Ready For Action - Wednesday, August 20, 2008
237 Views :: 0 Comments :: :: Michael Bradley

   You have to love what Ed Stefanski did during the off-season with the once-moribund Sixers. Blessed with cap space and a market that included few other buyers, the first-year GM was a dervish, signing free agents, keeping those already on the team in the fold and continuing the momentum that was started last year.

   The 2008-09 Sixers will be a dynamic, fun-to-watch team with many of the components necessary to play winning basketball. They should be competitive night-in and night-out, no matter who the opponent is. In the NBA, that's a great start. With Elton Brand inside, and the solid run-and-gun pieces around him, the Sixers should be able to play fast or slow and will look almost invincible some nights -- and against the right opponents.

   Yes, it's easy to feel giddy about this team, but there has to be a little bit of perspective here. Even in the East, which was ridiculed last year as a poor stepbrother to the Western Conference (despite Boston's championship), the Sixers still fall into the 3-4-5 race in terms of the best teams in the neighborhood. Boston still has another year or two of excellence, Detroit is experienced and built for 50-55 wins, no matter how badly they played in the Eastern finals last year. Cleveland remains formidable, thanks to LeBron James, and the Wizards are stacked, too, thanks to the re-signings of Agent Zero and Antawn Jamison. The Heat, Hawks and even Bucks are getting better.

  Don't get me wrong; this isn't a slam of the team or Stefanski. It's just that you don't go from a first-round playoff loser to a parade in one year. The Sixers will make progress, but there still is work to do. A big-time shooter must be found. Thaddeus Young must continue to develop. Samuel Dalembert has to play hard every night and avoid the odd behavior that he displayed last year. The bench remains something of an offensive question.

   Stefanski gets an "A" for his first year in town. There's no doubt about it. But even he will tell you the team has to keep growing and improving to be a title contender. Seeing what he has done so far gives fans confidence, but they should be careful not to put world title aspirations on a team that is just starting to get rolling.