Doug Collins on Wednesday told a great story that illustrates perfectly just what Andrew Bynum can mean to Philadelphia.
Collins was in London calling basketball games for NBC when the Dwight Howard trade that brought Bynum to the Sixers went down. Collins and NBC Olympics hoops studio analyst Doc Rivers — old friends from around the NBA coaching circuit — were out having dinner. I’ll let John Finger of CSNPhilly.com pick it up with a Collins quote from there.
Boston is going small after their playoff success, you will see a lot of Kevin Garnett at the five. In Miami, there will be a lot of Chris Bosh at the five and LeBron James at the four. And after the Olympics we could see a little LeBron at the five again. The top teams in the East are going small.
The Sixers are countering that by going the other direction — they will roll out Bynum at the five and Spencer Hawes as an oversized four. Then they are going to surround those guys with shooters — Jason Richardson, Jrue Holiday, Nick Young, Dorell Wright. They are going to space the floor and give their new big man in the middle a chance to bang on people.
It’s a great strategy, although it may be a year or two before we know if it works. In part because Bynum is going to have to get used to the double teams that come at him — he is slow to recognize the help and pass out of doubles, and he tends to spin baseline when doubled reducing his options. He is going to have to mature not only to deal with that but also to deal with it nightly. Kobe isn’t there to bail him out.
The Sixers are not going to win the Atlantic Division this year, they are not going to win a title. But they have a plan that could make them very competitive.
And they have a player now in Bynum who worries Doc Rivers and the rest of the East.
