by Charley Rosen

Updated: November 6, 2008, 7:11 PM EST 6 comments

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The 76ers looked like world-beaters in tearing up the hapless Knicks. Yet despite the lopsided score, certain judgments can be made regarding Philadelphia's intentions on both ends of the court.

Here are the particulars:

Offense

On their very first possession, the Sixers demonstrated the focus of their offense — a cross-screen that got Elton Brand in the post. And he responded by dropping a fall-away jumper.

On their second possession, they posted Andre Iguodala — more as a courtesy than a sign of things to come. He missed his jumper.

The next time down the court, Brand settled into his favorite spot on the left box — he never assumed the proper position on the other side — with no cross-picks or any other deceptive maneuvers. And he proceeded to hit another short jumper.

Brand was so central to the Sixers' half-court sets that their attack was somewhat fragmented when he was on the bench. And Brand is a total beast whenever he can receive the ball within shooting range of the basket. He even hit a lefty jump hook. What was totally surprising, however, was that even though Brand was on fire, scoring 24 points (shooting 12-for-19) in a mere 31 minutes, the Knicks never doubled him!

As he's been throughout his career, Andre Miller was solid — shooting only when necessary, driving only when lanes opened for him, finding open teammates and making few mistakes.

Iguodala ran a couple of isos and curled off a couple of weak-side screens, but otherwise wasn't very involved.

Samuel Dalembert made about half of his layups and half of his forced jumpers.

Thaddeus Young has a world-class right-to-left spin move, can hit open jumpers and accomplish other marvelous feats of athletic derring-do. But he's still learning when to do what.

Willie Green came off the bench and showed why he could be a productive and versatile scorer.

Louis Williams is another explosive scorer who can do everything except run a team and distinguish between good and bad shots. He forced five poor shots and missed them all.

The undersized Reggie Evans banged around in the paint and led a merciless attack on the offensive glass.

The Sixers ran several high screen and rolls, but they were employed more to create teamwide movement rather than to create scoring opportunities for the two players involved. In fact, none of the Sixers' bigs set firm screens. Brand, in particular, was so eager to plunge into the lane that he seldom made contact with the defender he was supposed to pick. Actually, the most aggressive screen he set was a down-screen-and-turn that led to a dunk.

As a general rule, Philly wants to play half-court basketball. But the Sixers will run when the opportunities present themselves — which they did many times as the Knicks repeatedly mishandled the ball and missed most of their long-distance shots. Also, under Miller's savvy leadership, the Sixers' early-offense patterns were extremely effective.

Other opponents, who are guided by more defensive-minded coaches than Mike D'Antoni, will undoubtedly double Brand regularly. When that happens, the Sixers' outside shooting will be sorely tested, and this could their most glaring weakness. Iguodala, Young, and Green are erratic from long range. And so is Kareem Rush. Miller's range is extremely limited, leaving Williams as the only reliable long-distance shooter.

Defense

Except for Evans, the Sixers' defense is all about finesse. They will try to steal entry passes to the wings and either switch or go under on high screen and roles. But they primarily rely on Brand and Dalembert to intimidate and block shots. Dalembert has tremendous defensive range and can also annoy pivot-bound opponents who can't outmuscle him, but he has great difficulty containing anyone who can take him away from the basket and face him up.

And despite his brawn, Brand is another tiptoeing defender.

Give the Sixers credit, though, for challenging every shot. (They did this until midway through the third quarter when the game was safely in the bag.) Their close-out techniques on 3-point shooters are among the best in the league.

However, like many other squads, the Sixers frequently over-commit to ball penetration. Plus, they often made one terrific perimeter rotation but were often late in catching up to the ball when another pass was executed.

Their most significant defensive vulnerability is the prospect of being overpowered. That's why the Sixers remain two players short of being a serious contender — a dead-eye outside shooter and a strong, athletic and mean-spirited 7-footer.

Still, the Sixers are an extremely dangerous team. One that neither Boston, Detroit nor Cleveland will be anxious to encounter in the playoffs.

Straight Shooting

The long-anticipated debut of Blazers center Greg Oden turned out to be brief and disappointing. However, during his nearly 13 minutes of daylight against the Lakers, Oden showed enough for a quickie scouting report to be compiled.

Greg Oden's NBA debut was less than auspicious. (Harry How / Getty Images)

Even before he injured his ankle, Oden was slow-moving, both vertically and horizontally. Andrew Bynum easily pushed Oden off his spot when the rookie tried to establish position in the pivot. The significance here is that while Oden's weight-room work concentrated on his upper body; he lacks sufficient core strength in his lower back and butt areas.

Oden was also nonexplosive with the ball in the low post — plus his patty-cake dribble was much too far from his body, which will make him extremely vulnerable to being doubled on the move.

He showed no touch at all with his right-handed jump hook and also had trouble getting a firm grip on the ball before launching his shots. All of which also calls his hand-strength into question.

Oden did, however, make a powerful and quick-enough baseline spin from the left box that drew a foul. But then he bricked both free throws.

On defense, he was unable to return the favor by bulling the posted Bynum farther from the basket. Even worse, Oden allowed Pau Gasol to establish and maintain optimum position in the low post. The same Gasol who was routinely overpowered by a variety of Celtics defenders last June.

Oden did execute a nifty block on Bynum, but when Gasol faked baseline and spun into the middle Oden was unable to keep up. In fact, Oden's hands were still at chest-level as Gasol released his shot.

In sum, the approximately 30 pounds of muscle that Oden gained during his enforced layoff is more of a hindrance than a help. Based on his ineptitude against the defending Western Conference champs, Oden could very well be just another blue-chip stiff.

Of course, too much emphasis cannot be placed on such a cursory appearance. Still, it's clear that Oden has a long way to go before he becomes the interior menace that the Blazers need him to be.

Vox Populi

Tim Duncan is, for me, the best player in the NBA. Some may say he's boring, but he effectively gets the job done without an air of arrogance or fluff. Who else in your opinion plays without flair yet has the same kind of solid fundamentals as T.D. does? — Topel, Philippines

I agree with your assessment of Duncan, simply because good big men are more valuable than even better smaller players. Here are some of the other fundamentalists in the league today: Shane Battier, Chauncey Billups, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Jeff Foster, Matt Harpring, Udonis Haslem, Jarrett Jack, Richard Jefferson, Fabricio Oberto, Anthony Parker, Tayshaun Prince, Malik Rose, Delonte West and Deron Williams.

Travels with Charley

There were several incidents that eventually made me realize that I was not cut out to be a professional coach. Here's the first one:

I was a moderately successful writer long before I became a coach, so I was generally considered to be an interesting postgame interview. Entertaining, intelligent and with a ready store of glib platitudes.

If you have a question or comment for Charley Rosen, submit it below and Charley may just respond. Subject: Comment/Question: Name:  Email:  Hometown:

What did I think of such-and-such a player? "His streaky shooting kept both teams in the ballgame."

Since they shot 25 more free throws than your team did, what do you think of the officiating? "Referees are a necessary evil."

Being eloquent in the arcane art of coach-speak was, after all, part of my job description.

But there was one question innocently posed by one of my players during a ballgame that took me completely by surprise. I was, in fact, so stunned that my answer was reactive and uncharacteristically straight from my heart. That question and that answer would rub against each other in my memory and provide the first spark of recognition that I should seek other employment.

I'd always been an emotional presence on the bench (and, years before, on the court as well), living and dying with each score, missed basket, turnover and botched assignment. I justified this by convincing myself that my intensity would inspire my players.

But, as with just about everything else that I did, I went overboard. I tended to unleash at the referees many of the unconscious resentments I had accumulated throughout my life. My internal tension was further ratcheted up by the knowledge that, in the CBA, most coaches' jobs were perpetually on the line. Another ongoing source of stress was the guilt and hostility accompanying the disintegration of my long, unhappy marriage.

Poor me. I could barely recognize the nature of my problems, so I had no real strategies for resolving them.

Late in the season of my very first season as a head coach, my Savannah Spirits were playing the Tornados in Pensacola, Fla., and as usual I was helplessly demonstrating manic courtside behavior. That was when one of my players, Steve Woodside, casually asked that pivotal question: "Charley, are you having any fun right now?"

I scowled, pointed up at the scoreboard and quickly said, "If we win, I'll have had fun. But not if we lose."

I don't remember if we won that game or not, but I do recall my subsequent distress over my inner attitude being unexpectedly exposed. Happiness and suffering recognized only in retrospect. My fundamental well-being entirely based on something I couldn't control. Like a person battling a weight problem, or a TV star addicted to his ratings, numbers alone defined my personal value. I wasn't able to disengage from the multitude of real and imagined off-court worries enough to enjoy the unfolding of the game I loved so much.

Steve Woodside's penetrating question and my myopic response were like sharp stones in my sneakers. Was it possible that I only cared about winning? That I was just another stooge in the "We're Number One" mind-set that pervaded and even defined our entire contemporary culture? More and more, it seemed like I was trapped inside a burning building with no idea where the exits were.