Oh yes, for those ten people who won't be watching Game One of the World Series tonight, the Philadelphia 76ers start off their 2009-10 regular season down in Orlando, where they'll be taking on the defending Eastern Conference champion Magic. While the Sixers are sporting some sweet new (old) uniforms, they still have some questions about their team.
Can Elton Brand fit in with this offense?
The running style of the Sixers certainly doesn't mesh that well with the style of play that Brand has, and while he is a good player, the eyes of Philadelphia are going to be on him this year. He has to show that he can stay healthy and play with this young team. If he doesn't do that, then signing him might go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Philadelphia free agent history. He has to show more than last year. It shouldn't take much, but if he doesn't mesh, then it's a big, expensive problem.
Can Jrue Holiday not be mentioned with the words "raw" and "potential?"
Look, Holiday is a talented kid. The Sixers wouldn't have taken him with the 17th pick in the draft if he wasn't. That being said, he is only 19 years old and is coming from a system at UCLA that is worlds apart from what the Sixers run. It should be interesting to see if he can fit into the system in Philadelphia and what the results can be. I'm not expecting much out of him at the start of the year, but I need to at least see something by the time this season is coming to a close. Everyone is going to want to know what kind of player they have with Holiday.
Can the young guns on this team continue to improve?
Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights and Lou Williams are all going to be called upon to be big contributors this season. While Young has shown that he can be a solid player at the small forward position, Williams is going to be the full time starter at point guard for the first time in his career, and Speights is going to be logging some serious minutes off the bench. Williams is going to have to show that he can at least effectively replace Andre Miller at the point and be the leader in the backcourt for the offense. Things are going to run through him, and while Eddie Jordan's offense is still a bit of a work in progress, Williams is going to have to pick it up fairly quickly. As for Speights, he's going to be a big time bench player this year. With questions surrounding Samuel Dalembert's status with the Sixers (with his $12+ million contract, he's not going anywhere), Speights will have to show that he can fill in when he needs to.
Can Andre Iguodala become the superstar this team needs?
Let's be honest: the Sixers haven't had a true superstar player since Allen Iverson was traded to Denver. Andre Iguodala has tried to fill that void, but hasn't quite gotten there yet. While Iverson could put the Sixers on his back and take them to where he wanted them to go, Iguodala is having trouble getting over that hump. His stats aren't bad, and he's athletic as hell, but there's something missing in him that has been keeping him from reaching that next level. The Sixers need that All Star, that guiding player that can take them as far as he can go. Elton Brand hasn't proven a thing yet, and the rest of this team is so young, half of them could still be in college. It's up to Iguodala to be the glue that holds these guys together. He's going to have to be the one that tells this team where to go, what to do and how to win. If can he can that, then this team might have some success this year and in the coming years. I'm not saying that they're going to catch Cleveland, Boston or Orlando this year, because let's be honest...they're not. This is a young team that, if things go the way that they need to, can surprise some people. If things go wrong, though, it could be a long, long season. All that matters now is that it starts tonight.
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