X’s and O’s will, I hope, be a blend of writing and basketball: two of my favorite things. It will be about the game itself. It will be about the intricacies of a win, or a loss. Or it’ll be trying to make sense of a fatal last-second mistake. X’s and O’s won’t be a blog about trade rumors and amnesty clauses and the validity of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.
If you love the smell of an empty gym, love the echo of a bouncing ball off the rafters, then you’ll probably like X’s and O’s. At least I hope you will.
This site is still a work in progress.
Hey Kate…long time admirer of your work when you covered the Sixers…to the extent that you are still following them, a question about Evan Turner – he only played 11 minutes last night in a loss to the Clippers, and it sure is beginning to seem like Doug Collins is really creating a double-standard with Turner. My sense is that Collins – because he believes that Turner has the potential to be a great player – is demanding PERFECTION from him…and if he makes a mistake (either mental or physical), he has a VERY short leash with him. In last night’s game, Turner had a very effective 2nd quarter run – 3-of-4 from the field, as well as his typical defense and rebounding. In the 2nd half, however, the Sixers were REALLY struggling to score the ball, and a move to go to a Meeks/Lou backcourt late in the 3rd quarter led to a 16-2 run for the Clips to turn a Sixers lead into a deficit. Turner got in to start the 4th quarter, lost a possession to a hustle play by Reggie Evans two minutes into the quarter (Turner won’t be the last guy to lose a hustle play to Evans) , and it was back to the bench for Turner.
Turner – 11 minutes
Meeks – 29 minutes
In a game where Turner was one of the only guys who seemed to be able to score the ball (the Meeks/Lou/Holiday troika was underwhelming), and in a game where Turner’s rebounding and perimeter defense would have helped, he played ELEVEN minutes in a one-point loss.
So…two questions:
1) based on what you know about Collins, do you believe that he is holding Turner to a higher standard that someone like Meeks – who, other than his 3-point shooting, looks to be materially inferior to Turner in just about every phase of the game (other than he ability to go into Collins’ office and ask why his minutes were declining)? Further, do you think that Turner’s “just give me minutes and I will be the star that everybody knows I can be” act (one that is probably born to an extent from his frustration of seeing a guy like Meeks get materially more minutes on the floor) rubs Collins the wrong way – leading to this power play that is playing out?
2) With NOBODY in the media asking Collins in the post-game presser why Turner only played 11 minutes when the team didn’t break 20 points in the last three quarters of the game (which seems like an obvious elephant in the room), do you think that they KNOW what Collins is trying to do with Turner, so they won’t ask the obvious question about Turner’s minutes after the game? Would there be a quid-pro-quo with people like you or Cooney where Collins would tell you something off-the-record (like his frusation with Turner), which would then make the subject off-limits in an obvious situation like after last night’s game (where Turner’s minutes were an obvious head-scratcher for us Sixers’ blog and forum dwellers)?
I would LOVE to hear your take on how Collins is handling Turner. This team is going NOWHERE without a closer…it seems like Turner has more of a chance to be that guy than somebody like Meeks…he brings SO much more to the table – particularly at crunchtime – than somebody like Meeks…yet Collins has such a short leash on the guy he seems to be choking him to death.
Love your work on the W – your piece on Margaret Court was as solid as the responses were predictable…
Best regards,
Bill McVail
Merion Station, PA
Kate:
Where have you been? Sixers fans are about to riot — those in the Evan Turner camp vs. those in the Doug Collins camp — and we need someone to quell the rebellion with some deft analysis before it’s too late.
Chris
The starting offense has been hit or miss the whole season. They remove Evan and Spencer to fix the offense?? I don’t understand, but that bench sure plays like they should be the starting five…. Evan, Lou, Iggy, Young, Hawes… just saying so.