The AP reports: Thaddeus Young scored 17 points, Andre Igoudala added 13, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 85-79 in an NBA preseason game Sunday. Philadelphia rookie Marreese Speights scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, and Louis Williams chipped in 10 points for the 76ers (2-1)… Jason Kapono led Toronto with 14 and Will Solomon had 12. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker also scored in double figures, netting 10 points each, for the Raptors (2-1). Elton Brand had 10 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes for Philadelphia.
Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog
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Oct 10: Knicks 110, Sixers 104
The AP reports: David Lee had 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 110-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game Friday night. Chris Duhon added 19 points and Zach Randolph had 18 to lead six Knicks players in double figures. Elton Brand led the 76ers with 24 points, Andre Iguodala added 16 and Andre Miller had 12 points and 12 assists.
Oct 8: Sixers 98, Celtics 92
The AP reports: Lou Williams scored 27 points and Thaddeus Young added 21 to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the NBA champion Boston Celtics 98-92 on Wednesday night in the exhibition opener for both teams. Williams was 7-of-12 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line. Leon Powe led the Celtics with 12 points and Tony Allen had 11. The Celtics’ Big Three—Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett—got off to a fast start, but played limited minutes.
Sixers waive three players
Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has waived Andre Emmett, Maureece Rice and Cory Underwood. The roster now stands at 16 players heading into the preseason opener on Wednesday, Oct. 8 against the Boston Celtics at the Mullins Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts.
Emmett (6-4, 216) was originally selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by Seattle. He appeared in eight games for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2004-05 season. Last season, Emmett averaged a league-high 23.9 points per game for Belgacom Liege Basket of the Belgian League. He played four seasons for Texas Tech, and finished career as the Red Raiders all-time leader in scoring with 2,256 points.
Rice (6-1, 224) is best known for his career at Strawberry Mansion High School, during which he tallied 2,681 points, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s Philadelphia school record of 2,206 points. Rice went on to attend The George Washington University, where he was named Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and A-10 All-Conference Third Team as a junior. He was not selected in the NBA Draft this past June.
Underwood (6-10, 240) played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League last season. Since finishing his career at Southern University of New Orleans in 2003, he has also played in the ABA (American Basketball Association), the USBL (United States Basketball League), WBA (World Basketball Association), CBA (Continental Basketball Association) as well as leagues in both Brazil and Poland.
Andre Miller up for extension
The News Journal (Martin Frank) reports: Point guard Andre Miller said he likes being with the Sixers and would be open to signing an extension to his contract, which runs out after this season. But Miller, who is due to make $9.9 million, said he isn’t in a hurry to get it done. He recently hired a new agent, Andy Miller (no relation), who will handle all the negotiations. “I want to go on with the season,” Miller said. “It’s kind of tough, because I’ve never been in this position before, so I just take it in stride. The off-court stuff will take of itself. When they come to me and say there’s the possibility of an extension, we’ll talk. Until then, I’ll go out and work.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: Despite having the outside shot about as good as those random fans who get picked for contests during NBA games and appear to have never seen a basketball before, Miller’s an excellent, effective point guard. The Sixers should keep him, but they’ll keep his age in mind in any extension talks.
Aaron McKie rejoins Sixers staff as assistant
Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that 13-year NBA veteran Aaron McKie has rejoined the franchise as an assistant coach on Maurice Cheeks’ staff. McKie will also have additional duties in player development.
McKie was originally named a member of the Sixers coaching staff back on Oct. 3, 2007. Since he never officially retired as a player, his rights still belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers signed McKie to a contract in order to package him in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for Pau Gasol on Feb. 1, 2008. Although he did not appear in a game, McKie spent the remainder of the season on the Grizzlies roster before being waived on May 9, 2008.
In 793 career games with 287 starts, McKie averaged 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.15 steals in 24.2 minutes per game. He enjoyed his best season as a Sixer in 2000-01, taking home Sixth Man of the Year honors while helping Philadelphia reach the NBA Finals. That same season, he recorded back-to-back triple-doubles at Sacramento on Dec. 30, 2000 (19 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds) and vs. Atlanta on Jan. 3, 2001 (11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).
McKie, who had his jersey retired at Simon Gratz High School in 2002, also starred at Temple University. He finished his three-year career with the Owls tied for sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list and was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year as a junior in 1993.
Corey Underwood replaces Justin Reed in Sixers camp
Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent Cory Underwood to replace Justin Reed on the Sixers’ training camp roster.
Last season, Underwood (6-10, 240) played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League. He was coached by Jeff Ruland, who was named an assistant coach for the Sixers back in August. In 36 games with 13 starts for the T-Birds, Underwood averaged 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game while shooting 42.0% from the floor and 66.1% from the line.
Since finishing his collegiate career at Southern University of New Orleans in 2003, Underwood has played in numerous leagues, including the ABA (American Basketball Association), the USBL (United States Basketball League), WBA (World Basketball Association), CBA (Continental Basketball Association) as well as leagues in both Brazil and Poland.
The native of Queens is also a frequent participant in the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park in New York City and is known as “The Undertaker.”
Aaron McKie to be Sixers assistant
The Philadelphia Daily News (Phil Jasner) reports: Aaron McKie is returning to the 76ers as an assistant coach and is expected to be introduced Monday, according to a team source familiar with the situation. McKie’s status apparently was placed on hold when he was arrested in June on charges that he had lied on application forms to purchase a gun in Pennsylvania in April. Brian McMonagle, his attorney, called it “an honest mistake.” McKie received probation in the case.
InsideHoops.com editor says: This reminds me, someone needs to sign Rick Brunson. I know he’s done playing, but still, someone add him to a 10-day contract, just for tradition’s sake.
Trail Blazers sign Shavlik Randolph
The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I assume this is just a training camp, nonguaranteed signing. Though, unlike tons of training camp signees, Randolph actually belongs in the league. Here’s more:
A member of the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons, Randolph averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 79 games, including seven starts. He averaged careers highs of 4.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.77 blocks in 13 games in 2006-07.
Randolph, 24, played three seasons at Duke University, averaging 6.3 points, a 506 field-goal percentage, 4.3 rebounds and 1.40 blocks during his college career. The 1.40 blocks per game are seventh all-time in Duke history. The Raleigh, N.C., native shot .591 from the field in a sophomore season that saw the Blue Devils reach the Final Four in 2004.
The signing of Randolph sets the Trail Blazers’ 2008 training camp roster at 18 players. He will wear jersey number 42.
Quick East thoughts
The season is approaching, folks. Training camps open in around one week (I’m in Prague right now, haven’t looked at a calendar in a while. Tuesday I’m off to hang out in Berlin for a week, then about 8 days in Amsterdam. I’ll be back in New York City right around the start of preseason.)
In the east, the Celtics remain the best of the conference, though I wonder if Ray Allen will drop off a bit this season. They also need to improve their bench.
The Pistons bring back last year’s team, with Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups a year older.
The Magic still need to improve their backcourt.
The Cavaliers add scoring punch with the addition of point guard Mo Williams, but it’s still the LeBron James show with a supporting cast that will have to work very hard to carry their weight.
The Wizards must once again play without Gilbert Arenas for a while, though even with him they’re a lower-level playoff team.
The Raptors have to hope Jermaine O’Neal regains former All-Star form; it’ll be tough.
The 76ers added a star by signing power forward Elton Brand, and that should definitely raise them in conference standings.
The Hawks aren’t locks to return to the playoffs, but it’s good they kept Josh Smith.
The Bucks improved on paper, adding a pass-first point guard in Luke Ridnour, but more importantly, a legit good forward in SF Richard Jefferson.
The Knicks have the same talented yet flawed roster, but a new coach. Can Mike D’Antoni work miracles?
The Nets are rebuilding and aside from Vince Carter and young Devin Harris, everyone on the team who matters is young and in development.
The Bulls have the same team as the last few seasons, though Ben Gordon remains unsigned. Will they play like the good Bulls from two years ago, or the disappointing ones from last season? Flip a coin, because they’re capable of going either way.
The Bobcats have nice swingmen in Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace, plus Emeka Okafor, but everyone else is young and in development.
The Heat could make a leap in the standings now that Dwyane Wade is healthy, plus Shawn Marion needs a new contract, and Michael Beasley doesn’t like losing. The supporting cast is still extremely weak, though.
The Pacers always do a bit better than expected. The bad news is, almost nothing is ever expected. Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavey and TJ Ford are very nice players, though. They may surprise a little, but not a lot.
I’ll share quick West thoughts tomorrow. Right now I’m off to hike up to the Prague castle. I’ll be right here in about an hour.
–Jeff