weird.
I’m sure that guy is legal. So the Rockets appear to be headed into the lottery. If the Sixers lose to the Rockets…
So that’s all for the Southwest division. Keep it here at The Sixer Sense for the rest of the preview series. And hey, the season is right around the corner. Awesome.