Last season, the 76ers squeezed all they could out of an athletic lineup and decided to make big changes by shipping their lone All-Star, Andre Iguodala in exchange for Andrew Bynum. They switched gears and created a new offensive framework, one that will be designed to win in the playoffs.

Most of the 2011's early season success came from hustle, good defense and smart play. The 76ers took very good care of the ball. They ranked first in turnovers/game, over a full 2 turnovers less than the second place Clippers (11.2 to 13.3). They played fantastic defense. They ranked 3rd in the NBA in scoring defense and FG% against.

Their play was clearly a by-product of Doug Collins' defense-first mentality and it allowed them to jump out to a lead in the Atlantic. They played tons of home games and by mid February they were an impressive 20-9. Then they came back to earth. By mid-April they were 30-31 and in danger of blowing an opportunity at the playoffs.

So what went wrong? Primarily, the Sixers were a mediocre-to-bad offensive team. They ranked 23rd in the NBA in scoring and often looked confused when they had to settle into a half-court offensive set. As the shot clock would run down, players were often unsure of who would shoot. Sure, with Thad Young, Iguodala and Evan Turner, they could run the break with anyone, but this kind of offense all but disappears come Spring. 

Game by game, Jrue Holiday started turning the ball over constantly and lost a lot of the confidence he built early on in the campaign. In his last 25 games, his assist-to-turnover ratio was 2.25 to 1. He simply wasn't able to run an offense consistently, a trait that only worsened as the lockout shortened season rolled along.

More than the statistics show, the Sixers just looked confused and frustrated when facing good defensive sets. During the uplifting playoff run against the Bulls and Celtics, the Sixers were only able to eclipse 100 points in 1 of 13 contests. They failed to break 90 points in 8 of those games. 

While many were excited about this team, I was not. They needed to make significant changes, specifically to their offense, or they would undoubtedly take a step back in 2012.

They made these changes in the form of the mercurial yet potentially-dominant Andrew Bynum, the first formidable offensive post player they've had in 25 years. They also brought in several specialized shooters (Nick Young, Dorrell Wright, Jason Richardson) who are really there to do one job: Stretch the floor around Bynum and make open 3 point shots. The Sixers ranked 24th last season in 3 point shots made/game.

While they may not have the talent to match up with the Lakers and Heat (who really does right now?), they've made major strides to design this team to go further in the playoffs. They vehemently do not want to be the Atlanta Hawks of the last 10 seasons, who always won regular season games, yet were bounced in the first round almost every year.

Bynum is the linchpin for the future. If his knee heals properly, which has recently been a frustration, the Sixers could play in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, if he averages 42 starts like he has over his 7 professional seasons, then they may not make the playoffs at all.

Also, the big questions remains whether or not Bynum will even sign in Philadelphia after this season. This concerns me. How will Bynum react to the "biggest small town in America", after living amongst the glitz of Tinseltown since he was 18? Something about his aloof demeanor doesn't seem to fit here. After a bad night, I could see Bynum listening to a few 94 WIP callers and calling it a career in this town.

Few times have the fortunes of one team rested so heavily on the shoulders of one athlete, but Bynum's health and future are correlative to every single 76ers fans' happiness for at least the next 5 years.

Regardless of all the uncertainty, the Sixers NEEDED to make this gamble.

Had they left the team as is, they would be stuck in the vortex that's created by the NBA's complicated salary cap. They'd have been good enough to be an 7th or 8th seed every year, only to be fed to the lions on South Beach or in the Second City. Regardless of what happens to Iguodala's career or ultimately what becomes of Bynum's balky knees, the Sixers could not have lived without making this move. They needed something to blast them out of NBA mediocrity's heavy gravitational pull. Hold on to your hats, its going to be a bumpy ride.

People these days is an occasional column filled with random thoughts.

When can I expect another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Michael Turner has a bad Monday night. He proves to the world that he’s all-but done as an NFL running back and that he doesn’t know any car-service numbers.

iOS 6 makes Safari blazing-fast. I feel like I’m using Chrome on a high-end laptop. It was also a much faster update than in the past. The entire update took under an hour.

Fantasy Football causes NFL fans to make sweeping judgements, week to week. One week, you can feel like you have pristine RB1 depth, the next week you have no one.

Things are not looking good for the NHL lockout. Looking like fans will be going without hockey in ‘12-‘13.

Miggy Cabrera gets my vote for AL MVP if the season ended today, although its amazing that Mike Trout is even in the conversation.

Redskins fans make death threats at Josh Morgan, and barely anyone talks about it. If this happened in Philly, all I’d hear is A) about snowballs and santa and B) that we had a jail and court in the Vet.

Twitter has made it markedly easier for idiots to make death threats to professional athletes over a kid's game.

TV Pick of the Week is Boardwalk Empire. Great writing and acting exists for many shows in this day and age. BE has that covered. What sets it apart is its originality. So many shows are set in the same atmosphere. Not too many, if any, shows are Prohibition era. Not a huge fan of the music, but you adjust to it.

DeAnthony Thomas graces this weeks cover of Sports Illustrated, dubbed “the fastest man in football.” No one is more exciting to watching in College. There should be a PPV event in the offseason that actually settles this. I’d tune in. Entrants can be from NCAA or NFL.

JJ Watt is making Texans fans forget about Mario Williams quickly.

Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are going to have a killer fantasy Week 3. After this terrible week, they’re going to play with something to prove.

The 2012-13 season has begun! In a game full of fantasy significance, let's delve right into some key players' performances.

Hakeem Nicks - Nicks looked strong on a few tough catches. While his overall effect was way below expectations, he fought for the ball well on a couple of occasions. While it didn't do much good for owners in Week 1, its a good sign that Nicks is rounding back into form.

Victor Cruz - Cruz had a few terrible drops last night. While he had a few big drops last season, this amount was out of the ordinary. The Giants pass game was pretty rusty overall so I would worry too much about his poor production in Week 1. Still an every-week-start regardless of match-up.

Eli Manning - See above. The Giants weren't able to move the ball at all during the first half. His receivers did little to help him and DeMarcus Ware was a bother all night, racking up 2.5 sacks on his own. I still think Manning will be a decent second tier fantasy QB with all of his weapons.

Ahmad Bradshaw - Bradshaw exceeded expectations by scoring a 10 yard touchdown. His overall yardage was mediocre, but its clear that he's still the guy near the goal line. David Wilson fumble and subsequent cry bodes well for Bradshaw owners in the short term.

Tony Romo - Romo put up a pristine performance. If he has protection and a decent defense playing on the other side of the ball, Romo can be a top 10 fantasy option or better. He looked spry, stepping away from Giants lineman and buying time repeatedly.

Miles Austin - Like Nicks and Bradshaw, Austin made owners feel good about the risk they took on draft day. Austin stretched out for a couple great catches, especially during his 2nd half touchdown. No preseason games, no problem. Hamstring looks good.

DeMarco Murray - Bouncing back from a broken ankle suffered late in 2011-12, Murray gouged the Giants, particularly with a couple of spectacular long runs and amassed 130 yards for the game. He's a strong RB1 play but again didn't produce any touchdowns. This is a continuing problem for him dating back to last season.

Dez Bryant - Looked good on a few long plays in the first half. Didn't notch a touchdown, but saw a fair amount of targets. The Giants clearly game-planned for a heavy dose of Austin and Bryant. Romo adjusted and Kevin Ogletree got a huge amount of targets. I don't see this continuing all year.

Jason Witten - A surprise starter last night. He wasn't a part of the offense and should have been on most fantasy benches regardless.

The Fantasy naming process is an important one. Every team owner must craft a humorous, unique and creative headline for the squad he will go to battle with each week. What people don't realize, however, is that fantasy team names aren't very different in the end. Each fall under a specific category. Let's take a look at each category and examine what it says about its owner.

1. The Inside Joke That ≤ 1 Person Gets

We get it. Someone said something funny one time. You saw a funny thing somewhere with someone. You watch or listen to a funny show that no one else does.

These owners want to share their joke with the rest of the league, while also showing that they have their own unique brand of humor and taste. It always backfires. Everyone in the league either has to look it up on Google or more likely, just ignore it altogether.

2. The Obscure Movie Reference

We've all seen this guy before. The owner who likes to impress the league with their deep knowledge of useless ****. They pick an actor or character from a cult movie or TV show and honor them by naming their team after them.

Deep down, these people just want to share their love for the character with everyone else. While they enjoy being the only one who knows about their team's namesake, they'd appreciate once in a while if someone noticed the reference and lauded them for their acute knowledge of film and TV.

3. The Perverse Play on Words

This owner likes to show his grammatical acumen by creating plays on the seven dirty words. This owner wants to show that he is a creative yet edgy and wants to bring that mentality to the fantasy playing field. These name are solid go-to's when you can't find anything else. Just find a popular word or phrase and insert a dirty word. Its that simple.

4. The No-Try Guy

This owner could care less about a stupid team name. He just wants to play fake football. He'll come up with a name like "John's Jets" or "Doug's Dawgs". It often is a lazy owner who will give up by Week 10 because he forgot to start a RB one week.

5. The Same Name Every Year Guy

This guy has been using the same fantasy football team name since 2001. For whatever reason, he feels that he has some loyalty to a team that maybe won the league one year. Or he thinks he's so creative that the league has to be subjected to the same joke for another year. Also, will never change his team's logo/picture.

I find the opening ceremony to be boring. The initial pageantry is visually stimulating, but watching athletes walking and waving to the crowd makes me wish they would let the games begin.

How does Ichiro still need a full-time translator. He's been playing in the United States of America for over 10 years. Its not a good example to other immigrants, who should learn the official language of their new countries.

The Sixers have had a disappointing offseason. Their roster is currently less talented than the one that lucked out during last season's playoffs.

Its surreal to see Penn State, a team I grew up idolizing because of its simple, black shoes, white socks, plain uniform approach, in shambles because of its unconscionable obsession over maintaining their pristine brand.

I tried watching Howard Stern on AGT. I found out that I still just can't stand judge shows.

The pitching, hitting, bullpen and fielding have all killed the Phillies at various points in the season, but most of all, it was their lack of confidence. Now they have proven winners in the lineup and its showing. Probably still too far back though, but stranger things have happened.

Training camp is so frustrating. Sports media saturates you with so much coverage of nothing as we countdown to more meaningless preseason games.

Nice to see Cole Hamels locked up for the long term. Don't worry about money. John Middleton is not worried about a $3 million luxury tax. Ever since he sold his cigar company for 3 bill in 2007, the Phillies have been active spenders. Hmm.

Google is jumping into the telecomm race with Google Fiber, a pretty competitive looking product. I'm curious to see if it competes or if they've overreached.

Breaking Bad is the best show on television. Why is writing in TV so good, but in Movies so bad?

Quick, besides 2010's Lakers-Celtics series, what is the last NBA Finals to go seven games?

Surprised to learn that it was all the way back in 1994 when the New York Knicks bowed to Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets?

Well clear your schedule for Tuesday, June 26th, because that's when the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat will be playing Game 7 of the 2012 NBA Finals.

For much of the last 20 years, the NBA Finals were an after-thought. The series were generally decided before either team stepped on the floor. Whether it was Jordan's 6 title runs, Kobe's 5 or Duncan's four, what was supposed to be a struggle became more of a elongated coronation ceremony.

Lambs like the Pacers, Nets, and others were simply trotted out to be sacrificed.

But we are at the dawn of a new era. In the 90s it was the Bulls and in the 00s it was West. The league is more evenly distributed now and we as fans are left to reap the rewards.

Big 3 vs. Big 3. Who's better?

The easy and quick answer, in terms of raw talent, are the Heat. They have 2 of the top 5 players in the NBA in Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. They have a talented face-up threat in Chris Bosh as a third option, who showed impressive long range ability in Game 7 of the ECF.

However, while the Thunder may not have quite the star power of Miami, their Big 3 coexists far more seamlessly. They each have a unique role, whereas Wade and James are both best as the primary ball-handler.

Westbrook always is the primary ballhandler and distributor. Durant is the scorer and team leader. Harden runs the second unit and offers valuable outside shooting and surprisingly is their best paint player, often making physical drives to the hoop.

They all have their role and thus are much more reliable. Members of the Heat's Big 3 get lost because they do not have a consistent role in the game plan.

The talent of OKC is rapidly closing in on the Heat as their young stars mature. They fit more evenly and that gives them the advantage in the series.

Role Players and Bench. Who's stronger?

When you invest your assets into three superstars, the role players are going to be understandably lacking.

Other than the Big 3, no Miami player has scored more than Mario Chalmers' 14 points in Game 3, in a series where Bosh was basically non-existent (save for Game 7)

What the fuck happened to Mike Miller? The guy used to be a premier shooter in the NBA and is now a professional brick layer.

The Thunder, on the other hand, have the luxury of playing an All-Star caliber guard off the bench in Harden. Harden can easily score 30 points which allows him to run the second unit, allowing Scott Brooks to rest Durant and Westbrook without fear of losing offensive punch.

Aside from Harden, Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher have given the Thunder valuable playoff minutes. Sefolosha is their best defender and it showed during Games 3, 4 and 6. Manu Ginobili was held to 8, 13 and 10 points in those games respectively.

Sefolosha will play a huge role and will be tasked with defending Wade.

So who will win?

Regardless of who comes out on top during the 2012 NBA Finals, its the fans of basketball who will be the real winners. While the Super Bowl has been the epitome of a competive finale, the NBA Finals have come up short in terms of competitiveness in recent years. Finally, basketball fans will have a truly epic clash to get excited about.

The Heat have had their ups and downs during this postseason. Twice, they've fallen behind in their series, only to come roaring back when everyone doubted them.

LeBron stands on the precipice of greatness, needing only a championship to secure his legacy and eliminate all the bad feelings of his "decision."

In his way are a talented bunch of high-energy youngsters who seek their own right to basketball immortality.

While the Heat were able to get by on talent alone during the last two series, the Thunder are able to match them star for star. Combine that with the chemistry and specialization of the Thunder's roster, it will prove to be too much. The series will be one for the history books, but ultimately Kevin Durant's spectacular scoring effort on June 26th, 2012 will earn him his first ring. Thunder in 7.

During The 2012 NBA Playoffs run, the worst possible thing happened for Philadelphia basketball fans:

The Sixers won a round.

Not long ago, Philadelphia basketball fans were watching one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.

The team had blown all the excitement it generated early in the season and sputtered to an 8th place finish in a weak Eastern Conference. They were set to face a Chicago Bulls team with the NBA's best record and the reigning league MVP.

After getting bullied throughout the entirety of Game 1 by the Bulls, Derrick Rose blew out his ACL and caused a revolutionary shift in the future of the 76ers.

But wasn't that a good thing? Wasn't it beneficial for the Sixers to have more playoff games to gain experience with? Simply, no.

The problem with the Sixers success is that their executive team and their fans began to believe that this was actually a good team with a future. Its not. Its an awful mix of undersized power forwards, brick-laying swingmen and defenseless, trigger-happy point guards all led by a non-superstar who thinks he is one.

They stumbled through the first round, barely putting a woebegone Bulls team out of their misery and then wanted to be congratulated for it. Iguodala stood on the Wells Fargo scorers table holding his palms up to the sky, preening for all the ignorant Sixers fans still sitting in the arena.

The move made me sick. This is not a good team. Its a team with so many flaws and absolutely no future. This is a team that went 35-31.

Now they've pushed the Celtics to six games, but its an abberation. Its been done with smoke and mirrors and not solid basketball. Any success this team has had is based completely on athleticism and not skill. This is a very athletic team which allows them to play good defense at times.

They also go through times where their head is so far up their ass that they don't run back and don't play man to man as a team. They are vulnerable to huge offensive runs by the other team, as a result.

The sad thing is that this team has little to no future. Its not as if they need more time to figure it out. What you see is what you get.

Thaddeus Young will not ever be better than he is now. He's not 19 anymore.

Andre Iguodala is a good defender on a great team. He's a great dunker. He's a terrible personality. He frowns and gives awful responses to questions. Its almost like he doesn't know that many words in English. Dude, you're a pro basketball player with millions of dollars. Wipe that puss of your face.

Elton Brand is a goner and has been one of the biggest disappointments of my Philadelphia fan career.

Jrue Holiday is a talented player but goes through horrendous bouts of inconsistency. He cannot and should not be trusted to run a basketball team. He still doesn't know if he's a 1 or a 2.

Lou Williams only knows how to take off-balace, fall-away long distance shots. He's the absolute worst buzzer beater since Allen Iverson, never taking a late shot unless he has 5 hands in his face. He's a burden to the defense and frequently gets bullied.

Evan Turner has the most talent on the team. But why do the Sixers always have to have tall shooting guards who can't, you know, shoot? Everytime he rises up for a jumper, even from well inside the three point line, I'm sure he will miss.

Spencer Hawes? Are you kidding me. He's such a hippie from the Northwest who has no business in an NBA painted area. Garnett frightens him and so much that he just stays out on the perimeter.

Lavoy Allen is a great story and shows a lot of energy, but come on, he's a second round pick and we drool over and praise him like he's some great star. He's not and he belongs at the end of most NBA benches.

Jodie Meeks should be in the NBDL, plain and simple.

And with that, good luck in Game 6 boys, I'll be pulling for you.

On Thursday, Van Halen canceled 31 dates on their summer tour without any statement from the band or from promoter Live Nation, including their July 11th show at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, a concert that I was eagerly awaiting, ticket in-hand.

The initial reaction was that the tenuous relationship between Diamond Dave and the Van Halen family had already broken down. This was supported by a report from Rolling Stone that said the band members "hate each other" and "are fighting".

I attended the March show in Philadelphia and found that Eddie was rejuvenated. Having battled cancer and alcoholism during Van Halen's 14 year hiatus from the studio, he was smiling and enjoying himself while succinctly speaking through his screeching EVH Wolfgang.

It wasn't exactly the same old Van Halen from '78-'84, but Dave and Eddie seemed to get along well enough to play a tight, two-hour set of classic songs. That's why it didn't make sense that they would can 31 big time money making concerts because of fighting.

Although the band has yet to make a formal statement, reports indicate that the postponement is due to exhaustion rather than consternation.

I also received an email from Wells Fargo Center that said the following:

"We just learned that this event has been POSTPONED and a new date will be announced at a later time. Hang on to your tickets - they will be honored once the new date is announced"

While that could be standard procedure from the venue, I'd expect them to take a quick breather and return with another great concert in Philadelphia in the next couple months.

They play a high energy brand of music and are all entering their late 50s (besides Wolfgang) and have jumped back into a long tour.

The concerts they've canceled were originally not planned to be part of the tour. The 31 dates, including Philadelphia, were added later based on the immense public support for the A Different Kind of Truth Tour.

UPDATE: David Lee Roth released a response via a video posted on his Vimeo account.

They played each game like it was their last. Little did they realize, it soon would be.

Iverson flying to the basket, scooping in another acrobatic finger-roll between the giants, and slamming into the hardwood floor sections of the First Union Center.

Utley, running out another routine ground ball as if he were stealing home.

These are the memories we all share when we think of two of Philadelphia's most beloved sports stars. Alas, all we have now are memories.

Allen Iverson was fearless and mercurial. His speed, quickness and jumping ability provided him with unprecedented penetrating ability. No one 6 feet tall or under had ever possessed this ability to get to the rim.

As AI matured and continued to succeed, teams would try to take advantage of his small stature and bang him around at every opportunity.

During the 2001 NBA Playoffs, Iverson had been through a war, his body looking like a road map of pain and suffering.

Iverson, unlike Utley, never seemed to take care of himself or his athletic gifts. He was routinely chided by management and coaching for not committing to a weight-training program, which may have protected him better. He was also known to have a hard-partying lifestyle.

From the moment he smacked a walk-off homer off of a still-effective John Smoltz, Chase Utley was a star in Philly. His intensity and his ability to stand in until the last moment while turning two endeared him to his adopted blue-collar city.

But did he really need to lead the league in Hit-By-Pitches from 2007-2009? Isn't that something we'd rather Pete Orr do?

The Phillies paid prime cash for their once-soon-to-be Hall of Fame second baseman (7rs/$85m) and they and their fans would've rathered him rip extra base hits than be a human pitching target.

While players like Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar evolved and restructured their talents (Jordan added a devastating turnaround jumper, Abdul-Jabbar perfected the SkyHook), Iverson never really evolved. His signature move was the crossover and he never developed another.

His second best 3P% season was his rookie year (.341 compared to career high .345 in 2007-8). Once he lost the ability to get around people and into the lane, he became a below-average NBA player. By insisting on attacking the lane and not changing his approach, the game passed AI by.

Chase Utley always seemed to be the hardest worker on the Phillies. From the hustle he showed running out ground balls to his insistence on breaking up every last double play, Utley wore himself down too fast. Instead of understanding his role on a team that needed him there everyday, he stubbornly stood in the way of fastball after fastball.

But "that's the only way he knows how to play," I hear sometimes. Bullshit. The city and the team need Utley in the field every day more than we care about him running out a ground ball.

I know better than anyone, that past tendencies can be forcibly changed. I quit smoking after being obsessed with the habit for 8 years. But I changed. I stopped.

For a long time I thought, "I'm young, this doesn't matter. I can keep this up and one day, in the future, I'll change."

I'm sure Utley and Iverson thought the same thing, only now its too late.

Rod Thorn, Josh Harris and Adam Aron need to understand that, without a blockbuster offseason move, this Sixers team will become the Atlanta Hawks of the last 7 years. Always a playoff team, but never more than a defeated first-round punching bag.

The Sixers need a revolutionary, out-of-the box transaction to become relevant and profitable in Philadelphia. Unlike other sports, the NBA landscape can change with the acquisition of just a single player. 

We found that out in Philadelphia in 1996 when our basketball prayers were "Answered." This city has always gravitated to star players like Dr. J who begat Sir Charles who begat Allen. While they're now a competitive team, its just not as much fun this way; and their stakeholders will exhibit apathy with their wallets.

Forget the incessant mid-first-round picks who offer mediocre talent. Either make a Ricky Williams/Mike Ditka trade or pray to Ganesha that, in this day and age of advanced scouting and ever-improving draft assessment, we'll get lucky.

Over the past 20 seasons, the 2004-05 Detroit Pistons are the only title winner to be considered sans-superstar.  

I know its not an easy task, but to come back next season with the current team would be extremely disappointing. It's all coming to a mundane and foreboding end but then again, there's always next year.