76ers 2012-13 Season Preview

Head Coach, Doug Collins assembling his troops.

    
        After their most successful season in nine years, the 76ers responded by shipping out five of their top nine players from a season ago and decided that they were going to be a very different type of team. Head coach Doug Collins clearly did not seem too excited about the Sixers' roster following their second-round loss  in game 7 to the Boston Celtics, as he told Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, "We felt that team had reached its peak. We knew we were going to have to make changes."

        Collins had a right to feel that way, and here's why: Last year, the Sixers ranked 17th in the league in offensive efficiency, had eight players who averaged at least eight points per game but nobody averaged more than 15 points per game, and they also had the worst free-throw rate in the league. Collins had an everybody-take-turns offense in his first two years in Philly, which limited mistakes (the Sixers have had the lowest turnover rate in the league both years) and, with excellent team defense (No. 8 in defensive efficiency two years ago, No. 3 last year) they produced consecutive playoff appearances. However, this type of offense also produced a confusion as to who would have the ball in clutch situations at the end of games last season. Whether it was Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday or Andre Iguodala, the Sixers didn't perform well in close games and struggled at the end of those games. Their consecutive playoff appearances only amounted to being heavy first-round underdogs to established powers (the Miami Heat in '11, the Chicago Bulls in '12) who, if not for serious injuries to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, would both have likely been out-in-five type series.

        So rather than be content with their second-round run, Collins allowed sixth man Lou Williams and 3-point specialist Jodie Meeks to leave in free agency, and used the collective bargaining agreement's amnesty provision to get rid of veteran Elton Brand and his hefty contract. The Sixers then signed Nick Young and Dorell Wright, and went on to sign Kwame Brown to play center alongside your new power forward, Spencer Hawes. That was the plan until they made their big-time move of the decade when they shipped out All-Star Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic and their 2012 first-round draft pick, Moe Harkless to acquire center Andrew Bynum, and shooting guard Jason Richardson.

        The Sixers lineup looks like it will be Holiday-Richardson-Turner-Hawes-Bynum.The perceived thought is that Hawes and Bynum will play with each other a good amount, as they compliment each other well in the half-court offense. However, Thaddeus Young has bulked up, and gained 19lbs in an effort to crack the starting lineup. He'll help the team in their transition offense and defense with his mismatch in speed and quickness with other power forwards. It looked as if Young and Lavoy Allen were planned to work well together off the bench, but we'll see how far Young's dedication takes him.

        With that being said, the Sixers now have a definition on offense, they're going to work inside-out, dishing the ball to Bynum down low as much as possible, and see if they can't use Hawes to do his best Pau Gasol impression. Bynum will be the go-to guy in their offense, and they're going to look to take advantage of teams double-teaming Bynum, which should create openings for penetration by point guard Jrue Holiday or clean looks for shooters like Holiday (38 3PT% last year), Jason Richardson (36.8%), and new players Nick Young (36.5%) and Dorell Wright (36%). Collins has emphasized more 3 pointers in transition, and the Sixers have shown a lot of the sort in this preseason. They're also hoping the extra post attention that Bynum attracts will clear space for the new starting small forward Evan Turner to operate. Turner will be key in the offensive game and the team hopes that after two largely underwhelming seasons in the NBA, he can reclaim the play-making form that made him the National Player of the Year at Ohio State. Turner will also be counted on to take over the defensive responsibilities of the departed Andre Iguodala. Iguodala played lock-down defense on the opposing team's best wing player, and Turner will look to continue that tradition, and should have an easier time with the defensive help down-low in Bynum.

        They'll miss Williams' immediate scoring impact as the sixth man, but they should get most of that scoring production back from the combination of Dorell Wright and Nick Young. They'll miss Iguodala's great all-around game, however they should still be good defensively with Turner and Holiday locking down the perimeter and Bynum backing them up as a very legitimate defensive big man. And the offensive production their likely to have thanks to their first real low-post threat since Moses Malone, should make up for any defensive drop-off. Doug Collins is one of the best in the business, and he will do his best to coach this team of tweeners (at every single position, somehow) to their third straight playoff appearance, but this time as a legitimate threat in the East.

Projected record: 52-30

C Andrew Bynum, doing his best Dr. J impression with the 'fro.