The Sixers went from 3-13 to 13-21; good for 9th place.


Who says you can't go home?

After two-and-a-half grueling weeks, the Sixers have finally returned to Philadelphia after concluding their longest road trip of the season. While their 3-5 record on the journey isn't all that remarkable, the trip could be considered moderately successful, given the circumstances.

Andre Iguodala missed the last four games of the trip due to a sore right Achilles' tendon. Lou Williams didn't play in two games due to the birth of his daughter, and Spencer Hawes was out against the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night because of back spasms.

A 4-4 record under any conditions would be a great road trip. But to pull out three wins when 3 of the top 6 guys in your rotation miss time is a pretty decent effort.

On and off of the court, the past eight games have been an adventure, if nothing else. It all began in Orlando on December 18, with the Sixers pulling out a victory against a Magic team that had traded away nearly half of its team earlier that day.

Three nights later, the Sixers were blown out by the Chicago Bulls 121-76. But much to everyone's surprise, they fought the Boston Celtics tooth-and-nail the following night, and only lost by four points, 84-80.

They alternated wins and losses for the next four games until they arrived in the Staples Center on New Year's Eve. Without Andre Iguodala, and with Kobe looking to improve on his 9-point effort in the teams' first meeting earlier this year, it didn't bode well for Doug Collins's squad.

So, of course, they found themselves tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with 90 seconds to go before Bryant iced the game with a 12-footer - the game-winning basket in a 102-98 Lakers' win.

On Monday night, the Sixers looked every bit of a team that was just playing out the string. "Lifeless" would be the best word to describe their performance during the final three quarters against the Hornets, finishing the game 19-for-66 from the field.

Despite all of that, the Sixers return to the Wells Fargo Center 13-21, solidly in the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference - pretty much where they were when the trip started. But even after these past 17 days, we haven't learned much about the team that we didn't already know.

34 games into the season, Evan Turner remains an enigma. In Phoenix on December 29, he had his best game of the year, scoring 23 points in the Sixers' 123-110 victory. However, in the other seven games of the road trip, he shot a combined 16-for-62 (25.8 percent) and even racked up a DNP-CD (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) against the Boston Celtics on December 22.

Simply put, Evan Turner doesn't do anything exceptionally well. He's a solid defender who gives you 100% effort, and he rebounds well for his size. However, he isn't a very good shooter (38.8 percent on the season) whose jump shot is somewhat of a liability.

With Iguodala out for at least another three games, Turner should get some additional experience that will prove invaluable down the road. But there are and will be some growing pains - a side effect that many fans didn't expect with a player selected #2 overall in this year's draft.

On the flip side, Thaddeus Young appears to be developing rather nicely under the tutelage of Doug Collins. Despite his decreased scoring output (11.7 PPG vs. 13.8 last season), Young is a more effective player than ever, shooting a career-high 54.2 percent from the field.

Unfortunately, he's stuck in a logjam at small forward with Iguodala, Turner and Andres Nocioni. So that, along with the fact that the Sixers decided not to extend his deal earlier this season, means that Young might take his emerging game elsewhere next season.

One young star who won't be leaving any time soon is Jrue Holiday. One of the benefits of hiring a former point guard as a head coach (Collins) is the fact that he can impart his wisdom on a player such as Holiday, who is fast become one of the better PGs in the East.

He's second on the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game, and his assist-to-turnover ratio is an impressive 2.4 to 1. Holiday is clearly part of the team's foundation, and as he grows, so will the Sixers.

The 76ers will have plenty of chances to grow over the next few weeks. With a travel-heavy schedule early in the season (20 of 34 games have been on the road), comes a reward. 27 of the Sixers' final 48 games are at the Wells Fargo Center, where they've played pretty well this year (8-6).

Even though the roster is the same, this is a different team than the one that started the season 3-13. So with the help of a little home cooking, Doug Collins and his young squad could finally start to put it all together.
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A funny picture of Iggy to make the Hornets smile.


All sorts of records were set in Sunday's Sixers-Hornets game at the Wells Fargo Center. Unfortunately for the visiting New Orleans Hornets, they're the types of records that you don't want appearing in your team's media guide.

Defense ruled the day as the Sixers stifled the New Orleans Hornets en route to an 88-70 victory, their fifth win in their last seven games.

With an early afternoon start, it appeared that both teams came out of the gate somewhat sluggish. The Sixers got out to a 20-13 lead after the first quarter, holding New Orleans to 5-for-21 from the field after 12 minutes.

The Hornets' futility carried over into the second quarter, a period in which they didn't make a basket until there was 5:07 left until halftime. That field goal would be their only one in the frame, the centerpiece of a pathetic, 1-for-21 shooting effort.

The one basket - along with the accompanying 4.5 percent field goal percentage - was an all-time franchise low for a quarter for the Hornets. In no uncertain terms, they were downright offensive on offense, looking nothing like the team that started the season 11-1.

Due in part to suffocating defense - and in part to the Hornets' apparent lack of energy - the Sixers held New Orleans to 6-for-42 shooting (14.3 percent) from the field in the first half. Over the last handful of games, it's clear that the Sixers have been dialing up the intensity on the defensive end.

"We've been playing better basketball as a unit," said Andre Iguodala after the win. "We've really been communicating better on defense I think that's the biggest part - defensively, we're getting it together and we're getting stops."

Iguodala had one of his best games of the season, filling the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Elton Brand added 15 points and 13 boards, while Lou Williams led all Sixers with 17 points off of the bench.

Chris Paul, who scored 25 of his team's 70 points, was the only Hornet in double figures. He also had three of his team's four assists - those four assists were one shy of the NBA record for fewest assists in a game by a team.

Kudos go out to the Sixers for not letting their foot off of the gas pedal despite a 45-23 halftime lead. New Orleans never made a serious run after the break, and the Sixers even increased the lead to 27 late in the 4th quarter.

Even oft-maligned rookie Evan Turner got in on the action, scoring 7 points, and chipping in 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 21 minutes of work. It was the best performance in more than a week for a player who's still working at making the transition to the NBA.

Sixers' coach Doug Collins specifically addressed Turner's struggles in his postgame press conference. "He's just learning how to be a pro in terms of what you have to do on a nightly basis so you're at your best," said Collins.

The performance turned in against the Hornets is especially encouraging following Thursday's heartbreaking 102-101 loss to the Boston Celtics. The Sixers had the defending Eastern Conference champions dead to rights, leading by 1 with less than four seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the resulting inbounds play found Jrue Holiday matched up against Kevin Garnett, who cut to the basket for the game-winning layup.

Sunday's game was the first of five matchups this week for the Sixers. Next up is a visit to New Jersey on Tuesday, followed by home games against the Clippers and Lakers. Following that, the team begins a brutal 8-game road trip with a contest in Orlando on Saturday.

"I told the guys we've got a heck of a week that we've gotta get started today and we did it," said Collins. "So I'm very happy about that."
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Hopefully Brackins lets his potential show in Philly.


The Philadelphia 76ers are still trying to twist and tweak their roster in preparation for the upcoming NBA season. Today, they pulled the trigger on a four-player deal that will send G Willie Green and F Jason Smith to New Orleans in return for Forwards Darius Songaila and Craig Brackins.

Sixers' General Manager, Ed Stefanski, has on numerous occasions claimed he felt that he had a winning roster under his wings, but that it would still require a few "tweaks" here and there. Throughout the off-season, this has held true.

It started with the trade of disgruntled C, Samuel Dalembert, to the Kings for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes. The Sixers' continued to build for the future when they drafter Evan Turner number two overall.

Willie Green was a serviceable back-up during his time in Philadelphia, but his time had run out a few years ago following a knee injury suffered in the summer of 2005. He was never really the same player.

Jason Smith's time with the Sixers didn't turn out too much differently. Smith was a very promising first-round draft pick for the Sixers out of Colorado State, but his fortune changed after, oddly enough, a knee injury in 2008. He missed the entire season, and played just 32 games this past season.

Darius Songaila has bounced around the NBA quite a bit, this being his fifth team in seven years. Songaila will serve as nothing more than depth with an already full power forward position. Unless, of course, he is used as a trade piece.

Craig Brackins is the most interesting player in this deal for the Sixers. Brackins, a rookie out of Iowa State, was taken by Oklahoma City with the 21st pick in this years draft, but was since shipped to New Orleans, and ultimately Philadelphia.

While that may not sound promising, this will. Brackins was pegged as a lottery pick in the spring of 2009, he opted to return to school where he would have to carry the Iowa State team on his shoulders, leading to a drop in production, and draft stock.

I'm not looking for Brackins to turn into a superstar, but the the potential to become a good player is clearly there. If he can return to that form, he will provide a good young spark for the Sixers.

Oh, and not to forget, when he returned to school, he improved his 3-point shooting to 47%. Let's hope he maintains that.

While this deal is a step in the right direction, it is far from the final step. This Sixer team is a possible playoff team with a first-round exit, at best. Moves are still there to be made, and a big one is needed. Hopefully Stefanski has something else planned, but I'm not holding my breath.
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