truebluefan

MJG


Will Kenny Thomas be able to justify his fairly large contract? Was any
other team offering him anything near what he ended up getting from the
Sixers?

JJ: I don't know if he'll be able to justify his contract, especially playing out of position as a 6-7 power forward. But he's making the effort. In fact, early in the season the theory was that he was trying too hard. The injuries have also frustrated him. As for the second part of your question, I didn't get the assignment to cover the Sixers until after Thomas signed his new contract, so I don't know the answer.

KL Dawger



What kind of record do you expect the Sixers to have this season?

JJ: I predicted 44 wins at the start of the season. There's a lot of parity in the Eastern Conference, but it's not a strong conference by any means. Still, the Sixers need to get healthy and in shape to get there.


BEEZ



Do you finally see the Sixers slowly downgrading Mckie's playing time
and upgrading the time of Salmons, as far as moving Salmons into McKie's
role?

JJ: I don't see them downgrading McKie's playing time, at least not with an eye toward giving Salmons more minutes. Ayers wants to make McKie's time more consistent -- 25 minutes per game, give or take a few. He doesn't want him playing 35-40 minutes every night because he wears down. Salmons has turned into a versatile player in that he can play point guard, shooting guard and small forward, but he has problems matching up at all three positions. He played less than one minute in Sunday night's loss to Indiana. He needs to get more consistent at both ends of the floor.

MccKaskil is absolutley horrbile, do you think that his signing was a
mistake being that other players could have been had at his salary that
are better than him?

JJ:McCaskill is on a minimum contract, making less than $700,000, so I don't know what you expected. He is a servicable player, one who is a good practice player but no more than a 10th-11th-12th player on the team. I admit I haven't given much thought to whom you could find at that price who'd be any better.


RoseCity

What are your thoughts on the Sixers Managment decisions as of late? IE:
Kenny Thomas signing,GRob trade,AI contract.

Also, How have Iverson and Big Dog fit during the pre-season and how do
you envision them working together? Could he be the 2nd scorer Philly
has searched forever for?

JJ: I thought the best management decision was trading for Robinson, a legitimate scorer and a good guy to have in the lineup to prevent opponents from loading up on Iverson (but also a subpar defensive player). I thought they probably overpaid for Kenny Thomas, who is a good player but not a seven-year, $50 million type player. As for Iverson's contract, who's to say? Obviously, signing Iverson and Snow to extensions means they don't care to rebuild. And say what you want about Iverson, he packs the house -- home and away -- every night.

As for A.I. and Big Dog together, I think the two respect each other. They tried hard to involve each other in the pre-season, even though injuries (Robinson) and personal business (Iverson) hurt their continuity. I think Robinson is the best second scorer Iverson's ever had. But it's a long season, and who knows what will happen if the Sixers go into a funk, and if Iverson takes 35 shots a game, and if Ayers can't keep a rein over his players.

TheTruth34



Will the scoring system work, with Glenn Robinson and Iverson?
OR

Will it simply not pan out like many other players who have been brought
here. That is in no way a knock to Iverson, he is the go-to guy and
always will be. But will this be the missing puzzle piece to take the
scoring load of Iverson every night?

JJ: It's too early to say whether Robinson and Iverson can work together. The early returns are good. Both seem willing to want to work with each other and have tried to involve the other in the offense. Their work together during pre-season was interrupted by Robinson's sore knee and Iverson's personal business, and then Robinson had to sit out the first three regular-season games, so it's still a work in progress.

Robinson could be the missing piece of the puzzle. I think he is, by far, the best second scoring option Iverson has ever had play with him. But it is a long season. Who's to say what might happen if the Sixers start losing, and if Iverson starts putting up 30-35 shots per game. There may not be much harmony there. But so far, so good.

futuristxen



How is Ayers doing so far? How has he differed from Brown's approach,
and how have the players responded to these diffrences?

Near the end of last year and through the olympics Iverson looked like
he was becoming more and more of a passer, is that something that we
will see further development of this season? for instance, does Ayers
plan to give him time at the PG slot this season?

JJ: I did not cover the Sixers under Larry Brown. From what I've heard from other writers and some players, Ayers is demanding, but not nearly as demanding as Brown. Brown frequently stopped practices and went over every little detail on a play or defensive set. Ayers is not like that. Iverson said there is less "yelling and cursing" this year under Ayers than there was under Brown. Also, Ayers leaves it up to the players to discipline themselves, thinking that a part of the responsibility of being a professional.

Ayers has given Iverson some time at point guard this season and will continue to do so. He was among the top 10 in the league in assists in the early going, with two double-figure assist games. Yes, Iverson still likes to shoot first, but he's starting to like finding the open man more and more. He likes kicking it out, especially to a scorer like Robinson, if he's double teamed.


BEEZ

What type of season do you expect from Marc Jackson? With how he has
played do you think it will parlay to a full season of good play?

JJ: I personally like Marc Jackson. He hustles, he bangs, he plays tough defense, he's like a quarterback on the floor on the defensive end. I think he will get better with more playing time. If he has two problems, it's that his range is somewhat limited -- he can hit the open 15-footer but it's harder when someone is in his face -- and he's not exactly the world's best jumper. He relies on positioning. But as I said, he will get better with playing time.

Kunlun

Thanks a lot Joe!