Position Battles: No Answer for Sixers
Now that the Allen Iverson era is over in Philly, it’s a whole new ballgame. So far, the results have been pretty ugly.
The soap opera that was Allen Iverson and Chris Webber is over for the Philadelphia 76ers, but now the team must carve out a new identity for itself. One can’t help but wonder if the one A.I. era will soon usher in the Greg Oden era. In this week’s Position Battles, we check in the PT situation in the City of Brotherly Love.
Will Caron Butler’s heavy PT come back to haunt him in the second half? His massive minutes totals, along with those of Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, are hurting the PT of reserves like Donell Taylor and Jarvis Hayes.
We check in on this, plus offer plenty more fantasy basketball insights in this week’s Position Battles.
I’m gonna have to disagree with you on your point about Caron Butler. I do not see fatigue becoming an issue. Last year, Caron enjoyed his best numbers late in the season. Fatigue does not seem to be an issue with him, and it shouldn’t be. He is only 26 years old! The Wizards absolutely need his strong play if they want to get a high seed in the playoffs, so I do not think his playing time will be taken away by guys like Deshawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels.
In regards to your section on the Sixers, owners should not get too high on Dalembert. Sure, he is putting up stats lately, but the guy simply doesn’t know how to play, and I’m not sure how much longer Coach Mo Cheeks will tolerate it. As long as he plays though, he will put up good numbers. And though I like Willie Green, I do not think he stays in the starting spot for too long. I think he best fits as a back up combo guard because of his lack of size(6-4), and I see Carney taking back the small forward job and Iguodola moving back to SG at some point.
Hey Eric,
Butler dropped a lot of weight this season, and that could be a factor in terms of endurance later in the season. So far, it hasn’t been, and I’m not absolutely saying it will. In my column, I suggested there were mixed signals there. As for Sam, it’s foul trouble that constantly screws him, isn’t it? Green may not keep the starting gig, but I think he has much more potential fantasy value than Carney from here to the end of the season. I’m sure the Sixers want to give Carney plenty of action to assess him, but I don’t see him establishing much fantasy value this year.
Yes, part of Dalembert’s problem is foul trouble. But quite frankly he has nooo idea how to play. As a sixers fan, ive watched him play and hes shown minimal signs of development over the past 3 years. I’m not sure how much longer Cheeks puts up with it before he just moves him to the bench. By the way, check the site later tonight(or by tommorow morning at the latest) for an article about the recent trade.
He’s one of those guys with raw talent that has yet to translate that into performance. A dose of basketball IQ is what big Sam needs, I guess. But who will start in his place? Last year, Steven Hunter seemed to show some promise, but he’s been buried this season. I guess it’s all about waiting for Greg Oden to take over.
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