In this case, the opposite is true.
Cheeks, one of the most popular and generally beloved adopted favorite sons in Philadelphia sports history, never really had the opportunity to fully coach the Sixers until Allen Iverson was traded and Chris Webber was bought out. Once those two things occurred, he had the complete attention of the remaining players. They all - players and coach - wanted to prove they belonged and could compete in a conventional team-oriented system.
You can say that their 17-9 finish last season was skewed by too many opponents who either weren't as interested in winning or were far more interested in getting a more favorable position in the lottery, but it was the groundwork that needed to be done. That there appears to have been little carryover into this season is more a function of the lack of immediate help.
I understand that was the plan, to create salary-cap space for the summer and give them the flexibility to have a strong voice in the free-agent and trade markets, but I think ownership badly misjudged how the fans would react to a full season that, at best, promised 30 victories. After Wednesday night's game in the Wachovia Center, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman told reporters, "The arena was kind of dead, and that's how we played."
For the first time since the drafting of Iverson, there is no player on the roster who has ever been in an All-Star Game. That there is no singular star is OK, but there isn't even a high-profile rookie. First-rounders Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith could be valuable pieces later on, but are hardly centerpieces of the moment.
