Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Thomas

Sixers Sign Primoz Brezec

Mike Thomas — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:42:46 -0400

The 76ers have reached an agreement in principle to sign veteran center Primoz Brezec, according to multiple sources.

The deal is supposedly for one year at the minimum for a player with seven seasons of service in the NBA.

The 7-1 Brezec, 29, is expected to come to Philadelphia sometime next week. He is currently playing with the Slovenian National Team.

Brezec spent last season in Italy after logging time with the Indiana Pacers, the Charlotte Bobcats, the Detroit Pistons, ad the Toronto Raptors.

Thaddeus Young: Needs Big Numbers For 76ers

Mike Thomas — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:50:33 -0400

Thaddeus woke up on Thursday morning feeling no pain in his right ankle. That was a great sign for the Sixers.

Without Thaddeus the Sixers lost six out of seven games. Thaddeus returned to action against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. He scored 18 points.

In Thaddeus' second game back he scored 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Sixers won. Thaddeus went on a tear this season, at one time, late in the season, he had a seven game streak of 20 points or more.

Thaddeus scored a career high 31 points against the Chicago Bulls in the last game at the Spectrum. Thaddeus is a natural small forward at 6'8'' and 220 pounds. He stepped up in Elton Brands absence and has provided that exciting youth at the power forward position.

Most people did not expect Thaddeus to improve from last season, in which he averaged 8.2 ppg and four boards, to this season averaging 15.3 ppg and five boards.

In 20 games this season Thaddeus has scored 20 or more. This season was a big stepping stone for Thaddeus. Hopefully, he has a great playoff run and leads the Sixers to victory.

The Sixers play the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday. The Magic swept the three-game series with the Sixers. In order for the Sixers to win this playoff series this team has to step up. Thaddeus, The Andres, and role players like Lou Williams and Mo Speights will be key to the Philadelphia 76ers playoff hopes.

Sixers-Hawks: Even Without Thaddeus Young, Philly Comes Out on Top

Mike Thomas — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:52:14 -0400

The Philadelphia 76ers (38-35) defeated the Atlanta Hawks (43-32) 98-85 on Tuesday.

Thaddeus Young left the game with alittle more than two minutes left in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle.

He exited the game with six points.

Thaddeus was on a streak coming into the game, scoring 20 or more the last seven games.

Willie Green got the Sixers going in the first quarter and finished the game with 15 points. Andre Iguodala had 19 points and eight assists. Andre Miller finished the game with 18 points and 10 assists. Marreese Speights came up big in Thaddeus's absence, he scored 16 points off the bench.

The Hawks, coming off a big win over the Lakers at home, shot 44 percent from the field and six of 19 from three. They looked tired all night. Leading scorer Joe Johnson got off to a slow start and finished with only 11 points and seven assists.

Josh Smith took advantage of Thaddeus Young's absence. He went 13-15 from the floor, and 3-3 from three. He finished with 33 points.

Flip Murray, a Philly native and Shaw University graduate, finished with 19 points off the bench.

Philadelphia Seventy Sixers-Los Angeles Lakers: Iggy Wins the Game

Mike Thomas — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:20:51 -0400

Andre Iguodala stepped up big in the fourth quarter last night against the Lakers. He got the ball with under six seconds left in the game, and hit the game winning shot over Trevor Ariza. His game clincher came just after Kobe Bryant hit a two-pointer to put the Lakers up by a deuce.

Iguodala finished the game with 25 points. The Sixers now are 34-31, the Lakers now are 53-14. Thaddeus Young, who has been hot of late, finished the game with 14 points and four boards.

Lou Williams was big off the bench, putting up 18 points and six assists. Donyell Marshall played a huge part in the fourth quarter. He was 3-3 from the three point line, which sparked the Sixers to come back from a 14 point fourth quarter deficit.

The Lakers Kobe Bryant got into early foul trouble as he only had 11 points and went 5-15 from the field, off from his average of 28. He didn't get into a good rhythm at all last night. Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight boards. Lamar Odom played well, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards.

Philadelphia-Oklahoma City: Thunder Roar Past Sixers 90-74

Mike Thomas — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:00:11 -0400

The Sixers are now 30-31, dropping one game under .500 with a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-46). The Sixers got off too a slow start in this game, dishing out only three assists in the first half, which is a season low.

Thaddeus Young got the Sixers off to a good start with 10 first quarter points. He finished the game with 20 points. Andre Miller also had 20 points, but he also went 7-14 from the floor. Miller finished the game with only three assists.

Andre Iguodala did not seem to get in the flow the whole game. He only scored nine points in 43 minutes, and was 3-13 from the field. The bench for the Sixers did not provide a lot of offense either.

Lou Williams had eight points, going 3-11 from the floor. Marreese Speights also finished with eight points. The Thunder's Nenad Krstic had 20 points and eight rebounds.

Malik Rose was big off the bench as he scored a season high 14 points and seven rebounds. The Thunder outscored the Sixers 20-2 to start the second quarter. Nick Collison had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Thunder were once again without superstar Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. The Sixers turned the ball over 21 times, which turned out to be a huge factor. The Sixers 74 points were the fewest allowed by the Thunder this year.

Elton Brand To Have Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

Mike Thomas — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:58:19 -0500

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that forward Elton Brand will undergo surgery on his right shoulder, which he dislocated on December 17, 2008 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a result of the surgery, Brand will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 season.

The surgery is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Wilmington Surgery Center.

Brand’s MRI results were reviewed by team orthopedist and medical director Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health System and Dr. Craig Morgan of the Morgan-Kalman Clinic in Wilmington, DE, who concluded that the initial tear of the labrum in Brand’s right shoulder is responsible for a considerable decrease in his range of motion and stability, both of which would prevent him from being effective on the court.

Following six weeks of non-operative and conservative treatment, including two weeks of testing it on a daily basis in live action, a determination was made that in order to reduce the risk of any further damage to the shoulder, surgery would be required.

“Elton wanted to do whatever he could to get back on the court and initially elected to forgo surgery in order to help his teammates,” Stefanski said.

“He worked as hard as he could over the past six weeks to return, however the scope the injury would not allow it.”

There were high expectations coming into the season when the Sixers signed Brand. Now that he is done for the season the Sixers will look to run-and-gun their way out of the first round.

Brand signed a five-year contract with the Sixers over the summer.

Sixers-Celtics: Ray Allen and Celtics Sneak Past Sixers

Mike Thomas — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:54:12 -0500

The Kevin Garnett-less Celtics (41-9) defeated the Sixers (23-24) 100-99 on a Ray Allen three-pointer.

The Sixers led and played great the entire fourth quarter, but Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were too much down the stretch. Ray Allen finished the game with 23 points and the game winning three-pointer. Paul Pierce had 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Rajon Rondo got hot in the first quarter and finished with 20 points. Playing big in Garnett's place was Glen Davis; he had 12 and 11 rebounds, and made some big shots in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers were in the lead and fought all game, keeping it close but came out on the losing end. Andre Iguodala had 22 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Andre Miller played well in scoring 21 points and dishing out 7 assists. Sam Dalembert had 14 points. Lou Williams played well off the bench in scoring 11 points and made a huge three-point play in the fourth quarter. Reggie Evans played a very good game in providing the energy. Reggie had 8 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics had 20 turnovers to the Sixers 9.

Ray Allen, who was not chosen for the All-Star game, might just get his call after this game.

Sixers-Knicks: Philadelphia Earns Seventh Straight Victory

Mike Thomas — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:48:07 -0500

The Philadelphia 76ers (20-20) defeated the New York Knicks (15-24), improving to .500 for the first time since November. The Sixers have now won seven straight games and three straight on the road.

The victory was primarily due to the strong play from Andre Iguodala. Iguodala scored 28 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had seven assists. Andre Miller contributed as well, scoring 27 points and having eight assists. Iguodala has picked it up lately and has now scored 20 or more in 11 of 14 games.

Coming off a career high of 27 points, Thaddeus Young scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and was big down the stretch. In addition, Lou Williams was a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points.

For the Knicks, Al Harrington scored 26 points off the bench. Quentin Richardson scored 19 points and Wilson Chandler scored 17 points.

Knicks rookie and the sixth pick in the draft, Danilo Gallinari had two three-pointers, his first two NBA buckets.

Sixers forward Elton Brand could return on Monday against Dallas.

Sixers-Rockets: Philadelphia Returns Home To Beat a Hobbled Houston Team

Mike Thomas — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:20:42 -0500

The Philadelphia 76ers (14-20) returned home from a west coast road trip—in which they went 1-5—to beat to Houston Rockets(21-15).

Marreese Speights and Lou Williams had great games off the bench.

Speights had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Lou had 15 points and eight assists. They came off the bench with great sparks for the Sixers.

The Sixers were lead by their captain, Andre Iguodala, as he poured in 28 points on 12-19 shooting while Willie Green added 14 points.

Theo Ratliff provided the spark off the bench as he defended Yao Ming. Theo had three blocks and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Thaddeus Young had eight points and six rebounds, and Andre Miller had nine points and eight assists.

The Rockets saw all of their starters in double figures, leading them was Luis Scola, who had 18 points and 17 boards.

Hobbled Guard Tracy McGrady could not lead his team as usual and he scored only 14 points. Yao Ming had 14 points and six rebounds.

The Rockets have now lost three straight games and they were without guard Ron Artest, who was out with a ankle injury.

This was not a game for foul shots. The Sixers shot 19-35 and the Rockets made 23-32. The Sixers are back in action as they face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow.

Elton Brand Out for One Month

Mike Thomas — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:58:50 -0500

Sixers forward Elton Brand will miss one month due to a shoulder injury that occurred in Wednesday night's game against the Bucks.

Elton fell for a pump fake by rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and came down on his shoulder.

His absence will test the team’s depth as Mo Speights and Reggie Evans will have to step up in his place.

Brand signed a five-year, $80 million contract in the summer. He has averaged 16 points and 10 boards per game.

Philadelphia 76ers Part Ways with Maurice Cheeks

Mike Thomas — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:53:47 -0500

Philadelphia 76ers GM Ed Stefanski saw enough in last night's 88-72 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that he fired head coach Maurice Cheeks.

The Sixers have started off 9-14 and lost eight out of their last 10 games. Cheeks' contract was guaranteed through next season, but Stefanski said he felt the team needs a new direction. Tony Dileo will be the interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Sixers-Celtics: Boston Rolls Past Philadelphia

Mike Thomas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:17:07 -0500

Ray Allen lead the Celtics (15-2) past the Sixers (7-9) 102-78 on Friday. The Sixers looked out of place, but the Celtics are the defending champions. Ray Allen poured in 23 points including three three-pointers, as he was 10-for-15 from the field. Kevin Garnett had 16 points and only two rebounds.

The Sixers held a 44 to 39 edge on the boards. Paul Pierce only had one field goal as he went for six points. The Sixers newcomer Elton Brand has lead them in scoring the last three games, but the Sixers have lost all three. Elton had 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Sixers only scored 78 points, there lowest scoring effort this season. They were scoreless until a Reggie Evans free throw with four minutes in the game helped them in the scoring column. Andre Iguodala only had nine points.

But, the bench provided a spark as Lou Williams had 15 points and six dimes, and Marreese Speights had 12 points and six boards. Thaddeus Young has struggled the past two games, as Friday he went 2-for-9 from the field for four points. Willie Green only had two points for the Sixers.

Philadelphia only shot 33 percent from the field. Andre Miller took 12 shots, making six of them for 12 points. He has not been shooting the ball well. The Sixers are back in action with a home game against the 7-9 Chicago Bulls Sunday.

Ryan Howard Not The MVP..Say What?

Mike Thomas — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:27:09 -0500

Two years ago Ryan Howard won his first MVP award.

He has 58 homers, had 149 RBIs and had 182 hits. This year he was back at it again during the Phillies World Series. He had 48 homers, 153 hits and 146 RBIs. Even though he was tops in all those categories, I think it was his strikeouts that hurt him. Howard struck out 199 times.

So the writers that had to vote probably looked at that, instead of looking at how the Philadelphia Phillies really gotta into the playoffs. Pujols only had 54 strikeouts in 524 at-bats. Pujols, however, did not lead his team to the playoffs, and did not have one of the biggest Septembers ever.

Ryan Howard did.

Yes, he finished second in the MVP voting but he should have finished first in my opinion. I didn't know the MVP was given to a player that was part of a fourth place team that was not in the wild card race.

That's not valuable.

Thaddeus Is Still Young, but 76ers Have Him Coming Along

Mike Thomas — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:12:38 -0400

With Thaddeus Young's second season blooming, there are big expectations for the 20-year-old, 6'8" phenom out of Memphis. Last year, Mo Cheeks had him shifting from the power forward to the small forward or vice-versa, but Young has earned the spot he wanted all last season—the small forward.

Coming out of high school, Young was a top-five player in the country and many expected him to be the best player out of the 2007 NBA draft when all is said and done. He slipped to No. 12 because a lot of general managers did not want to take the gamble of the then-19-year-old Georgia Tech freshman. The Sixers were confident in him and told everyone he was a project. Well, this project is almost done.

This past season, Young had to improve his ball-handling and his jump shot, so he did. Early in the summer league, he showed off his handling and shooting skills to everyone. He averaged 18 points and showed flashes of greatness. This season, with the addition of Elton Brand, he will be open for more shots, so he has to be able to knock them down.

A lot of fans want to see this kid come into his own, but with Andre Igoudala, Andre Miller, and Brand, there is not a lot of basketballs to go around. With potential and a tremendous upside, Young will come into his own, but Young is still Young.

Elton Brand Is the 76ers Centerpiece

Mike Thomas — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:40:48 -0400

When Elton Brand came to Philadelphia I wondered why would he hadn't resigned with the Clippers and team up with his buddy Baron Davis? Then I said, he wants to first of all, second because the Sixers have a huge hole at the power forward position, and third, Elton knows the caliber player Andre Miller is and how he is that missing piece to a championship. Not to mention the East is weaker than the West.

Elton was the talk of the town. TV and radio stations were saying how he is that guy that we needed to make a deep run in the playoffs. I believe this guy, a two time All-Star, Rookie of the Year in 1999, and a real great person in the community, is a perfect fit.

Last year, the Sixers had a run and gun style, bringing in Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams to lead their charge. This year, I expect Elton will not slow us down. He can make outlet passes for the fast break or when he is double teamed in the post, he can kick it out to the wide open man. Our half court offense will be fun to watch, especially with an intelligent Andre Miller at the point. Trust me Elton will be doubled teamed from day one, but it is up to guys like Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, and Willie Green to make shots for this team.

Ed Stefanski did a great job of adding a power forward to this team. Last year it was Reggie Evans and Thaddeus Young splitting time there, but there was no clear cut four man. Now with Elton here, he will start and make an immediate impact. He is that important to this team. We know what type of player he is and what he can become, but what type of player will he be for his team.

A centerpiece makes his team better and takes the stress off the coach. Mo Cheeks should allow Elton to make his team better and the team should feed off his leadership. The East this year is tough, but with the Philadelphia 76ers making the biggest free agent signing of the summer in Elton Brand, they should be atop the East standings come game 82.