Thad Young continues to be a spark-plug off the bench.


If you look deep into the box score, the Sixers' 117-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night is more impressive than it appears on the surface.

It's not often that a team that allows its opponent to shoot 50% from the field wins by 20 points, but that's exactly what happened last night. But despite their defensive shortcomings, the Sixers played their most complete effort of the season.

The Sixers jumped on the Cavaliers early, scoring 35 in the first quarter, leading to a 66-54 halftime lead. The 66 first-half points is the most they've had after two quarters all year.

To borrow a phrase from Sixers' coach Doug Collins, the "ace of spades award" for the first half - and for the game - goes to Thaddeus Young, who scored 17 of his game-high 26 points before intermission. He also chipped in 11 rebounds, showing flashes of the potential he's displayed in his 3-plus seasons in a Sixers' uniform.

"I've been waiting to get back to my old self," said Young, following his performance on Tuesday. "I'm just having a great time, having fun out there."

Young and Lou Williams, who scored 13 of his 19 points in the 4th quarter, combined for 45 of the Sixers' 50 bench points. Seven of the nine Sixers who saw action last night finished in double figures - the team's total of 117 points is the most that they've scored all season.

Undersized by most accounts, the Sixers completely dominated the glass against the Cavs, outrebounding them 44-29. What makes that even more remarkable is that only one player over 6-9 - Spencer Hawes - saw any action for the Sixers last night.

Speaking of Hawes, he recorded his first double-double in a Sixers uniform with 10 points and 12 boards. Over the last three games, he's averaging 8.3 points and 9.7 rebounds.

"He's got that cocky part about him again, which made him good out of college. And I thought he lost that in Sacramento," said Collins when asked about Hawes. "I thought he got beat down a little bit, and he's getting resurrected."

Perhaps the most impressive number in the box score is the fact that the Sixers only turned over the ball 7 times against the Cavaliers. Over the past five games, they've done a phenomenal job of protecting the basketball, averaging only 9.4 turnovers per game, nearly five turnovers below the league average.

Last night's win was the team's fifth straight at the Wells Fargo Center, and gives them a 7-14 record overall. The recent success is a much-needed confidence boost for a team that closes out December with a brutal stretch of games.

In the next two weeks, the Sixers will be faced with the challenge of facing the NBA's elite nearly every time they step onto the court. Games versus the Lakers, Hornets, Magic, Bulls and two matchups with the Boston Celtics are all on the docket before Christmas.

"We looked at our schedule, we know what's on the back side of this," said Collins. "That's why every win right now is precious for us."
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This search could take longer than we first thought.


Less than one month into a disappointing season, even the coach is still searching for answers.

After Tuesday night's 101-93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers' coach Doug Collins offered the following quote after yet another frustrating effort:

"I look at my coaches all the time and I go, 'Any suggestions?'"

And therein lies the problem. All things considered, Collins does a pretty decent job of managing his team, given the talent that he's working with. The players who deserve to play get the minutes, and those who are inconsistent are relegated to the bench.

So the major issue with this team goes far beyond rotations or substitution patterns and the like; quite simply, the Sixers don't know how to win.

As children, we all fell down quite a few times before we were able to walk consistently. Once we got the whole balance and gravity thing down, we couldn't imagine not being able to do so.

Figuratively, the Sixers are going through a similar process this season.

With the exception of the Spurs debacle last Saturday, the Sixers have been competitive in every game this season. So far, they've won exactly two of them. However, it's the most recent loss that hurts more than the rest.

Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Raptors was as close to a must-win game as there is in November. When you're 2-9 and you're hosting another 2-9 team, there really isn't much excuse for not pulling out a victory on your home floor.

"When you’ve got winnable games, you’ve got to win them," said Collins after the Sixers' practice on Thursday. "Our margin for error is razor thin. We can’t make mistakes."

They made enough of those mistakes in the 4th quarter to wind up on the wrong side of a 94-86 score. While Elton Brand had an impressive effort (27 points, 8 rebounds), he and his teammates simply didn't make enough shots at the end, getting outscored 25-15 in the final 12 minutes.

One could offer up the usual alibis, of course. The Sixers were, in fact, on the second game of a back-to-back, less than 24 hours removed from the 8-point loss to Cleveland. And for the fourth time in six games, Andre Iguodala was nattily attired on the bench as he continues to deal with a nagging right Achilles' injury.

Excuses aside, last night's performance highlighted the fact that the Sixers lack a "closer" -- a player that they can give the ball to in the waning minutes of a game who will make the plays needed to secure a victory.

Although Brand has been the best player on the team this season, he's undersized at his position and often forced to pass out of double teams. Iguodala would seemingly be the perfect candidate to be the team's closer, but he's been bothered by injuries all season -- showing very little of the ability he displayed during this summer's FIBA World Championships.

Two years from now, the duo of Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner will be one of the more formidable backcourts in the NBA. But at this point in their careers, they are much more willing than able to carry the torch for the team in the 4th quarter.

"Back in college, I took 'em all, baby," Turner said, when asked about taking clutch shots at the end of games. Unfortunately for him, the Eastern Conference is a far cry from the Big Ten. The last time I checked, Northwestern isn't on the Sixers' schedule this year.

However, it's clear that with a little bit of time and effort, he'll grow. Turner will learn how to attack the rim as deftly as he did for the Buckeyes last year. Holiday's ability will catch up to his desire, and he'll hit more than his fair share of clutch shots.

But as the nurturing process continues for them, there doesn't appear to be anyone currently on the Sixers' roster who is ready to assume the much-needed role of a closer.

Any suggestions?
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The kids led the Sixers to their second victory of 2010.


As unlikely as it may sound to some casual observers, Elton Brand has unquestionably been the Philadelphia 76ers' best player so far this season. On Sunday afternoon, he did nothing to dispel that thought, scoring 20 points and pulling down 7 rebounds in the Sixers' 106-96 victory over the New York Knicks.

Including Sunday's game, Brand -- who is shooting nearly 58 percent from the field this year -- has scored 20 points or more five times in the past six games.

He wasn't the only player of note for the Sixers, however. Jrue Holiday (19 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) and Lou Williams (19 points) also contributed exceptional efforts to a team that has now scored 100 or more points in four straight games.

While the Sixers have had difficulties closing out games over the past week (Washington, Cleveland), they had no such issues on Sunday, ending the game on a 16-4 run. For the entire 4th quarter, the Sixers' defense only allowed 15 points -- the lowest number of points that they've given up in a single quarter all season.

"That's the encouraging thing," said Sixers' coach Doug Collins, following the game. "We have been in all the games [this week] and guys finally found a way to finish."

The victory came without the services of Andre Iguodala, who strained his right Achilles' tendon midway through Friday night's 123-115 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Iguodala -- who prior to Sunday had played in 252 consecutive games -- is still listed as day-to-day.

In his stead, Evan Turner played well in his first NBA start, scoring 14 points and pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. And with additional minutes available due to Iguodala's injury, Jodie Meeks made the most of the opportunity, scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 steals in his first regular season game as a Sixer.

It should be noted that Sunday marked the third time this season that the Sixers have played an extended period of time without Iguodala in the lineup. And with the exception of the 4th quarter against the Cavaliers on Friday, the team has played remarkably well without the man who many consider to be their best player.

"We've played without Andre some stretches this year and our guys have gotten in there and played very, very well," said Collins. "That is encouraging."

Sunday's game in New York was the first of a five-game road trip. Successive visits to Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio and Cleveland will quickly test the mettle of a 2-5 team that just now seems to be learning how to win.
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Andre Iguodala's disappointing season gets worse.


Philadelphia 76ers' forward Andre Iguodala strained his right Achilles' tendon during Friday night's 123-116 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and will miss Sunday's game against the New York Knicks.

Iguodala's injury, which caused him to miss the entire second half of the Cavaliers' game, brings to an end his streak of 252 consecutive regular season games -- the second-longest active streak in the NBA behind Derek Fisher at 297 games.

In his six-plus seasons, Iguodala has played in 492 out of a possible 498 games.

With Iguodala out of the lineup, rookie Evan Turner will get his first regular season start when the Sixers visit Madison Square Garden on Sunday -- the first game of a five-game road trip.

Forward Andres Nocioni was also injured during last night's game (sprained ankle), but will likely suit up vs. the Knicks.
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