But the 76ers , while underachieving at 9-14 when Cheeks was fired Saturday morning , were not an embarassment when they went on the court , not a disjointed bunch that clearly was no longer listening to or playing for its coach .
Cheeks
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But the 76ers , while underachieving at 9-14 when <m> Cheeks </m> was fired Saturday morning , were not an embarassment when they went on the court , not a disjointed bunch that clearly was no longer listening to or playing for its coach .
Not because Mo Cheeks was long for the job with the Philadelphia 76ers .
Like all coaches not in the upper stratosphere of the coaching hierarchy -- your Phil Jacksons and Gregg Popoviches -- he was only as good as his last 10-game stretch , only as secure as how well his star was playing .
But the 76ers , while underachieving at 9-14 when <m> Cheeks </m> was fired Saturday morning , were not an embarassment when they went on the court , not a disjointed bunch that clearly was no longer listening to or playing for its coach .
This was n't P.J. Carlesimo ( Oklahoma City ) or Eddie Jordan ( Washington ) , whose team 's putrid won-loss records sank any chance they had of survival .
This was n't Sam Mitchell ( Toronto ) , whose differences of opinion with his general manager about his team 's personnel were too big to overcome .
This was n't Randy Wittman ( Minnesota ) , whose fan base was staying away in droves as the paying public grew indifferent to the on-court product .
The timing of this move by team president and general manager Ed Stefanski was a head-scratcher .
`` It 's not 100 percent on the coach , '' a source with knowledge of the 76ers ' thinking said Saturday afternoon .
`` But at the same time , we did n't seem to have a plan . ''
Stefanski named assistant general manager Tony DiLeo coach for the rest of the season .
DiLeo has a good reputation as a coach , spending time over the last two decades on the Sixers ' bench as an assistant and in Europe as a head coach .
But unless circumstances change dramatically , Jordan -- who became close with Stefanski while both were in New Jersey earlier this decade -- will be the odds-on favorite to get the job permanantly .
Many league execs still think quite highly of Jordan , and none of the players who matter in Washington threw Jordan under the bus after he was fired .
Cheeks ' coaching moves have frequently been criticized over the years , both in Philadelphia and in Portland .
But he lost his job this time not only because of Xs and Os , but because so many of the 76ers ' players that blossomed under him last season , including center Sam Dalembert , forward Andre Iguodala and guard Lou Williams , struggled to get going this season .
And the moves Cheeks made , like benching second-year forward Thaddeus Young and elevating guard Willie Green , have n't produced enough dividends .
`` Ed just was n't seeing any progress , '' the source said , and Stefanski expected more from a team that had signed free agent Elton Brand to an $ 82 million deal and re-signed core players Iguodala and Williams for $ 80 million and $ 25 million , respectively .
`` We were n't progressing at the rate [ Stefanski ] thought we should , and he thought it was time for a move , '' the source said .
Yet Stefanski can not escape criticism , either .
Bringing Brand in was the signing coup of the NBA offseason , to be sure .
But in doing that , Stefanski changed the team 's footprint .
The Sixers are still a very good transition team .
But when the game slows down , having to cater to Brand leaves the lane clogged .
Last season , Iguodala , Young and Williams had driving room when Philly ran its halfcourt sets , and Dalembert showed occasional decent low-post play .
But now , Brand is the man in the paint , forcing everyone else out on the perimeter .
Left to fend for himself on the weakside , Dalembert 's numbers have plummeted , and Williams has just begun to play well .
Brand is recovered from the Achilles ' injury that kept him out of all but eight games last season with the Clippers , but he 's been slowed by a bad hamstring , and his offensive numbers ( 15.9 points , a career-low .436 from the floor ) have been unspectactular .
No matter what the stats say , Philly looks and plays slower this season .
And Stefanski did n't get a big-time shooter who could stretch the court and take pressure off of Brand inside .
Veterans Donyell Marshall and Kareem Rush , signed later in the summer by Philly , do n't strike much fear into opposing teams .
The result is Philly 's 93.3 scoring average , 28th in the league ( only Charlotte and Oklahoma City have scored 100 points fewer times than Philadelphia 's six ) , and .314 percentage behind the three-point line , 26th in the league .
`` Everybody zones them , '' an Eastern Conference executive said Saturday .
The Sixers had just scored one of their more impressive victories eight days ago , rallying from a double-digit deficit in the second half to win on the road at Detroit .
True , they had bad losses early to the Bobcats and Timberwolves , and lost a home-and-home to the Cavaliers on Wednesday and Friday .
But last we checked , Cleveland was 20-3 , owner of an 11-game win streak and the only remaining undefeated team at home this season .
The Cavs are rolling , and losing to them is no embarassment .
Another league source with knowledge of the team 's thinking said Saturday that the Cleveland losses played no role in Cheeks 's firing .
Cheeks received his second one-year contract extension in less than a year last September , taking him through the 2009-10 season .
While Stefanski did n't hire Cheeks ( that was former president Billy King , whom Stefanski replaced early last season ) , Stefanski and Cheeks had quickly established a solid , working relationship with one another .
Cheeks quickly acquiesced last year when Stefanski asked him to give more time to the team 's younger players , getting Young and young vets Rodney Carney and Williams bigger minutes .
The transition transformed the team , as the 76ers went on a 19-7 run last spring , turning opponents over and becoming deadly in transition .
They rode their hot streak into the playoffs , where they stretched Detroit to six games before succumbing in the first round .
They were n't a finished product , though , and it was no secret that Brand was Stefanski 's target , just as he 'd been King 's ultimate target .
After a brief dalliance with Atlanta free agent Josh Smith , So Stefanski cleared as much cap room as possible , sending Carney and center Calvin Booth to Minnesota , and then struck , getting Brand to spurn his former team , the Clippers , as well as the Warriors , for the Sixers ' $ 80 million offer -- the `` Philly Max , '' as Brand later called it .
After keeping Iguodala and Williams , all the heat was on Cheeks .
Saturday , he became the latest coach -- one-sixth of the league 's head men already gone in little more than five weeks -- to succumb to the pyre .