John Smallwood Must Not Know Who the Sixers' GM Is

From Smallwood's column on the Iguodala negotiations:

If the fourth-year swingman does not continue his progress and perform to the level anticipated this season, or if he suffers a devastating injury, he could have potentially blown tens of millions of guaranteed dollars in pursuit of a bigger payday.

Does he know something about Billy King's future that we don't? Because I don't think he's talking about the Sixers' Billy King and their history of re-signing their own. Let's go into the time machine and go back to the summer of 2005, shall we?

July 2005: Billy King is ready to overpay another player, this time Willie Green. Green is offered a deal for around 6 years, 20 million dollars.

August 2005: Willie Green suffers knee injury playing a pickup game. Apparently it was inflicted by one of his own teammates after Green shot the ball for the 17th time in the team's last 17 possessions.

August 2005: Billy King does not pull the contract offer, instead he puts it on "hold". Because as had been proven before, Billy King isn't addicted to crystal meth or candy. He gets his high from overpaying his own players, and he'll be damned if a minor setback like a torn knee ligament is going to keep him from getting his fix.

August 2005: Green goes under the knife.

April 2006: Green returns from his knee injury. He plays the remaining ten games of the season and shoots a career best 42.4% from the field.

July 2006: Because of the intense demand for unproven shooting guards coming off serious knee injuries, Billy King does not waste any time getting Willie Green's signature on a contract. Based on the 150 minutes that he played in April, King essentially offers Green the exact same contract that he did the previous offseason, five years for 17 million dollars. Rumor has it that Green's agent was so eager to sign the contract that he allowed Willie slice open his artery because they didn't have a pen lying around the desk. The agent survived, but spent three weeks in the hospital.

Currently: Willie Green is still the same lousy player that he has always been. But at least King has him under contract through the 2009/10 season.

Has Billy King learned his lesson? Of course not. It probably took quite a few sessions with the Sixers prescribe hypnotist to restrain King from offering Iguodala a max contract. And come next July, I'm sure that he won't hesitate to offer Iguodala more money than Igoudala was currently asking for to prevent him from testing free agency. But if the Sixers want to reach their goal of consistently being the eighth seed in the playoffs, then there is not better man to lead them than Billy King.

To The Dummies Who Don't Get It

First, if you think Willie Green is a good player, this is not the blog for you. Yes, I understand he works hard and is a "sparkplug" and all that bullshit. But he has no place starting for ANY NBA team.

Second, there is a difference between scoring points and scoring points efficiently. If someone on average needs 20 shots to score 20 points, as Green would based on his career points per shot numbers, they're actually not doing a good job of scoring efficiently. Points per shot takes into account more than FG%- it's simply the total points scored (from FG's and FT's) divided by the field goals a player attempted.

For example, Andre Iguodala, an actual good player, scored 1.4 points per shot (18.2 PPG on 13 SPG) he that took last season. That is someone you want taking shots. So is Dwight Howard- he put up a monster 1.65 PPS last year. Willie Green averaged less than one point per shot he took- that is AWFUL. When Willie Green is firing away, it costs the Sixers wins because there are other players on the team can score more points on fewer shots. It's about maximizing each offensive possession. Having Willie Green out there makes that difficult.

If the simple math we're pulling out here is too complex or seems stupid to you, you're not going to enjoy what we write. Feel free to bash us, but you will not change our opinions. We're not the rah-rah, intangibles and hustle matter more than ability and skill types here. We don't say they don't matter, but they also don't make up for lack of talent.

You Crack Me Up Phil Jasner

From his article today previewing the Sixers' season:

In order to find enjoyment and fascination in the season, it will help to focus on:

* The return to form of scoring guard Willie Green, a full year removed from knee surgery.

My question is, wh-wh-what? When has Willie Green ever shown any form to actually return to?

Per Basketball Reference, here are Willie Green's Per 40 Minute numbers on a yearly basis:

      FG  FGA   3P  3PA   FT  FTA  TRB  AST STL  TO  PTS
03-04 7.5 18.6 1.0  3.2  3.1  4.2  3.4  2.8 1.4 3.1 19.0
04-05 5.8 15.9 1.1  3.9  3.6  4.7  5.0  3.8 1.3 2.8 16.4
05-06 7.3 17.3 2.6  5.0  1.0  1.3  3.9  1.3 0.5 3.1 18.3
06-07 7.8 18.8 1.1  3.4  1.6  2.4  3.4  2.4 1.2 2.3 18.2

Pssst, Phil....Willie Green has always been the same lousy player. In order to score 20 points, he needs to take 20 shots. He doesn't go to the free throw line. And he doesn't pass the ball.

Willie Green Stat of the Day

Willie Green has played four seasons in the NBA for a total of 194 games. In those 194 games, he has attempted 1714 shots. And scored 1710 points.

I wonder if there is anyone closer to exactly a 1.0 points per shot ratio than Willie Green.

Sixers Question of the Day

Why is Andre Igoudala playing 38 minutes in an exhibition game against the Knicks?

a) Mo Cheeks thought the season started this week.
b) They need to evaluate whether Igoudala can play center in Dalembert's absence.
c) It is beyond possible to comprehend such a move.

It's Willie Green Season, Folks!

Yes, we know. We kind of let the whole "Phillies Playoff Hysteria" go unnoticed here. We've been busy. And by busy, I mean lazy. But that will cease to exist as of now, because it is our favorite time of the year: The NBA Pre-Season. It is finally time for the City of Philadelphia to rally together and truly get excited by an event: Willie Green starting at shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The praise for Willie has been unending so far this year.

Maurice Cheeks - "I think Willie has been great"

Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer Beat Writer - "He (Green) has looked strong in camp, especially in taking the ball to the basket. In 2005-06 (Mark's Note: This year is the 2007-08 season), Green missed all but the final 10 games after recovering from surgery on his left knee."

Phil Jasner, Philadelphia Daily News Beat Writer: "Willie Green, who started at shooting guard, showed some of the willingness to drive hard to the basket that was missing last season, his first after knee surgery."

Well actually, that is all that has appeared in print. But it does seem like a lot of compliments for a player of Willie's stature. That stature being one of, if not the, worst player currently in the National Basketball Association.

In case you were wondering, the main reason that this blog started is because Jim and I would spend days emailing each other about how terrible Willie Green was last season. Before the season starts, we will put out a Debunking The Myths About Willie Green, but for now, I'll leave you with John Hollinger, NBA Expert, and his opinion on Willie Green.

Green had been in the NBA for four years without offering a shred of a reason why he belongs, yet the Sixers gave him a five-year, $17 million deal in the summer of 2006. What a country. Last season he started 36 games because the Sixers remain delusional about his talents, and he managed a career-best Player Efficiency Rating -- one that ranked him 55th out of the league's 66 shooting guards. Theoretically, Green is a scorer. He had one of the highest usage rates among shooting guards, but it's questionable whether this was a good thing.

Green can't make shots -- his true shooting percentage was the fourth-worst at his position -- and he lacks either the talent or the inclination to pass, as his assist ratio was a matching fourth-worst as well. His biggest weakness is a curious inability to draw fouls. Green drives to the basket a decent amount, as more than a third of his shots came in the immediate basket area, but only two guards earned fewer free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt than he did. He's a lousy finisher too, making 45.9 percent of his shots in that area.

Green did better from outside, hitting a respectable 42.3 percent of his long 2s, but if that's all you've got it's a tough way to make a living. He made only 32.5 percent of his 3-pointers and must vastly improve from out there or start drawing a few fouls if he's going to be a viable NBA shooting guard.

And for those of you keeping score at home, Willie took 10 shots against the Knicks in Game 1. And scored 10 points. You wonder why the Sixers are giving away tickets for free? Look no further than #33.

Congrats to Ryan Howard

And it took him just 141 games played to do so. Adam Dunn had 195 in 161 games. Eat it, Adam Dunn.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Ryan Howard struck out for the 196th time Thursday to set the single-season major league record.

In the third inning of Philadelphia's game against Atlanta, Howard swung at and missed a down-and-away splitter from John Smoltz for strike three.

The Phillies' first baseman broke the mark established in 2004 by Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds.

Last season's NL MVP, Howard hit his 44th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot that gave him 130 RBIs.

UPDATE: PHILS WIN! METS LOSE!