Great Ball Player, Dreadful Coach

In light of the recent firing of Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, I'd like to share my thoughts from 2 weeks ago... when I first began to call for the rolling of Mo's head.

12/1/08

Coaches coach. Thats the bottom line. Mo Cheeks is not a coach. Not at a professional level atleast. A coach motivates and uses his assets in the best way he sees fit to win the game. It's more complicated then that but at the same time it's not. That is the primary function of a coach at a professional level. It's not as if he's trying to develop talent. These are grown men... professional ball players. They've been through the motions most of their lives. They know how to play the game. But it is painfully obvious that they don't know how to play in Mo's system. They look confused. It's more like backyard ball than professional play. Atleast when you throw down on the court around the neighborhood, you go after rebounds with the necessary aggression. This team is full of potential, but they lack guidance. What happened to the hard-nosed defense that they played last year? Where is the post game that Elton Brand was supposed to bring with him when he came to Philly? Their whole selling point to the fans is "Come Run With Us." Where's the running? These are concerns that the team needs to address if they want to compete in a very tough Eastern Confrence. Keep in mind that the reason why Allen Iverson is not with the Sixers anymore, much to the dismay of the fans, is because the organization invested hope and confidence in Mo Cheeks. With that said, the first thing I would do if I was Ed Stefanski would be to fire Mo Cheeks. I like Mo. He seems like a good guy. But he's not a good fit for this team. He was a good fit for last years team. This year, the main objective was a new direction. A new team, with new talent. I'm sorry, but being outscored 31-11 in the third quarter with the entire starting lineup on the bench and the last 5 guys on the depth chart in the game for more than half of the quarter is grounds to fire the guy who puts the lineup on the floor. Brick after brick, bad foul after bad foul. The players on the court did not deserve to be on the floor at that critical point in the game. They didn't match up with the opposing team. Chicago had the right guys on the court at the right time and they ran away with the game before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter. Sorry Mo... There's nobody to blame but you.