PSP Mid-season Report Card

Welcome to the PSP Mid-season Report Card. We're about to assign letter grades to each member of the 76ers based on their first half performance. I’d like to note that I’m grading on a curve, obviously less was expected from Jodie Meeks than was expected from Evan Turner, so it will be tougher for ET to get a better grade. For me, it breaks down like this:

A: A player that is greatly outperforming their expectations, has earned new roles, and that avoids exposing any weaknesses in their game.

B: A player who is in most cases living up to, or exceeding the expectations laid out for them.

C: A player who is, as Mike Singletary so eloquently said, who we thought they were.

D: D is for disappointment, ‘nuff said.

F: F is for failure. Somebody failing to make even the most basic of contributions.

So lets get going.


A: Lou Williams. One Sixer got an A, It’s Lou and that’s it. Coming into the season Lou was supposed to be your third or fourth guard. If Jason Kapono played well in his role as starting SF at the season’s beginning, then Iguodala would have remained the starting SG and Evan Turner would have at been the third option, forcing Lou further down the line. That’s not the way it has gone down, and Lou has become the team’s most reliable scorer. In crunch time, Lou is the guy you want with the ball in his hands. Lou leads the team in FTAs, which seems like it should be impossible for a third guard to do. Lou’s ability to get to the line enables him to get points every night, even when his shot is off. Lou has come so far that he is now the Sixers’ first choice to take big shots, and Lou has actually gone from 4th guard to the closer, I’d say that’s out-performing your job title. Lou can be a real candidate for 6th man of the year if he continues with his current level of play.

B: Elton Brand. The resurgence of Elton Brand is a big reason for the success the Sixers have had this year. I briefly considering giving Brand an A for his return to relevance, but then I remembered that he makes $15 million, and that he was signed to be the savior of this franchise. So no A for Elton, but I will give credit where its due. Brand has played great this year, showing flashes of the player that made two All-Star teams. Elton is also the toughest player we have, often giving the hard fouls and often stepping in when his smaller teammates are jawing with an opponent. I’m afraid the best of Brand’s career is over, his numbers for the year look exactly like you might have expected they would when he signed with the Sixers three summers back. The problem is that his numbers this year aren’t where Brand was at his peak, and you shouldn’t expect that they would be, since at 31 he is likely on the decline. The issue is that we missed his peak due to injuries (and Eddie Jordan). When we signed Elton we overpaid, and we knew it. The Sixers figured they would get a couple of All-Star seasons where Elton would lead them to the playoffs, and they would learn to win. After those first few years, Elton would decline a bit, but the youngsters will have grown into the support he needs for the Sixers to stay competitive. None of that happened, Elton got hurt, Eddie Jordan stifled the growth of our young talent, and we missed both the playoffs and the end of Brand' most productive years.

B: Jrue Holiday. Jrue has emerged nicely in his second season, Jrue continues to get better, and has completely dodged the dreaded sophomore jinx. Teams now have to game plan for Jrue, yet he stays very productive. The only complaints are Jrue still commits too many turnovers, and Jrue tends to disappear late in games. The reason the Sixers struggle in close games is because the young guys like Jrue aren’t stepping up. When Jrue matures a bit more, and when he becomes a playmaker in late-game situations it will raise the ceiling of the team by 5-10 wins, depending on how adept Jrue becomes at late game heroics.

B: Jodie Meeks. Meeks is a guy who obviously has exceeded expectations. If you would have told us fans that Meeks would be the starter at SG and that we’d make the playoffs, I’m not sure I would have went for that one. But there he is and here we are. Meeks’ outside shooting spreads the floor and helps the rest of the team by creating space for them to operate. I considered giving Jodie an A since he has so greatly exceeded expectations, but really he is a one-dimensional player, who happens to be given minutes because his one dimension fills a void. Jodie is in the right place for his skill set, so while I think he’s done a real nice job, let’s not get carried away with what Jodie is.

C: Thaddeus Young. Thaddeus gets a high C as a compromise more than anything since I can’t remember a single game this year when I feel like Thad played at a C level. With Thad it feels like its an ‘A or B‘, or a ‘D or F’, Still Thaddeus is back to being the kind of player he was in the past, before the dark times, before Eddie Jordan. Thaddeus just needs to play more consistent basketball and to remember to lay off the long two point jump shots.

C: Andre Iguodala. Iggy gets a C due to injuries limiting his impact for much of the year. Iggy’s scoring has been down this year, but he has really ratcheted up his defensive intensity. Credit Doug Collins with getting him to be more committed to defending, Iggy also seems like he is less focused on being the primary offensive weapon. When Iguodala’s scoring is forced, and doesn’t come naturally in the flow of the game, then he often hurts the team as much as he helps it.

C: Mo Speights, Andres Nocioni, Tony Battie. These three are exactly what they’ve always been. Mo is an all-O/no-D center who often scores in bursts, but doesn’t get enough minutes to really effect the team. Although, with Hawes recent ups and downs, maybe Mo might get a shot at a starting role. I’m not judging this team on what they could be, just what they are, and Mo has been exactly what we expected (not a bad thing). Tony Battie is the opposite of Mo, he also has been what you expected, except Tony is an all-D/no-O center that doesn’t get enough minutes to change any opinions. Nocioni has been a pesky defender, a quiet, yet effective rebounder, and a sometimes shooter. Andres has gotten a lot more minutes than Battie or Mo, and even a bunch of starts, but ultimately he is, like Mo and Battie, exactly the player he always has been.

D: Evan Turner. First, the good. Evan Turner has shown himself to be a very nice defender, ET has played his way into the late game line-up as a defensive stopper. ET also has shown flashes of being a great rebounder for a shooting guard. Now the bad. ET has made NO impact on the offensive end to speak of. Turner appears tentative when he has the ball in the half court, and is sometimes ignored by his teammates despite being open. Turner is shooting under 40% for the season, and has been a pretty big disappointment overall. ET was supposed to come in, learn on the job, be an answer to the team’s search for consistent scoring, and maybe get into the discussion for ROTY. Turner is nowhere near the discussion for ROTY. Obviously Blake Griffin is the ROTY, and John Wall is the distant runner-up, but I can’t imagine that ET would register a single top ten vote for ROTY if the ballots were cast today.

D: Spencer Hawes. Talk about a disappointment. Anytime you trade away a chronic disappointment like Sam Dalembert and feel like you got ripped off, you know something is wrong. Hawes is averaging a pathetic 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Hawes had a nice run where he looked to be over his preseason health woes and seemed to be settling into a groove, but that streak ended fairly quickly, and at this point I’m convinced Spencer is about to get bounced from the starting lineup. Hawes doesn’t score, is only okay at getting rebounds, doesn’t defend all that well, and he can’t shoot free throws. He has a decent mid-range game for a big man, but that isn’t what this team needs.

F: Jason Kapono. From opening day starter, to 13 minutes played in the last 2 months combined despite perfect health. I think that’s what the kids would call an EPIC FAIL.

F: Darius Songaila. Hasn’t done anything, I hoped for something. Also, could have at least gotten into the game when Collins rolled out a lineup featuring Nocioni, Kapono, and Hawes. I guess four honkies just wasn’t meant to be.

N/A: Craig Brackins: This rookie project, who hangs around between Philly and the D-league is going to get a pass this time around. I haven't gotten a fair chance to grade the youngster who hopefully can contribute in the future.