Thoughts from the Sixers Season Opener

Andre Iguodala: while he struggled in the first half he maintained and displayed his dominance in the second half. once he got into the flow of the offense he was truly unstoppable. i don't understand why they didn't post up iggy in the paint in the first half. iggy is going to put up unbelievable numbers this season, should be fun to watch. he will be an all star this season, guranteed. you can't ask for anything more than what he brought tonight. this is his max imo, and what we will see all season long. A minus

Willie Green: way too many minutes for this guy. i understand he needs time to get his jump shot going, but this is ridiculous. we all know when he's on he's very good, but when he's off he's a ticking time bomb. he looked good in the first half but completely dissapeared in the second half. settled for way too many long range shots. willie needs to be relentless at attacking the rim and stop taking low percentage field goals. if don't stop willie, your minutes will diminish. C

Andre Miller: i don't like the 17 shot attempts that he had, but given this teams' struggles i understand completely. i just feel so bad for this dude. he does not deserve to be on this team. what a difference maker. he just understands the game so well, both in the half court and transition game. he's a joy to watch. he settled for way too many long mid range jump shots, even though he knows it is out of his range. you can't really ask for more than what he brought tonight, especially in the points category. 32 minutes last night, right on what he should play every night. B plus

Reggie Evans: i was very impressed with this guy last night until the fourth quarter. his rebounding was so stellar that i completely forgot about how bad he is on the offensive end, until the fourth quarter. late in the game when the sixers need two huge free throws he missed both, which really cost them, so his lack of offense did come back to haunt them in the end. but you just gotta love the guy. if he can bring this type of energy every game then i will change my opinion on this dude very quickly. reggie evans played 21 minutes last night, good minutes mo. This was a great night by Evans and I don't expect much more than this. A.

Samuel Dalembert: really struggled on offense last night. could not find his jump shot or get into the rhythm of the game at all. on defense, he was excellent. on defense he was as impactful as we all imagined him to be. you can tell sammy d is not at full strength, maybe not even near it, but you have to give him credit for sticking out there and giving it all he had. 25 minutes last night was right around where i expected him to play. C plus.

Kyle Korver: the player of the game imo. he was lights out all game long. also showed excellent ability in the passing game with 4 assists. we will need this kind of performance all season long to stay in a lot of games. we can't expect more than this from korver every night. excellent excellent game from the gunner. i can't imagine i'm going to say this but 32 minutes out of korver is pretty good considering how important he is to the offense. he also displayed excellent defense running rotations against that crazy toronto offense, especially against bosh. i'd like his minutes around 23-27 range but there is just no way mo can take him out of games when he's on fire. A plus.

Rodney Carney: showed some talent in the first half. he actually made me a believer that he improved his game in the first half, evident by a nice mid range stroke, getting some rebounds and joining the team in transition. in the second half, however, he got right back to what he was last season. carney just absolutely dissapears at times in games that it hurts the team. 16 minutes per game is right about where i would keep this kid. he must show he can become a larger part of the offense or mo will be forced to keep willie green playing as much as possible. shame. Unfortunitely getting 7 points per game out of Carney this year might be the best we see. B minus

Louis Williams: excellent first showing last night. had a huge transition bucket late in the game that got it close. this kid needs to play period. we cannot afford not to play him. 15 minutes last night is an insult to this kids offensive talents. i'm hoping he sees more and more playing time throughout the season. B.

Jason Smith: what a night, talk about impact. this kid enters his first game in the nba and gets 4 points, 4 boards, a block, a steal and an assist all in 15 minutes. talk about fearless. last night he displayed excellent hands around the rim AND good range in the perimeter. this kid is a stud. there is no doubt that his playing time will go up and up. smith has all the tool set in the world to be successful in the nba. his potential is through the roof, but right now, he is an excellent role player with incredible and rare nba knowledge for such a young kid. B plus.

Overall: This is exactly the type of game we will see all season long. The Sixers have a TON of character and heart that will keep them in most games this year, but in the end it will always be mental mistakes and lack of experience that kill their runs in the fourth quarter. They just don't have the talent to take a team and knock them out. The Sixers had an excellent chance to take that game over in the fourth but came up short on mental blocks that hurt them in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. What's even worse? This was probably the best game we will see out of the young Sixers, defensively and offensively. I don't expect much more out of Evans, Iguodala, Korver, Carney, Williams, and Andre Miller. Willie Green could play better but lets be real, he's no difference maker. Last nights loss was completely indicative of the type of season this will be. It will test our limits, our passion and most importantly our patience. Do you have enough to battle the storm?