PhillyArena

The Sixers have released a press release stating that they have held a two hour meeting with Allen Iverson and his representatives. No contract has been signed at this time.

I have already stated my disapproval of such a move, and intend to reiterate that if it does indeed come to fruition.

Prediction: Iverson will be signed by Wednesday and tonight will be Jrue's last start. Willie will start Wednesday (possibly tonight), and Iversons first 1-2 games will be off the bench as he gets acclimated.

I very much doubt the Sixers could have pulled out last night's contest vs the Spurs, regardless of the substitution pattern made by coach Eddie Jordan. The Spurs seemed to be toying with the Sixers, and any time the Sixers got close I had full confidence in the Spurs having another run in them, usually led by Matt Bonner or Michael Finley. That being said, I was seriously disappointed with Eddie Jordan's rotations, particularly for the stretches of the game when Willie Green was playing point.

With the news coming out that the Sixers may be on the verge of bringing back Allen Iverson, the Sixers have moved to the forefront of the Philadelphia sports landscape, dominating headlines and radio airwaves alike.

If you wanted to know why the Sixers are considering such a move, there's your answer.

Perhaps this is an indication of my expectations for the Sixers, but to me this was perhaps the best loss of the year. I'd certainly put it right up there with Phoenix and Cleveland.

(It's more than a little sad that we're 14 games into the season and we're ranking the best losses).

Don't get me wrong, the first three quarters of this game were as frustrating of basketball as we've seen all year. Struggling to score against the woeful Washington Wizards that had last 8 of their last 9, playing without two starters. Getting abused on the defensive glass for the second time in three games. Our two high priced signings last year going a combined 3-19. 40 points (40!) allowed in the third quarter. Pick any of the reasons, the first three quarters were miserable. Even at half time, when the team was up by 1, I sat there wondering to myself how they can be letting such a poor (and depleted) team hang around.

Then it happened. The youngest player in the NBA took control of the game on both ends of the court.

Brian from DepressedFan and I will be hosting a weekly Sixers radio show. The typical show time will be Thursday night's at 8 PM, but this week it will occur on Monday night (8 PM Eastern). Feel free to listen live or call in. Details at SixersBeat.com.

Links: Stream | Download (mp3, 7.5 MB)

I've done some more work on the advanced stats portion of the site again.

First, boxscores now include not only the advanced stats for that game, but also the seasonal averages for the Sixers/Opponent and league averages for the year, so that you can easily compare the Sixers performance from the norms.

Second, the gamelog is now searchable. What this means is you can see the Sixers record/performance when they win/lose any number of the four factors. So, if you wanted to see the Sixers record when they win the shooting and rebounding battle you can (it's only happened twice, 2-0). You could select any combination of categories, for example seeing the sixers record when they win the shooting battle is 4-0.

I have three more features I'd like to add to the 4 factors/advanced stats:

• Sortable. I.e. sort all the games based on eFG%.
  
• Random categories. By this I mean to be able to say "give me the Sixers record when they win at least 2 of the 4 factors. Right now you would have to specify which of the two four factors they would win. I want to add the ability to say "if they win any of the 2 four factors", which is currently impossible.
  
• Allow searches based on values. Currently you can only search the 4 factors based on whether the Sixers won or lost. Eventually you'll be able to say "give me the Sixers record when their eFG% is greater than 51%".
  

Any other things features you'd like to see (both related to the advanced stats and not)? let me know.

This site has, up to this point, been a Philadelphia Sports blog, with emphasis on the 76ers and Phillies. From this point forward I'm going to cut it back and make it a 76ers only resource.

There are many reasons for doing this. First, while I'm a huge Phillies fan (and season ticket holder), I'm more plugged into the Sixers. From my work with DraftExpress to the contacts I've made at RealGM, I'm much deeper entrenched into the inner workings of the 76ers world than I am Phillies.

Second, my goal isn't to make this site a blog. My goal is to make it a resource, that also contains articles you would see on a blog. All of the development work I've been doing so far has been basketball focused, and I've only touched the surface. There's still such a vast amount of features I want to add to the Sixers section I can't even begin to start worrying about adding statistical features to the Phillies section. I'd rather do one portion well than both half you-know-what.

Finally, as I'm filling out more and more of the features on the site, I want to get back in the habit of providing daily, in-depth content in the form of articles. This goes back to the previous comment in that I would rather focus on one sport and do it well than try to spread myself thin.

You can still read some of my baseball musings over at baseball.realgm.com.

(oh, expect some college basketball commentary as well, but I'll tie that in with the Sixers in the form of draft preview).

Ran Across this the other day in Andy Martino's chat wrap:

Comment From JL:
Do you have a sense for how much the Phillies' front office relies on sabermetrics and cutting edge statistical analysis in evaluating players? A lot? A little?

Andy Martino: None. Ruben Amaro and his men are savvy in many ways, but they are not interesting in statistical analysis, sabermetrics, etc. The Phils are a very traditionally-minded organization.

It absolutely amazes me that an organization can just flat out deny any advanced stats.

I do some work with DraftExpress, and we watch a LOT of basketball. Flying overseas to take in European practices, going to tournaments across the country, camps. We sit behind our TV's watching hours of game tapes, and we talk to coaches and advanced scouts to get their feelings on a prospect. Stats cannot be the only tool you use to measure a players effectiveness.

But dismissing them altogether?

In my opinion, baseball stats are further advanced than basketball stats, and do a much better job of isolating the player and whether he was the cause of the stats displayed on the boxscore, something that I still feel we have a way to go before achieving in basketball. In my opinion, advanced stats in baseball carry even more wait than in basketball.

Besides watching baseball, Ruben Amaro has to look at stats at some level to assess a player, right? I mean, he didn't sign Raul Ibanez without bringing his batting average into the equation, right?

So if you're going to use stats at some level, doesn't it make sense to get the BEST stats? If so, you would have a very hard time convincing me that batting average, wins, and the like are the best ways to measure the productivity of a player.

It's hard for me to really complain about Ruben, because outside of Jamie Moyer, he's been a very effective General Manager during his short duration. That being said, I'd be lying if I said that the "traditionally-minded" attitude doesn't disappoint me to some degree.

I did a little maintenance on the Advanced Stats section of the site (Dean Olivers "Four Factors", along with a few others).

First, I've added oRTG and dRTG (offensive rating and defensive rating) to the advanced stats gamelog.

Second, I added the advanced stats to each boxscore. So, in the boxscore, you not only get the traditional stats for that game, but you also then get eFG%, offensive rebound %, free throw rate, turnover % and offensive rating for each team (as well as the differential).

Example:


Or you could go view a boxscore to see what I mean.

Next up: Searchable advanced stats (i.e. give me the Sixers record when they win rebounding and fg%).

According to Tom Moore, Elton Brand will remain in the starting lineup, with the reason cited being that "it's a sensitive issue".

Glad brand's still starting.. Upset that it's apparently not a basketball reason he's starting, and a personality issue. If he honestly thinks Carney in the starting lineup gives us a better chance to win than Brand, I question the direction this team's going in.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, in considering the feasibility of a Samuel Dalembert-for-Kenny Thomas swap, have discussed expanding that concept with Boston by trying to draw in the Celtics on a potential three-way deal that would land Andres Nocioni with the Celts.

Sources further stressed over the past 48 hours that this should be classified as an ongoing conversation as the teams involved decide how much they like what’s on the table.

But the full deal as it stands, if it eventually gets that far, would send Nocioni to Boston, Kenny Thomas, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine to Philadelphia and Dalembert and J.R. Giddens to Sacramen

Where can I sign? I've been ready to move on from the Dalembert era for years, as I find him one of the most frustrating athletes to watch, and this would clear the way for Speights to start when he gets back. All 3 contracts are expiring, and since Eddie Jordan is unlikely to give Holiday minutes as his age, Allen would provide some nice defensive pressure in the back court.

Added a second table of Per 40 minute production to the player stats page.

Right now it's no frills, just the Sixers salary information. In short order I plan on adding features, such as estimated draft pick cost added in each year, the total on the bottom to include the minimum amount guaranteed (i.e. all options declined/not picked up), as well as minimum # guaranteed that the sixers control (i.e. only removing what the Sixers can remove themselves, and keeping in player options for the total).

You can view player salaries either from individual player pages or from the Team Salaries Page. I'll update once more features are added.

Pedro Feliz was the only Phillies regular rotation player with an undetermined contract situation, and it looks as if they are at least willing to look at possible alternatives. They have declined Feliz's 5.5 million option for $2010, making Feliz a free agent. This does not prevent them from signing the third baseman in the free agent market if they chose to go that route.

Despite his proficiency with the glove, Feliz was equally bad at the plate. After a (relatively) hot start, Feliz ended the year as one of the least productive 3rd basemen offensively, having a .308 OBP and a measley .386 slugging percentage. There are certainly offensive upgrades available to be had, and it makes sense the Phillies would explore other options, as it's no guarantee Feliz will command $5.5 million in this market.

Todd Zolecki is reporting that relievers Brad Lidge (right elbow) and Scott Eyre (left elbow), along with outfielder Raul Ibanez (sports hernia), are all scheduled to have surgery next week.

Along with the loose bodies in the elbow Lidge will also have his right flexor evaluated, which if it requires surgery could put his being ready for spring training in jeopardy.

Eyre is a potential free agent, and his surgery could affect the Phillies interest in bringing him back.