As the game came on I was in the bathroom for the first 2:30 of gametime.  If you ever want to know why I think Zumov is a terrible play by play guy try listening to a game from the other room and following what is happening, if you can guess the score I'll give you a lollipop.  Zumov and Snow are in full ramble mode tonight, it feels like they are talking to each other instead of talking to me, which is bad, cause this is TV.

Half way through the first and Elton Brand's legs look a little slow, either he is having trouble getting warm tonight or those worthless minutes at center are wearing on him.  On the plus side Collins called a timeout at 12-8 when Sixers were getting into a funk instead of after its 16-8 or 20-8 when the funk is already over. 

I think if I wanted to I could count all the individual fans, this is what happens when you give a city slop and call it Professional basketball.  Makes me proud to be a Philadelphian when other Philly fans don't mindlessly give a bad organization money.

I don't know which is better to watch, Meeks shooting the 3 or Iggy throwing it down.  One think is for sure without those two there is very little reason to watch.  Almost through the 1st and not a lot of energy in this game.  They're definitely playing basketball, both teams, but is this really Pro basketball, and better question yet is it really entertaining?

At the end of the first the Cavaliers' bench came on the court and the Sixers scored on them - dare I say - at will.  If you want to know how the Sixers had a 35 - 26 lead it was the complete patheticness of the Cav's bench.

From what the camera is showing there is no one on the upper concourse of the Wells fargo Center.

Evan Turner in to start the second and even the announcer was a little mad he chose to do nothing with the ball but pass it off when he was wide open to drive or shoot.

Cavs comitted to start their bench to start the 2nd, if they don't get going the Cavs are real trouble.  Spencer Hawes is rebounding at will against their subs, and Thad Young can score way to easily.

Comcast had time to pitch Elton Brand's book signing tomorrow for his children's book, awesome.

I am not sure I am believing my eyes, but I think Thad Young is playing defense tonight.  He keeps that up he may start to get real meaningful minutes where he can be a real assest as a scorer.  Of course the possibility that the Cavs have no one who can match up against him is a real possibility too.  Nothing I hate worse then a ballplayer that can only excel with the right matchup.  Antawn Jamison can't seem to slow him down even a little.

Varejao was abled to be guarded by Elton Brand who is not a real center with no negative consequence.  Not a good sign for Cavs fans.

This is clearly not the same Cavs team I saw earlier in the year.  Since they lost to the Heat the have been just lifeless and blah.

You can say you like Snow and Zumov, but for the last three minutes of the 2nd quarter they were in their own world, in their own conversation, at one point Zumov actually had to remind himself there was a game going on.  This is why they are terrible.  The conversation would have made a great pre-game show, but it makes for bad play-by-play.

Sixers winning 66-54 at the half.

Yippie, Comcast learned that the halftime interview belongs during halftime and not duriing the start of game play in the third.  I am so happy Comcast is showing a little progress.  Its not like they are a cable company or anything and TV is their business and should know better.  On the extra plus side my cigarette prevented me from having to listen to any of what Jim Lynum had to say at hallf.

There are few things about the Sixers I find as awkward as Jrue Holiday going for a dunk.

Jodie Meeks continues to make everyone on this team better by just being on the court.  It is nice to have a legitimate three point shooter as opposed to people who take three point shots.  I wish someone knew he should have been starting all year, oh wait, I did, and I don't even know basketball. 

Cleveland's coach Byron Scott looks just absolutely lifeless and lost on the sidelines, and the team's performance is reflecting that.  Not sure how they can shoot 55% and be losing 18 half way through the third.

Cavaliers fatal flaw: 5 minutes left in the 3rd down by 20 and the entire team has degraded into a bunch of chuckers.  Unfortunately the Sixers aren't good enough of a team to always capitalize on a team's fatal flaw.

89-74 end of third, scoring slowed way down in the third, had the Cavs done a better job making baskets this game would be much closer.  The Cav's as a team threw a lot of balls off the rim, threw up a lot of ugly shots.  By the end of teh quarter the Sixers had gotten a little sloppy, which is worrisome considering their 4th quarter collapses... as the Cavs open the 4th with a three.

Final Thoughts on a 117-97 win:

Evan Turner's minutes are dwindling.  This kid is not a bust, he can pass and rebound, but I am certain he would benefit from at least one 10 day stint in the D-league.  Wish the Sixers had the credibilty and intestinal fortitude to be able to send him down and convince the fan base that it is not the end of the world, same as with Craig Brackins when we sent him down.

Thad Young finishes with 26 points which is nice for him but its the 11 rebounds that are going to get him more time on the court.

Jrue Holiday had 6 assists, not a single one was a "creation" play, all just him passing to a shooter.  I'd love Jrue actually make Point Guard passes from the point and create a little more.  That would make this a dare I say it a dangerous team.

Iguodala Line  13 points 5 rebounds 7 assists by driving the lane and playing great Defense, not a scorers line, but a winning line, this is exactly what the Sixers need from him.  He may finally be accepting that he does not need to be the next "A.I." he just has to be part of a team.

Spencer hawes 10 points 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, easily the most energetic game he has played this year.  Finally a performance that doesn't make the Dalembert trade look like a bad idea.

Elton Brand has 12 points and 5 rebounds, will these will be his new "norm" numbers?  If he keeps playing back up center and Young keeps earning his minutes they might be.  I cannot stress enough how much I disapprove of Elton playing center. I hope its temporary.

Lou Williams had 19 on a not great shooting night by driving to the basket and getting to the foul line.  Its a plus when he drives, it takes some stress off of Iggy and I am a firm believer in the need to get other teams in the penalty.  Games can be won and lost from the line, but if no one is getting there they definitely can't help you.  Lou also had 4 assists that were much more closely true PG type creation passes.  Call me crazy but I think Lou plays better when he gets into a PG mentality and makes some passes.  I hated him as the early season chucker.  I'd love to see him get the start at PG for just the first 5 minutes of the game to get his groove, give Jrue time to absorb what is going on and then have Jrue come in and play his big minutes and Lou to return to his normal role.  Seems like a win win type of move that the Sixers would never make.

To my one faithful reader who loves Zumov and Snow, thank you for your support.

FRONT OFFICE ---
     Its apparent that Rod Thorn has changed nothing.  This is still the same collection of good ole boys, company men toeing the company lines, still the same old same old idiots making the same old same old decisions.  When you want to change an organization you can't keep the same people involved with the organization.  The front office needs to clean house because everyone is stealing money.

ANNOUNCERS --
     Its apparent that as bad as the team is the presentation on TV makes it worse.  Mark Zumov is as bad as it gets in a play by play man.  He never tells you who is on the court for either team at any position.  He also does not believe in actually calling the game, instead he just talks and rambles on oblivious to the action making it harder to get into the game.  Eric Snow was terrible at his job as color man.  They replaced him with Ed Stefanski for a couple of games and now its Jim Lynum.  Seriously Jim Lynum?  A guy who talks with marbles in his mouth?  And Dei Lynum needs to go too.  Zumov and both Lynums are just brutal punishment in addition to actually having to watch the Sixers.  Listen to the game on TV, the awkward pauses are so often they are no longer awkward.  As my brother said, "Its not awkward silence, its awkward talking."  And it is equally brutal how everybody at comcast has to paint a happy face on everything.  I actually heard Jim Lynum say Jrue Holiday was as good a three pointer shooter as there is in the league.  I don't think so.  If they can't fix this team they need to fix the announcers, get a real play by play man who will say who is on the court and describe the action on the court.  And get a color analyst that you can actually hear and listen to.  Eric Snow was terrible, and Jim Lynum is better then Snow and is still terrible.  If you watch a broadcast on TV not only do you want to change the channel you want to never go watch this team in person again.  That is not how to sell ads, that is not how to sell tickets.  It is abject failure.

THE COACH  DOUG COLLINS
    Gotta give this guy an F a total and complete F.  Did he really need a Sixers golden parachute to enter into retirement with?  This guy has been labeled a teacher, Bullplop.  What I see is a guy who is teaching these kids its ok to lose, giving a good effort is good enough.  At the Pro level its the wrong message in all ways.  As far as coaching goes I have yet to see a Pick and Roll executed by a Sixers offense this season.  It is a basic play that everyone uses and we can't run, why is that?  Other teams go on huge runs on us and Doug never calls a timeout to break the momentum, never.  I have seen more 12-0 16-3 15-2 runs against the Sixers this year then I can ever remember, and Collins just sits there.  Someone needs to tell him you don't need to wait till the run is over to call the timeout.  And don't even get me started on the set plays out of timeouts.  I actually saw a set play with 2 seconds to shoot call for a 3 pointer by a center, yeah exactly, that kind of bad.
     But to really determine the measure of a coach you have to look at the results on the players themselves. 

Jrue Holiday - Point Guard anointed with supreme praise before the season.  Jrue has gone completely backwards, his stats ever night are "empty" devoid of any impact on the game.  His defense is non-existant.  His assists are nothing of impact, they are just him passing someone the ball instead of actually creating anything.  His turnovers are low by way of a mirage, if you counted the turnovers by way of terrible shot selection and poor pass decisions they triple in number if not quadruple.  He was better last year when he wasn't being taught anything.

Lou Williams - point guard and shooting guard.  The Sixers are so desperate for points that Lou is a designated shooter.  That means Lou no longer plays defense and when he does it's terrible.  On offense he has devolved into a chucker.  That's right he's a chucker, he get's the ball he shoots.  There was a time when this aspiring point guard could create and pass.  He no longer even considers creating or passing he just shoots the moment he gets the ball.  Its sad to see him being ruined he should be so much better espescially with a "teacher" as a coach.

Evan Turner  --  Shooting guard and the pride of the front office, the anointed new face of the organization.  This kid is not ready, evidence missing two free throws in crunch time against the Wizards that would have put a game away.  Yet he is being forced into the lineup as a starter no less.  He can play defense, he can rebound, but he is not ready for the minutes he is getting and it is coming at the expense of other players.

Jodie Meeks  --  Shooting Guard and forgotten man.  This is the kid losing out to the dictate demanding Turner play.  This kid is far and away the more ready player and a good shooter and defender to boot.  But getting him playing time is not happening because of three guys in front of him who have all the fanfare of the front office (Williams, Holiday, Turner) three guys he could out perform if given the minutes.  But hey there aren't any posters of Jodie Meeks, and well Collins hasn't finished "teaching" him enough yet.

Jason Kapono -- Shooting Guard  and small forward that during the pre season was getting minutes and being used effectively.  The season started and Kapono looked lost.  This is a guy who came to the Sixers two years ago to shoot the 3 with one of the highest 3 percentages in the league.  Funny thing though, he can't shoot the 3 if he is on the bench.  15 games in and clearly he is getting less time then last year.  Its time to cut your losses or cut him.  Trade him for cash, release him, whatever you want, but his meer prescence is a negative in the lockerroom.  There is no way he is happy no way he can just sit there miserably and make 7 million dollars not to play and it not effect your team.  Collins was supposed to be able to integrate him into this team, Collins failed, in fact Kapono is a black eye on the whole organization, the faster he leaves the faster everyone will forget we paid him 15  million to sit the bench for two years.

Andre Iguodala  --  Shooting Guard and Small Forward face of the franchise and International team, team-player.  Collins needed to teach this guy one thing, that is that he is not an outside jump shooter.  All he needed was to teach him not to take a shot from outside the foul line, that was it.  Iggy's value comes by playing high quality Defense and from driving the basket and getting easy buckets, whether its a pull up jumper or spectacular dunk and most importantly getting to the foul line and getting the other team in the penalty.  Because only half the team is playing defense at any one time  his defense is wasted.  This team is so bad offensively he is allowed to shoot from anywhere and if we aren't careful he will turn into another chucker.  Collins has failed miserably with a really polished player who is picking up a lot of bad habits playing with this really badly run team by what is looking like maybe a really bad coach.

Thaddeus Young -- Small forward or Power forward, depends on the day of the week.  This is a kid who Collins should have been able to mold into soomething, instead he is doing what others have done before and that is play him at both positions and let him just shoot.  The effect is he too is turning into nothing but a chucker who never plays defense.  The decision needs to be made that Thad is a small forward, he has neither the bulk or the rebounding abilty to be a power forward in this league PERIOD.  A good coach would explain that to him and force him to learn how to be a small forward and defend the position, Collins has failed miserably, yet again.

Andres Nocioni  --  Small forward or power forward, hey sometimes even a shooting guard, he just kind of plays whereever.  Nocioni is one of the few true "Pros" on this team, the problem with him is that he actually pays attention to the defensive sets they are trying to run, one of the few, its hard to play team defense effectively when three players on the court are just doing whatever.  If you watch the games you like the fact that Andres actually is trying to win, he isn't out there trying to learn, he isn't taking any moral victory from good efforts.  If this guy doesn't demand a trade by mid-season I would be shocked, he is already at wits end with all the young kids who aren't learning what isn't being taught.  Another failing of Collins will be losing the support of this quality veteran player.

Darius Saignala  --  He's a forward the few times he is allowed on the court.  From the little I have seen of him he looks like he could be a valuable contributor off the bench for a good team.  A great guy for spelling players and giving you a few quality minutes a night.  Which is exactly why he isn't playing.  Nothing says we are tanking the season more then not playing a guy who can help.  Another failure for Collins.

Maurice Speights --  Power forward and Center one of the classic young kids with potential that litters this team's lineup.  When he is motivated and aggresive he can be an effective rebounder and minor scorer.  Problem is he does everything as a singular player, there is no team to anything he does.  He doesn't play team defense or team offense he is just out there doing his thing.  I credit Collins for getting him to play hard because he didn't early, but a "teacher" needs to be able to teach more then just the need to hussle and he hasn't, yet another failure.

Elton Brand --  Power Forward and oh no a Center.  Elton can't play center, Elton doesn't want to play center, and there are far too many times when Collins puts him out there as the Center in classic four guard one undersized center sets.  A true recipe for failure.  The only thing that is accomplished with Elton at Center is tiring him out.  He needs to play Power Forward only and for only 25 - 35 minutes a night, Collins can't even figure out that and that is easy.

Centers, Collins openly admits the centers are killing this team, the combo of Hawes, Speights, and Battie.  Battie is his only real pro and he can only play 10 minutes.  Hawes is starting to play half-decent, but Collins for the first time tonight against the Raptors gave the rookie Craig Brackins some playing time albeit at Power forward mostly.  Brackins in one game showed more understanding of basketball and better skill then the quite a few of the big men, this didn't just happen.  So way to keep another player that could help inactive and on the bench for 14 games.

These Sixers have talent, what they lack is leadership.  They have enough quality bodies that in no way they should be 3-12.  That this is acceptable is pathetic as an organization.  There are games being played with this lineup by Collins and the front office that do not directly reflect who should or should not be on the court to try and win ballgames.  The end result is the sloppiest of basketball, played by a team with no concept of team defense, who believe that they can get enough offense by just running and being a group of chuckers.  As a head coach there is no reason for this to be the case, this is a more complete cast then the Heat and the heat can still manage to win games.  Like I said its a bunch of same old same old top to bottom, ugly from start to finish.  The house needs to be cleaned and no one has a broom.  Just a lot of old white guys in the offices of the Sixers stealing the money they have always stole, putting out a product that has been terrible, is terrible and will always be terrible unless someone decides to change the culture.  The East is a weak Conference and this team could easily be a 6th seed, that is if they weren't so clearly playing just to get a chance at a good draft pick.  I am embaressed that they call this basketball.  What is the worst thing of all, is that I know almost nothing about basketball, and even still this is self evident, how can Doug Collins and Rod Thorn know basketball and not see?  Oh yeah that is right, they can see it they are just tanking the season.  You do Philadelphia a diservice to buy a ticket to this mess, it is only by ignoring the team and staying away that anything will be better.

In short if this continues the fans of the Sixers should start a boycot of all things Sixers because this is just not right.