The Sixers were a 0.500 team in the last 2 seasons, but they always missed to take the next step. Last season, they ended up with a 41-41 record in pretty bad circumstances, as Maurice Cheeks was fired after a 9-14 start of the season and their biggest off season addition, Elton Brand, got injured several times and played just 29 games. Still, the Sixers ended 6th in the Eastern Conference just to be eliminated by the Orlando Magic.

Before going into this season's analysis, I think that we should analyze why Elton Brand with his huge contract didn't have the impact that everybody in the organization thought he would have. Yes, I understand that he only played 29 games, but still when he was healthy, he looked like completely lost in the court and the Sixers ended 13-16 with him playing. In my opinion the biggest issue was the Sixers' style of playing that didn't fit and so, they couldn't maximize Elton Brand's strengths. With Cheeks and then with Tony DiLeo, the Sixers ran an unorthodox offensive scheme, where they pushed up the pace and scored by attacking the rim. That's why the Sixers were at the top in fast break points, points in the paint and in offensive rebounding, but at the same time they were awful behind the arc. When you have a guy like Elton Brand, it's important to establish him down the post and feed him down low, however the Sixers simply couldn't wait for that to happen.

The leader of such bizarre offense was Andre Miller, who was the perfect point guard for such scheme, as he is an awful perimeter shooter who rather prefers to attack the rim. Losing him in the off season was a tough loss, but at least the Sixers can now concentrate in re-defining their own style behind their new Head Coach Eddie Jordan and his Princeton offense.

The biggest challenge for the Sixers will be to find and to build their new identity as soon as they can while avoiding going into a hole earlier in the season. Without Andre Miller, the Sixers will have a guy who isn't a pure Point Guard (and won't be in the future) in Lou Williams to be their starter PG. Williams was their sixth man in the past and he showed good scoring instincts, as he scored 12.8 points per game. However we are talking about him being a PG and last season he had almost as many Turnovers as assists: 3.0 apg vs. 1.9 TO/game. While in Washington, Eddie Jordan never had a true PG playmaker, as Gilbert Arenas is more a PG scorer, so Jordan knows how to handle this particular position.

Also for the Point Guard position, the Sixers drafted Jrue Holiday (17th draft pick) and although he is a talented PG, he will need some time to mature and establish himself in this league. However his defense and selfless attitude are great principles to begin with and Holiday can be a great piece for the Sixers in the near future.

Like never, this is the Andre Iguodala's team and he will need to carry this team in both ends of the floor. Iguodala doesn't have the soft touch that other superstars have in this league, but he is a proven durable player that missed just 7 games in the last 5 seasons and he's efficient in both ends of the floor. Last season, he averaged 18.8 points per game, while shooting 47.3 % from the field and dished 5.3 assists per contest.  Eddie Jordan will challenge him to improve his playmaker abilities without a true PG in the team so I wouldn't be surprised if Iguodala's assists numbers climb to the 7's numbers. He is also an underrated perimeter defender that averaged 1.6 steals per game last year and definitely he needs to set the tone for the team in both ends. If he can do that, he will earn an all star nod this season.

GM Ed Stefanski made a terrific choice when he drafted Thaddeus Young because Young is a rising star in this league. His athleticism and length makes him a nightmare matchup for the opponents because he too strong to be defended by small forwards and too quick for power forwards. He looks like Shawn Marion in his glory days, but with a better jump shot and the scary part is that Young is just 21 years old and this will be just his third season as a pro. Last year he averaged 15.3 points per game, while shooting almost 50% from the field (49.5%). While his offensive production will certainly rise due to the Miller's departure, Young will need to be more involved and focused in other areas as rebounding and dishing.  He averaged just 5.1 rebounds per game and 1.1 apg and he has the potential to bring better numbers to the court, this will be the next step for him. In May last season, he averaged 20.5 ppg while shooting 54.7 % from the field and will be a matter of time for him to reach new levels in his career.

I have already talked about Elton Brand in this preview and there are two significant questions for him for this season. The first one is related to his health. Coming off a shoulder surgery for a PF that draws significant contact during the games won't be easy for him, but the first sign is that he is healthy early on the season and that's good news. The second question is to know if Eddie Jordan will give him the proper plays for him to be effective. If is that the case, then Elton Brand will deliver 20 points and 10 rebounds every night because this is what he did on his career when healthy.  

Besides Elton Brand's (possible bad) contract, the Sixers have in Samuel Dalembert's 2 years contract ($12M each year) another issue to handle. Dalembert is coming from a frustrating season (possibly his worst season as a pro), in which he saw his numbers decrease in every department: Points, rebounds, blocks and FG %. However, we cannot dissociate the fact that he played only 24.8 minutes per contest (he played all the 82 games) and this explains partially such drop. Both Cheeks and DiLeo apparently didn't trust him, so let's see if Eddie Jordan feels the same way. Also Dalembert strained his right shoulder near the end of last season and it looks like he is still dealing with some discomfort in the training camp. Bottom line, the Sixers needs Dalembert to be at his best for several reasons. If they are counting on him they need a serviceable center, if not, they will need to move his $24M 2-years contract to another franchise and this granted won't happen if he struggles this season.

Last season, the Sixers had a reasonable bench that ended 10th in scoring with 30.9 points per game. However, this unit shot only 42.8 % from the field (6th worst) and Ed Stefanski brought some pieces for this season. The Sixers signed Jason Kapono to improve their awful ability to knock down 3 pointers (they were dead last season with an awful 31.8 % clip mark), but Kapono simply can't do anything else besides the 3pts shots, so I doubt that he will make any significant impact for the Sixers.

Marreese Speights had a rookie season full of promises, in which for just 16 minutes per game, he averaged 7.7 points while shooting over 50% of his field goals and grabbing nearly four rebounds per game. He was the biggest reason why Dalembert struggled to earn minutes and for this season, Speights will pressure Dalembert to earn his minutes once again this season.

Royal Ivey, Rodney Carney, Jason Smith, Stromile Swift and Primoz Brezec will take action in the back end of the bench and won't play any significant role for this season. Meanwhile, Willie Green was the Sixers SG starter last season for 59 games and although his numbers weren't pretty at all, he is one of the leaders in the locker room for the Sixers and one important voice in the roster.

The Sixers are one of the teams that the experts predict to fall this season, but they have some great talent in their roster. Only Elton Brand has double digits career years in this league (10th season for him) and the Sixers have 10 players with 25 years old or less! With such young but talented roster in Eddie Jordan's hands, the key will be how fast Jordan will be able to implement his ideology to the team and create a reasonable team chemistry. The Eastern Conference is stronger than never and the Sixers will have little room to struggle early on.