IconOn the very first play of Philadelphia’s 93-88 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Nets, Andre Iguodala received a pass off a screen on the right wing, drew the New Jersey perimeter defense to him, and found Willie Green on the left elbow for an uncontested jumper.

Easy.

Iguodala had several other first quarter highlights, as he played outstanding defense on Richard Jefferson, hit a fade away jumper from the right post, and shimmied past Jefferson for a semi-contested jumper from the right elbow.

It was a promising start, but it didn't last.

The New Jersey defense tightened up, the Nets started hitting their jumpers, and Philadelphia went into the tank.

For the rest of the evening, Iguodala struggled against Jefferson, who finished with 22 points on 9-18 shooting. Iguodala also got himself into foul trouble, had trouble finding his shot in the second quarter, and disappeared on the boards.

Iguodala had a number of glaring turnovers—one in transition on a miscommunication with Lou Williams, another on drive to the middle that was poked away by Jefferson. Twice he tried to force unsuccessful lob passes to Samuel Dalembert.

Richard Jefferson is one of the more underrated defenders in the league, and the Nets did a great job of switching, rotating, and clogging the lane. That said, if the Sixers want to steal wins, they’ll need more from Iguodala than the rather pedestrian 6-10 FG, 3-5 FT, 16 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 REB, 4 TO, 5 PF he delivered.

Most of the Sixer offense relied on players curling off screens to the wing, where they'd receive the ball and read another screen. Aggressive play by the New Jersey big men neutralized these wing screens, and timely rotations blanketed the Sixers' perimeter players.

As a result, Philly’s half-court offense bogged down, and most of their points were scored on Dalembert put-backs, Andre Miller jumpers, or transition layups.

On defense, Philly went under or switched off every wing screen in an attempt to negate penetration. Many times, though, the Sixer defenders would be strung out by the screens, allowing New Jersey ball-handlers to penetrate or take open jump shots.

The Sixer defensive rotations were usually late, with Miller, Lou Williams, and Reggie Evans being the main offenders. Fortunately for Philly, Jason Kidd was the only Net who consistently hit open looks.

Miller (6-16 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 12 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 TO, 2 STL, 5 PF) made some brilliant passes and hit a handful of midrange jumpers to keep the game close in the second half. But he couldn’t penetrate on screen/rolls, forced a few drives into traffic, and was defensively deficient in every way.

Getting hung up on screens, turning his head, losing track of Jason Kidd, over-rotating into the paint and failing to close out on the perimeter—you name it, Miller didn’t do it right.

Samuel Dalembert was active around both baskets, recording three offensive and six defensive boards. He also swatted away four shots, and altered countless others.

It should be noted that Dalembert was much more effective stopping post-ups and defenders attacking from a standstill. Guard penetrations gave him trouble.

On offense, Dalembert was active enough to draw fouls, but not refined enough to make New Jersey pay. He was 2-8 from the field and 9-14 from the stripe.

Reggie Evans (2 PTS, 11 REB) was wild and reckless. He attacked every rebound and bodied up on defense, but his rotations were habitually late, and he followed the ball more than he followed his assignments.

At best, Evans is a sub to be used as a bowling ball off the bench. As a starter, he and Dalembert combine to form the most punchless front court in the league.

Willie Green (3-11 6 PTS) was generally ineffective in the halfcourt and missed a fair share of layups.

Kyle Korver missed most of his catch-and-shoots, winding up with a 3-9 tally. He was 2-4 from beyond the arc. Surprisingly, he also found his way under 11 rebounds—a total he’ll be hard-pressed to match.

Lou Williams (6-9 FG 13 PTS) overhanded, was chumped on defense, was well short on his threes, missed a layup, traveled once, and couldn’t run a set. He did, however, get to the basket with consistency.

When the Sixer offense stalls, Williams could prove himself to be a dangerous player off the bench—for the Sixers and their opponents.

Rodney Carney (4-10 FG 0-4 3FG) hit a couple of baseline jumpers and was able to knock down some tough runners. He forced a number of threes, most of which were well off.

Jason Smith’s first play in the game was getting thrown to the floor on a rebound by Jamaal Magloire. Welcome to the NBA, Jason!

Smith (2-5 FG 1-2 FT 2 REB 5 PTS) showed a soft touch from 20 feet, but was timid on a layup attempt that drew a foul and was overpowered by Magloire in the post on one possession.

To his credit, Smith did cut in front of Magloire on a dive cut, and also drew another loose ball foul on Magloire on the aforementioned takedown.

Calvin Booth (4 MIN 2 STL 1 AST) showed good hands on defense and made a couple of nice passes in limited minutes.

With their current roster, the Sixers' best chance at scoring points will be in transition. Too bad only Dalembert’s shot blocking and Iguodala’s pressure are capable of generating the blocks and steals needed to fuel a running game.

Miller and Iguodala are more than capable of handling a halfcourt offense, but with klutzes like Dalembert and Evans in the starting lineup, defenses will be playing five-on-three.

Evans is best suited as a backup, but who can start in his place? Calvin Booth is relatively useless. Jason Smith is soft. Rodney Carney would force AI to the 4.

With no obvious answers, Philly will need brilliance from Iguodala and effective outside shooting if they want to compete this year.

Anything less and the popping sounds of ping-pong balls will ring through the streets of Philadelphia.