ELTON WHO?
The Sixers handled Amare, Shaq and the Phoenix Suns last night 108-91…and all of a sudden Philly finds themselves two games over .500 and playing some of their best basketball of the season. Rookie Mareese Speights scored a career high 24 points (on 11 of 16 shooting), Thaddeus Young added 25 and Andre Iguodala had 22 points in the win.
I scoffed originally at the notion that the Sixers would be a better team without Elton Brand, but as the team keeps getting better and better it’s easy to see that they are getting back to the running style that got them to the playoffs last season and away from the slower half-court style they had to play with Brand. Will their improved play translate to a long playoff run? Probably not, but GM Ed Stefanski has some big decisions to make in the coming months.
With the team playing as well as they are…do you still trade Andre Miller? You could probably bring in some good young talent and a draft pick or two if you move him, but if the team has a shot at up-ending the Celtics or Cavs in the East (unlikely) do you keep him and risk not being able to re-sign him?
In my mind, as long as you keep that young core of Iggy, Thad, Lou, and Mareese together the Sixers should be competitive and fun to watch for years to come.
MOCK DRAFT!
I’m not gonna lie…I LOVE the NFL offseason. The drama of free agency, the draft, and the always present trade rumors; it’s enough to give a football fan goosebumps! In Todd McShay’s latest mock draft (you’ll need ESPN Insider to see the whole thing) McShay has the Eagles taking Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew at #21 and Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno at #28. Pettigrew and Moreno would be a couple of great additions to our offense, but I don’t think that will be how the situation plays out.
For one thing, Pettigrew has some character issues in his past (he was charged with felony assault and battery of a police officer in February of 2008 before pleading to a lesser charge) and the Eagles usually steer clear of guys like that. I have no problem with taking either Moreno or or Pitt RB LeSean McCoy with one of our first rounders but we need an offensive tackle with the other first rounder. A guy like Michael Oher out of Ole Miss would sure up the left tackle position for years to come, and even if we don’t get him this is a very deep offensive tackle draft. Considering we realistically might need 2 new starters, picking up at least one young guy through the draft will be a high priority.
My Dream? Boldin in Midnight Green…
Cardinals star reciever Anquan Boldin has made it abundantly clear he has no desire whatsoever to return to Arizona. John Clayton was on NFL Live earlier today and listed the Eagles and the Giants as the two teams most likely to acquire Boldin. All I have to say is…DO IT NOW! Clayton said the asking price could be a first and a third round pick, which would be more than fair for one of the top wideouts in the game today.
Can you imagine how good the offense would be with Boldin lined up opposite Desean Jackson, with Curtis working the middle of the field? Can you say Super Bowl good? A move like this would go a long way towards making Donovan happy, and we all know how good McNabb played when he had another #81 to throw to…
