"That's what happens"

I find myself saying this to my kids often. "That's what happens." It spills from my mouth when they are playing with their juice, and it spills on the table, or when they are jumping on the sofa, and they spill onto the floor. They look at me, sometimes with a tear in their eye. Then they get it. "That's what happens." You can call it tough love. I'll stick with "the truth," cuz that's what it is. Life is about cause and effect. It's never too early to learn this lesson. Sometimes, it's too late.

The competitor that Allen Iverson is, I know he can't take these last 2 games of the season, basically playing for nothing because his Sixer's squad has been eliminated from the playoffs. A man that's every season believed that he could will them back to the title, and somehow slay a giant. Now, his offseason fate is already sealed. But you know what Allen? That's what happens.

The Sixers were simply a bad team this year. And for me to say this, being a Sixers fan for 20+ years, a Mo Cheeks fan, an AI fan, and a C-Webb fan (you gotta respect his skillset)... that's saying a lot. I'm the dude that thought they could maybe figure out a way past Detroit in the first round last year, and shock the world. Having AI on the squad gives you at least an inkling of hope. And I guess living in a championship-starved city for so long, you tend to hold onto whatever you can. It's been AI's mantra these last 10 years. This year, for me though, I broke the spell. I saw this team for what they were very early on. Despite a few bursts that made me raise a brow, I never second-guessed myself. The signs were too clear. This team was not that good.

So the question is, what went wrong? Here are some answers.

1. David Aldridge, you write good stuff, but this one is wrong, at least partially. AI and C-Webb don't have a problem on offense. But they do on defense. Especially when...
2. Samuel Dalembert plays like he's lost. Which was often. Sam, the season's over, and you never showed up. At least, unlike Larry Brown, you didn't blame your point guard and then get a tummy ache. But you didn't blame yourself too tuff either. I thought I told you last year, Sam, watch Ben Wallace film. You're a better athlete, so if you get half of his basketball knowledge, you could be a beast. ("Could be" - how I hate relying on those 2 words).
3. Kyle Korver, you did what you could do. If this experience motivates you to being a consistent contributor, it will probably be with another team. Somebody's got to go. (That goes for you too, John Salmons).
4. Andre, you have to be a superstar. It's a lot of pressure, but the only adjustment that needs to be made is in your mindset. Webber should only be taking 14 shots per game, tops. Less dribbling and more shooting is what they needed from you. Check the W column when you dropped 19 or more. One loss. But you might be on the way out, too. You don't add w/o subtracting (But typically w/ this team, the subtractions heavily outweigh the gains. It's going to be a long summer).
5. I beat around the bush long enough... Mo, this one rides a lot on you. Granted, Billy King (you're next) may not have given you the necessary parts, but you sure as hell didn't make the best use out of what you had. Matt Barnes shouldn't be playing, let alone the 4. Kevin Ollie isn't a starter. Randolph was doing work, then got inconsistent time. You don't have to put Bradley in, ever, especially when he can't do anything with the ball. Willie Green is not the answer, either. And most importantly, when you have two seven-foot shot-blockers on your team, one of which has a max-contract and is supposed to your cornerstone in the middle, you don't play small ball for the entire fourth quarter then wonder why you can't eek out close games. Mo, you called Moses Malone to teach rebounding, and you still got outrebounded. Why? Cuz in the 4th quarter, Moses was on the bench, sitting behind Dalembert and Hunter. As the coach, you never established a rotation. Basketball is not a guessing game. Every man on the Pistons knows what he's supposed to be doing. Rip curls, Prince pops, Ben bounds, Sheed stabilizes (imagine that, but if you build a system, it's possible), and Chauncey calls the shots. Even Darko knew he wasn't going to play until he got traded. Your squad, aside from AI, had no idea what they were doing, if and when they would be playing, how many minutes, what position,... or for Stephen Hunter, what TEAM he was playing for (by the way, his knee looks fine, New Orleans).
6. Billy, it's time to go. You're not going to make any good deals this summer, especially not with your back up against the wall. Look at what you've done thus far, with a potential playoff contender. This team is a huge question mark. Keeping you around any longer is just digging a deeper hole.
7. Too many minutes for C-Webb. We all know he's getting older, but he still got us 20-10. Frankly, that's too much. It's an inefficient 20-10, at the price of a poor FG%, less fast-break opportunities for the back-up 4, and extra minutes of pourus defense. I like him in the first and third quarters, and as the setup man at the end of the game. Last shots, no.
8. Couldn't close out games. They could rarely turn it up when they had to, or maintain control of a game. They were often the victims of the other team's will. This breeds a mentality of failure. The squad bought into, and it's hard thing to let go of. The only cure is a string of W's, and those are hard to come by when you roll the red carpet down the lane for the competition.
9. Jamal Mashburn. Any way we can travel back in time and get him, pre-injury, plus the agile C-Webb? Imagine AI's 1 and 2 at the guards, the Ben Wallace influenced Samuel Dalembert clogging the middle, and Young Chris and Mash at the forward, w/ Korver and Hunter off the bench. That's a solid 7. I liked Shav, so make it 8. Give me a couple of guards for spot minutes. Some guys who can run the break and produce, plus make a stop. That could have been a contenda. If they played D like it meant something. Cuz bottomline...
10. Defense wins. Which is why this team will be watching the playoffs. That's what happens.