State of the Union: Talking Sixers Basketball with Michael Levin

Michael Levin is a 76ers writer for the excellent Liberty Ballers, part of the SB Nation network. Needing a fresh perspective on the Sixers heading into this year's all-star break, we caught up with Mike to recap the first half of the season, and to discuss where the team is going from here. Mike supports Jrue and Evan as the team's future, gives Coach Collins his seal of approval (for the moment), and wishes the team would listen to Charles Barkley's plea for losses. Here's how it went down:

700: So what onething above all else do you think is the biggest reason for the Sixers'recent run of success?

ML: Ithink you gotta look at the defense. They've beentightening up all over, getting into passing lanes and forcing bad shots. When they startletting the other team get into the lane at will and open upspot-shooters, they aren't gonna be anybody.

It doesn't hurt thatElton and Andre are clicking more than they have in the past three years. But Ithink defense is the biggest thing right now. And Collins is wettinghimself about that.

And is the improvement in that due to Collins, you think? Or justimprovement and gained experience from the young guys?

Collins. You have to realize he's the fourthcoach in four years, and easily the most proven. So he's got therespect of everybody because of where he's been...they're buying intohis system. They've easily been playing the best teamdefense since the Iverson/Mutombo years, and the best part is thatJrue still hasn't been playing as good as he can. He's made hugeimprovements from last year, but defensively there's a ton more he can provide.

Itseems like he kinda comes and goes on the defensive end this year.

Forsure. But he's just 20, so I'm not remotelyworried. And when you consider there is nocenter on the team, you have to give Doug a lot of credit [for the improved defense].

Are you worried about Jrue'sdevelopment with Collins taking him off the ball and putting 'Dre moreat point-forward these last few weeks?

Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to seethe Sixers winning games, even if it's just for a few weeks ofoverachieving. But the most important part of thisseason was seeing how Jrue and Evan play together. Jrue's beendownright spectacular at points this season, and Evan's been gettingbetter and better and should be takinga bigger role in the offense soon. His and Jrue'sdevelopment would be expedited if Andre got traded. Keeping him on theteam to win a few more games and lose in the first round isn't worthwasting a year of Evan and Jrue's time together.

The thing that upsets me about themove is that it seems to be screwing up one of the few known quantitieswe had on the team, Jrue being a relatively pure point guard on a teamfull of positionally-vague guys.

Definitely. He's a championship point guard in three years. He'll have a long,terrific prime. But if Doug keeps Andreand Elton at the faces of this team, they won't have the right piecesgelling together at the same time. Honestly, I'd tradeeveryone on the team but Evan and Jrue. None of them will beintegral pieces on a 76ers championship team and the role players areeasily replaceable. I'd even consider just playing 5-on-2basketball just to see what they can do. That's probably illegal somewhere.

So it seems like you're pretty upon Evan these days. What's he doing that's really showing you something?

He'smaking plays. If you look at his assist to turnover ratiolately, it's something like 8 to 1.

Yeah, I crunched the numbers onthat recently, it's absurd.

48assists to his last 6 turnovers [as of earlier this week]. That's unconscious. Andwhile I disagree with the notion that he's a point guard, he's certainlyable to handle the ball and make plays from the wing position. He and Jrue are goingto be spectacular together once they are running the team. Evan's getting intothe lane, rebounding and pushing the ball, and I'm confident that thejump shot will come along. He's got a greatmid-range game that's taking a little time to show itself at this level.

What do you say to people who lookat his stat lines and see 32 minutes, eight points, four rebounds andthree assists and wonder why we're not getting more out of the #2 pick?

AfterI stab them in the throat, I wipe some of their blood away and showthem his stats at OSU. As a freshman there, hetook a back seat to everybody else as well. 27 minutes, 8.5points, 4.4 boards and 2.6 assists. Look familiar? By junior year he was 20, 9 and 6 on 52% shooting.

He's not the mostdemanding person or player. It's just not hispersonality. When I met him, I could tell he was excitedbut a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. He wasletting other people dictate the new situation and going from there. But once he getscomfortable in the environment, he excels.

Yeah, he seemed fairly hesitant tostep into the role of star player right away.

Absolutely. I'm not saying I'm super pleased by what'shappening. And he's certainly done a little worse than Ithought he would. But that, I believe, ismore because of Collins than anything else. Doug saw a team thatcould win now and gave the reins to the veterans on the team. If he was intent onrebuilding, he'd start Evan and let he and Jrue run the show. But he didn't. Theoffense is run through Lou, Andre and Elton, with Jrue, Evan, and Thadpicking their spots.

So are you of the Charles Barkleymindset that the team would be much better off losing games now andrebuilding through trades and the draft?

100%. At LB we've beenscreaming for #missionBJ for months. That's where we tankand get a chance at a top pick for Harrison Barnes or Perry Jones. But because of theweak draft class and recent string of wins, most people are jumping offthe rooting for losses bandwagon. For me it reallydoesn't matter--I just don't want themruining a chance at future success to win a couple of games now. I keep getting theimage of Jamaal Magloire in a Sixers uniform in my head and I want todie--just these old ass big men who have"experience" and "know how to win" and crap like that.

Still, part of you's gotta bepretty geeked at the Sixers making a playoff push and beating the Spursand Bulls and whatnot?

Yeah,it's exciting for sure. But my goal is achampionship, and I don't see nearly enough pieces on thisteam that can even come close to contending for a title. Anywhere between 32and 46 wins is mediocrity. It doesn't matter whathappens [this season] because we've been stuck in that block since 2001. Getting the 2nd picklast year was a godsend, and it should have beentaken as "OK, we can have two pieces to a championship team, let's getanother one and we'll make a run"--the Oklahoma City method. But instead they keptAndre, took Elton off the market, and gave Lou a big role.

You've alluded to it a coupletimes already, but I know you have far more in store when it comes toyour personal feelings about Lou Williams. Tell us why it is that SweetLou so draws your ire?

Oh my. In my opinion, LouisWilliams is a boulder that got dropped right in front of Jrue Holiday'sface. He's a high-usage player that plays far toobig of a role in an offense that should be Jrue's. He makes bad decisions with the ball, plays poor off-the-ball defense, and can't stay with anybody. Just because he hits the occasionaloff-balance three doesn't make him a good basketball player. He gets to the line, and I appreciate that. But every time he touches the ball, it's out of the rhythm of the offense. He's a luxury on a good team, and despite the run, we're not a good team.

It seems like Lou's the go-to guy down the stretch for the team thisyear. Though it's maddening much of the time, I'm not exactly sure what the other options are. Optimally, what would you like to see the team do with the ball down two with fifteen seconds left?

Run a play. Any play. Pick and roll. Post up with cutters. It seems like all teams in the NBA see the clock winding down and just hand the ball to one dude and say "all you."

 

It's weird, yeah.

Why not run a play? Plays are generally more effective than dribble-dribble-chuck basketball. That's why coaches diagram plays. I've never gotten that. Have Jrue and Elton run a pick and roll with Jodie on the wing and Andre cutting. Nothing too difficult, just keep your options open.

So if the goal is to work with the young guys, and Collins is forever reliant on his veterans, does that mean that even with the dramatic improvement, he's only a short-term solution at head coach?

I'm truthfully notsure. He's a hell of a coach. Basically, the teamisn't as good as they are under Collins and they weren't as bad as theywere under Jordan--talent-wise, they're somewhere in the middle. But I think if Thorn and Stefanski decide to move Andre at the deadline (they won't) or with Brand in the offseason,Collins is a good coach to start the OKC movement with Jrue, Evan, and the nameless prospects we get from the trades and draft.

What do you think the team should do about it's big men situation? Is Spencer ready for full-time starter's minutes? Is it worth pursuing someone else on the trade market?

Hawes hasn't been nearly as bad as people have made him out to be.Statistically,he's the best defensive rebounder on the team. People get on him for looking awkward, and he's certainly not the best defender in the post, but he's a capable rebounder from the 5-spot. He's be a 12 and 10player given 36 minutes, and Brand is 16 and 9. But Idon't think he's a starter in the NBA--especially not on achampionship team. He's a nice backup because he can shoot and pass from the top of the key.

Do you consider the Hawes-Dalembert trade a step in the right direction?

Itwas a wash. I would've liked to get more for Sam,but that's the way it goes a lot of the time. We made a trade to shed some salary (even though we picked up Noce) and got a young center prospect in the process. He doesn't look like he's working out like we hoped, but he was the 10th pick a few years back and is only 22years old.

I'd have liked it a lot more ifnot for the Nocioni element, but yeah, at least it was a move to get younger.

Sure. Younger is better. I'd draft infants if we could. Directly out of preschool.

So, assuming the team doesn't adapt #missionbj and holds on to its vets like we all know they probably will, where do you see them ending up in terms of the post-season?

A lotdepends on the Melodrama. But even without him, I think the Knicks are the better team. So 7th is where I fit them in for now, which most likely means Miami, and a 4-1 series loss.

Would they have a shot in the first round against any of the top four teams [Boston, Miami, Chicago, Orlando], you think?

If wedraw Chicago, we could sneak two wins. I say they win one game against Miami and Orlando, one or two against Chicago, and Boston would sweep our asses. But they'd be mostly close games and themanagement would claim IMPROVEMENT! Then continue to be mediocre until the world explodes.

Will you root for them to get swept, just to teach Stefanski and Thorn their lesson?

A good part of me is still rooting for losses. If they make the playoffs, this will likely be the third year out of the past four that we've made the playoffs without a winning record. And that's disgusting. It isn't getting better if that's the case. It's frustrating to go through the same cycle again and again, with management spouting the same BS each year.

All right, thatshould do it on my end, anything else you wanna add?

Well, Isuppose I'd like to apologize for being so negative. I am stoked the Sixersare finally getting some love in the town. It's just tough to getexcited about another mediocre season ending in a first round loss.I still believe the only winning thatis good is the winning that comeson the backs of Jrue and Evan.

No worries, veryunderstandable. If I was emotionally strong enoughto handle the tanking process two years in a row I'd probably feel the same way.

A lot of drug use.