Houshphandzadeh wrote:also, is him not wanting to play with an old crippled asshole and a coach who doesn't favor the inside game for a team that isn't going to win anything even though he's not under contract supposed to be evidence of him being a jerk?

if so, I missed you guys co-signing on PTKs idea that Bynum should re-sign here for the minimum because he owes the fans

Barry Jive wrote:to Housh's follow-up, re: Bynum and our willingness to take a chance on him

Hinkie has changed things. He's been completely non-committal with regard to Bynum, and given that the team has a better idea of his medical outlook than anyone else possibly could, the fact that they seem to be organizationally moving away from Bynum says a lot. He's gone, no questions asked, and I'll rain down laughter on the team that gives him more than a year, foolishly or not.

As unlikely it is that Howard would come here, it'd be a big deal worth giving a shot. But I do wonder if an advanced analysis guy like Hinkie would think twice about getting Dwight Howard when you could use your cap space more efficiently. Because while I think he'll get a max deal and that he's the kind of player who warrants the market for that kind of deal, I'm not sure he's actually good enough that his max money couldn't be better spent elsewhere.

Zeller began the season in the mix for the No. 1 pick in the draft. After an incredibly efficient freshman season, teams had high expectations for him as a sophomore. Zeller actually improved in points per game (from 15.6 to 16.5) and rebounds per game (6.6 to 8.1) and he was eighth in the NCAA in PER, but his improvements weren't big enough for scouts who began to pick apart his game.

As skilled as Zeller was in the post and as fast as he was in the open court, he struggled with long, physical bigs on the front line. He got his shot blocked way too much for a future NBA center and teams began to worry that his terrific college game wouldn't translate at the next level.

After a crushing final game versus Syracuse (Zeller had 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting), his stock slid out of the top 10 and scouts began to openly pine for him to go back to school and develop a face-the-basket game.

Zeller, however, decided to enter the draft and he has spent the past month in Santa Monica doing what scouts have asked -- he's honing his jump shot and ballhandling skills to make the leap from center to forward.

Zeller, for his part, claims that he has always had these skills. As a high school player, he regularly played on the perimeter and took 3s. He said he made three 3-pointers during one game his senior season. However, at Indiana, head coach Tom Crean wanted Zeller in the post and that's where he stayed. As a freshman he took just 27 percent of his shots outside the basket area. As a sophomore he upped it slightly to 34 percent.

What makes him think he can do it differently now?

Zeller told us at the NBA draft combine we'd be surprised by his shooting and he backed up that claim Thursday. I tracked his NBA 3-point shots and he shot 72 percent for the workout. That's terrific, especially for a 7-footer. His midrange jumper was even better. Zeller showed the ability to shoot off the bounce and with his feet set. He was especially effective in the corners, where he shot 80 percent from the field for the day.

Combine that small sample with other known qualities of Zeller -- he's the fastest big man in the draft (both laterally and in sprints), has the highest standing vertical (35.5 inches) of any player 6-foot-9 or taller in our database, great hands and a high basketball IQ -- and the question is: Did Zeller go from being overrated to underrated?

Some scouts think so. Several scouts compare him to a young Chris Bosh. A few others to LaMarcus Aldridge. They are both interesting comparisons -- rail-thin college centers who made the transition to power forward in the pros.

Zeller actually has some advantages on Bosh and Aldridge. He's taller than both. His standing and max verticals (35.5 and 37.5 inches) are both considerably higher (Bosh 30 and 33 -- Aldridge 26.5 and 34). He was much faster in his lane agility (10.82 seconds) and sprint testing (3.15 seconds) at the combine (Bosh 11.8 and 3.3 seconds -- Aldridge 12.02 and 3.43 seconds). In short, he's taller and a quicker, a more explosive athlete than either player.

Where Bosh and Aldridge beat Zeller is on wingspan (Bosh 7-foot-3.5, Aldridge 7-4.75, Zeller 6-10.75) and standing reach (Bosh 9-1, Aldridge 9-2, Zeller 8-10). But those numbers aren't nearly as important if Zeller is playing the 4. He is big enough for that position.

As far as style of play goes, both Bosh and Aldridge were allowed to play on the perimeter more in college. In fact, Bosh took 47 3-pointers during his one season at Georgia Tech.

But all three players are fluid athletes who are more comfortable on the perimeter. We didn't see that much from Zeller in college, but from what I saw at the workout, it was more than just a gimmick. He looked truly comfortable on the perimeter -- more so than he ever looked in the post in college. And he certainly has the foot speed to guard quick 4s.

If Bosh and Aldridge are legit comparisons, we have Zeller too low on our Big Board. Where he goes in the mock is another matter. He'd be a good fit in Charlotte, but sources say the Bobcats aren't one of the teams that high on him. The Kings are another possibility. But his real sweet spot looks like the Sixers at 11, the Thunder at 12 and the Mavs at 13. All three teams are great fits. I'm not sure he should last that long, but in a draft with so much parity, I expect teams to be drafting primarily for need.

PHILADELPHIA _ They were raging bulls, the 60-year-old coach from New York, the 25-year-old guard from Hampton, Va. The coach who insisted his players do everything the right way, the rebellious kid who said he had his own way.
They could not do it alone, but they had yet to find a way to do it with one another, within the framework of Brown's definition of a team.
The coach seemed in a constant, unspeakable quandary, the kid seemed lost in a maze. His talent was exceptional. All that was missing was the right showcase.
They found each other just before the NBA All-Star break. They grew closer and closer as the season wore on. By the time the playoffs started, they had melded. They were together. The 76ers were together, prepared to go where precious few people truly believed they could.
Sunday night was a culmination, an outpouring. In their second Game 7 together, Brown, Iverson and the Sixers raced past the Milwaukee Bucks at the First Union Center, 108-91, to win the Eastern Conference championship and advance to the Finals for the first time since 1982-83.
The attempt to climb the final mountain will begin Wednesday night against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center. Games 1 and 2 will be played there, with Games 3, 4 and 5 in the best-of-seven series at the First Union Center.
"I'm just so happy we're going," Brown said. "(The Lakers) are the best team. That's why you play the games. It's like David vs. Goliath. That's the way it's going to be. We've got to figure out how to slay a giant. I don't know."
Fittingly, Brown and Iverson are each going to the Finals for the first time. The difference is, Brown has been a coach for 29 years, 18 in the NBA. Iverson is in his fifth season as a pro. Just as fittingly, the two embraced before the tipoff, then again as pandemonium reigned at the final buzzer. Sometime Monday, the Lakers, their 11-0 record in the postseason, their 19-game winning streak and the imposing figures of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant will be something on which to focus. But not late Sunday night.
First, the Sixers literally leaped into one another's arms. Forward Tyrone Hill danced giddily on the press table. A portion of the mob on the court carried Iverson off on their shoulders. In the runway leading to the locker room, Brown and his wife, Shelly, shared an embrace. The fans chanted "Beat LA, beat LA ...
Brown scrawled his signature on what has to be his most statisfying season as a pro coach, milking 32 minutes from Eric Snow, playing with two fractures in his right ankle, getting an almost surreal nine minutes from late rookie addition Raja Bell, and a furious, 44-point performance from Iverson. And even as Iverson was draining 17 of 33 shots from the floor, including four three-pointers, center Dikembe Mutombo was doing precisely what he was brought here to do: 23 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks. At the same time, the ever-steady Aaron McKie was feeding the ball through forests of bodies to accumulate 13 assists.
But in the center of the storm, it was the coach and the kid. Still, in their own ways, bulls, but no longer raging at anyone or anything other than the opponents.
"You know my frustrations during the season and before," Brown said. "But I'm learning more and more about what Allen's made of. There are still some issues I don't understand completely, but I know where his heart is. Whatever else is going on, I know he cares. He has an unbelievable will; I have the same kind of will. In my career, I've had some great things happen to me, but these guys have taken me with them. I look at us, and there are just so many great stories."
These are the Sixers, with 56 victories and the No. 1 playoff seed in the East, riddled by injuries, nearly torn apart before the coach and the kid found one another. It should be, Snow suggested, a movie.
"Will Smith as Allen, Sylvester Stallone as coach," Snow yelped.
Places, everyone. The cameras are rolling.
"I understand pressure where I come from, with what I go through in everyday life," Iverson said. "I don't put pressure on myself when I'm dealing with basketball. I go on the floor with four other guys."
He knew the questions about he and the coach would be coming, so he took a pre-emptive strike.
"I heard about, `Can me and coach co-exist,' a bunch of talk," Iverson said. "All I thought about was, I had the opportunity to change everything around."
The kid led the league in scoring, became the Most Valuable Player. Brown became Coach of the Year. With everyone else riding the wave, Mutombo became the Defensive Player of the Year, McKie won the Sixth Man award.
"Coach and Allen both wanted to win," guard Kevin Ollie said. "They just didn't know how to handle each other until they realized, to win, they needed each other. Both are stubborn, but both sacrificed a little, gave a little, took a little."
There were times it seemed the coach and the kid might never find common ground.
"When it looked bad, though, it was never as bad as it appeared," said backup center Matt Geiger. "When it was good, it wasn't as good as it seemed. That's how it was for a long time, but somewhere along the road it came together. And when it did, it helped the whole team. Really, it was awesome."