gdt (09/17/82)
Since there is no net.sport.basketball I decided to throw this in net.sport. Sixer fans should not hold their breath waiting for a championship just because their team picked up Moses Malone. With Houston, Moses was probably the premier center in the game; however, lining up with Erving, B. Jones, Toney, etc., Moses will find points and rebounds harder to come by. Caldwell Jones was an important player for the Sixers and will be sorely missed. Chemically he was a key team member. I think you Rocket fans are the ones who should be riding high. Caldwell will play well for you and next year your team stands a good chance of picking up either Sampson or Ewing. Also, since the Rocket organization will not have to dish out the all that money demanded by Moses ticket prices will probably stay put or just rise a little. It is amazing guys get paid so much for dribbling and shooting a basketball. The kind of money Moses is going to be making is just unbelievable. Heck, you would think this guy was the biblical Moses..... Thurman (columbus, OhighO)
tif (09/18/82)
The question is: just HOW will Moses Malone help the sixers where they came up short vs the Lakers: team speed. If you'll recall, LA simply ran Philadelphia to death in the finals. Of course, with Malone in the middle Sixer opponants will not get as many rebounds, but that was not the only factor in the success of the Laker break, anyway. In the freewheeling pro game many of the fast breaks occur as the result of steals. How can Malone help them in this area? (And, of course, the biggest reason that the sixers shelled out $13 million and a chance at Ralph was the devastating Laker break in the final.) I do think that Malone will make the Sixers job of reaching the finals much easier than in the past. But Philadelphia has been able to do that in the past without Moses; they got him in the belief that he would provide the spark to propell Philly all the way. But can he do it? I just don't think so. Rebounding is very important, to be sure; but it is not the end-all of basketball. Scoring (and preventionn of scoring from the other team, I have something to say about that, too) is. Moses cann grab a lot of rebounds. He helps the half-court game immensly. But the Sixers are a full-court, run-and-gun team. In fact, there was only one team that did it better in 1981-82: the Los Angelas Lakers. And look what they did. THAT'S why I do not think the Sixers moved in the right direction. Malone was not cheap, not by any stretch of the imagination. Not only in terms of dollars, but also in terms of depth and the future of the franchise. Dawkins is gone. Caldwell Jones is gone. Philadelphia has aquired a potent offensive weapon who is of dubious benefit to them, and to what purpose? Jones is an effective shot-blocker and all-around defensive player. Moses is no slouch, but he is simply not as good as Jones is in this regard. He may add rebounds, but what good is that if the opposition can attack the sixer middle more effectively? I don't mean to make light of Mr. Malone's talent. The man can play. He may well make a liar out of me. But I doubt it. Thomas I. Faison (ps: If anyone suspects that I'm biased, you're probably right. I'm a Laker fan, and I sure am happy to see the last obsticle to Laker victory in the West head for his $13 million reward.)