After two losses at the hands of the juggernaut known as the Miami Heat, the Sixers know what needs to be done.

In an interview with PhillyBurbs.com on Wednesday, Andre Iguodala summed it up best when he said that he and the rest of his teammates "got to play... near perfect to get a win."

While that may have seemed obvious before heading into this series, the first two games in Miami did nothing but reinforce the point.

The Sixers' game plan worked perfectly for the first 12 minutes of the series as they sprinted out to a 31-19 lead in the first quarter of Game 1.

Then, the roof caved in.


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It didn't seem like much at the time.

During the 76ers' 110-105 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 9, starting power forward Elton Brand was hit hard on the back of his left hand, a blow that resulted in a "very minor fracture,"according to Philly.com.

"Elton got banged...the other night and I think he's going to be OK," said 76ers coach Doug Collins two days after the game. "He went through shoot-around today and seemed to be fine."

While he hasn't missed any action since that game, Brand averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.9 RPG during Philadelphia's next eight contests—a slight decrease from his season marks of 15.2 PPG and 8.7 RPG prior to the injury.

Brand himself will tell you that his hand is bothering him. And in the next breath, he'll completely dismiss the notion that the injury will cause him to miss any time, especially with the playoffs on the horizon.

"It is definitely a problem," Brand said when asked on March 27 about the injury. "It is nothing that will stop me from playing."

That response tells you all you need to know about what Elton Brand brings to this young Philadelphia team.


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Show your love.

With their impressive 115-90 victory Friday night over the New Jersey Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time in two years.

That may not seem like a huge accomplishment when taken at face value. For most Sixers fans however, it feels like a quantum leap when compared to last season.

But aside from the confetti that fell from the ceiling shortly after the final buzzer, it was hard for one to gauge the importance of last night's win.

76ers coach Doug Collins flashed his customary smile and gave out his usual post-game hugs, of course. But there were no overt celebrations, no champagne being uncorked in the home team's locker room.

With eight games left to go, and with playoff positioning still in the balance, the Sixers know that they have plenty of work to do before the postseason kicks off two weeks from today.

"The celebration is over," said Lou Williams shortly after the game. "We're excited to be back in the playoffs, but we're a long way from being done."


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All games are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

The Sixers' 97-85 win over the Chicago Bulls Monday night only counts as a single victory in the standings, but the impact that it will have on a young team over the rest of the season is immeasurable.

"When we got together at 9:30 this morning, we won the game," said a beaming Collins after the victory. "We talked about what we believe in, how we do things and how we wouldn't waver from them... I could not be more proud of this team."

It's been an eventful week for Doug Collins and his charges, to say the least. Last Friday, they took their talents to South Beach and battled the Miami Heat in a possible playoff preview. Despite a 16-point second quarter lead, the Sixers couldn't stop Dwyane Wade (39 points) down the stretch and lost to the Heat 111-99.

Against Sacramento on Sunday, not only did the team come out flat, but they wasted several chances to put the Kings away early, and wound up on the wrong end of a 114-111 overtime defeat. After the game, 76ers guard Lou Williams alluded to the fact that he and several teammates attended a Lil' Wayne concert the night before, possibly contributing to the loss.


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After Friday night's 102-80 victory over the Sacramento Kings, Sixers' coach Doug Collins gave Elton Brand the option to sit out tonight's game against the Portland Trailblazers.

Brand's response? "I’ll be out there. We’re greedy."

Greedy, because the Sixers are inching ever closer to a coveted playoff berth. Friday's win, coupled with the New York Knicks' 99-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons, moved the Sixers into 6th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Sacramento didn't do much to stand in the way of the 76ers' 36th win of the season. After a slow start, the Sixers got hot early in the opening period, ripping off an 11-0 run to take a 32-23 lead after the first quarter.

Jrue Holiday dominated the game's first 12 minutes, finishing the quarter with 12 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

He and the rest of his teammates pretty much controlled the game from the opening tip. At one point, the Sixers missed eight consecutive shots in the third quarter and still outscored the Kings 25-16 during the period.


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At virtually every level of basketball, a quality starting point guard is essential to a team's success.

Never has that been more true than in today's NBA, where many of the league's elite are directed by an All-Star caliber lead guard: Chicago's Derrick Rose, Boston's Rajon Rondo and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, just to name a few.

Sixers' point guard Jrue Holiday hopes to add his name to that list soon enough.

As the youngest player in the NBA last season, Holiday experienced his fair share of growing pains during his transition to the pro game.

As a 19-year-old rookie, he struggled at times to make the conversion from scoring guard - which he was during his one season at UCLA - to a more conventional point guard role.

Less than two years removed from his days back at Pauley Pavilion, the Sixers' lead guard has quickly blossomed into one of the best young talents in the NBA.


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There are no such things are moral victories in the Sixers' locker room.

However, after Wednesday's night's disappointing 110-105 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, many Sixers' fans probably came to a similar conclusion.

We may have something here.

Heading into the game, it was logical - reasonable, even - to have expected the Sixers to lose against the Thunder. Oklahoma City was coming off of a bad loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, and is battling to hold onto the 4th seed in the Western Conference.

Even after the Sixers started out the game on a 12-2 run, it seemed that it would be only a matter of time before the Thunder inevitably came back, which they did in short order in the first quarter.

What happened next was a bit of a surprise.

The Sixers - one of the hottest teams in the NBA - stood toe-to-toe with the Thunder all night, virtually matching them shot for shot. The last two quarters were especially frenzied - the dynamic Oklahoma City duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook carried the Thunder on their backs as they withstood the Sixers' multi-dimensional attack.


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The chorus of fans looking to trade Philadelphia 76ers' swingman Andre Iguodala has become a little less vocal these days.

Those beating the drum for his departure have been a bit more reserved.

Over the past several weeks, Iguodala has transformed his game from one of a scorer to that of an all-around threat; locking down the opposing team's primary wing player while filling the stat sheet on the offensive end.

His metamorphosis came full circle on Friday night as he had his best game of the season against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. Iguodala single-handedly orchestrated the Timberwolves' demise, scoring 22 points, handing out 13 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Sixers' 111-100 victory.

It was his second triple-double of season, with the other coming on February 16 when he notched 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the Houston Rockets just prior to the All-Star break.

This is the Andre Iguodala that Sixers' fans have long been clamoring for, the one that they expected at the beginning of the season on the heels of his performance at the FIBA World Championships this summer.


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After beginning the year with a disappointing 3-13 mark, the primary objective for Sixers' coach Doug Collins was to get his team back to a respectable record.

42 games later, they've finally arrived.

Behind a total team effort, the Sixers defeated the Detroit Pistons 110-94 at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night.

The win -- which brings them to 29-29 on the year -- marks the first time they've reached .500 all season.

"This is a great night for our team and our fans," said Sixers' coach Doug Collins following the game.

Prior to the matchup with the Pistons, the Internet was all a-Twitter (pun intended) about the Sixers' opportunity to even their record for the first time in the 2010-11 campaign. The team itself seemed to understand the importance of the situation and came out exceptionally sharp on Friday, shooting 52.3 percent from the field for the game.


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The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and the Sixers' roster looks exactly the same as it did at the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, in the past 48 chaotic hours, 20 of the other 29 teams in the league pulled off deals of varying consequence - some to acquire players, others making moves to reduce the burden on their respective salary caps.

The Knicks made the biggest splash at the trading deadline, acquiring Nuggets' SF Carmelo Anthony in a 3-team, 13-player deal. Despite dealing a cadre of players who comprised half of the team's offensive output, New York now has two bonafide superstars (Anthony and PF/C Amar'e Stoudemire), and is better equipped to handle the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

Not to be outdone by their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Nets pulled off a blockbuster of their own, acquiring PG Deron Williams from the Jazz for PG Devin Harris, PF Derrick Favors, two first-round picks and cash considerations.


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According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets were talking right up until the 3PM trade deadline about a deal for forward Shane Battier.

Per Stein, the deal would have included Jason Kapono and Marreese Speights.

Speights is still fairly young with a lot of upside, but has had a problem staying on the court consistently throughout the season.

Kapono, acquired for his ability to shoot the three for center Reggie Evans before the 2009-2010 season, has not seen any time since the beginning of the season and carries an expiring contract of $6.6 million.

Battier wound up being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Hasheem Thabeet and a first-round pick.


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While most of the stars in the NBA's constellation were aligned in Los Angeles this past weekend, the following was posted to Evan Turner's Twitter account on Saturday night:

"Headed to my old high school to shoot some shots."

Minutes after millions watched in awe as Blake Griffin exploded over a Kia Optima, Turner -- the Philadelphia 76ers' oft-maligned rookie swingman -- headed to the St. Joseph's High School gym in Westchester, Illinois to shoot a few hundred jumpers.

As the #2 pick in this past summer's NBA draft, Turner is the face of the Sixers' youth movement - a core of burgeoning stars who hope to lead the Sixers' franchise back to the level of success that it enjoyed in the not-too-distant past.

If Evan Turner's Twitter posts are any indication of the work that they intend to put in, the kids are going to be alright.


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It's fun being a Sixers fan, isn't it?

Just when the team starts playing well and is looking like it could be on the cusp of a playoff appearance, a division rival goes ahead and trades for a guy in Carmelo Anthony who could very well be the fourth-best player in the NBA.

Now I know what it's like to be a New York Mets fan and watch the Phillies.

The deal isn't official just yet, but ESPN the Magazine's Chris Broussard is reporting it's a done deal.

According to Broussard, the often-annoying "MeloDrama" is coming to an end via a three-team deal that involved 11 players, multiple draft picks, and a heavy amount of cash changing hands.


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Back on January 28, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered their most heartbreaking loss of the season, a 99-94 defeat at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies.

And considering some of the debacles that they've been a part of this year, that's saying quite a bit.

Less than three weeks later, with the memory of that game still fresh in their minds, you'd think the Sixers would come into the FedEx Forum firing on all cylinders, eager to exact revenge.

That wasn't the case on Tuesday night.

Led by Mike Conley, who scored all 22 of his points after halftime, the Grizzlies defeated the Sixers 102-91, sweeping the season series and preventing the 76ers from earning their first three-game road winning streak of the year.


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To the average fan, it wasn't pretty.

But if you were to ask Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins, his team's 77-71 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Friday night was one of the most beautiful games he's seen in quite some time.

In a game that was destined to be physical from the opening tip, Sixers' forward Elton Brand battled his way to 8 points and 17 rebounds against a tough San Antonio front line.

But point guard Jrue Holiday was the man of the hour against the Spurs, finishing with 27 points and 5 rebounds in his team's biggest victory of the year.

"I think Jrue did a great job of leading us tonight," said Lou Williams after the game. "Tonight goes to him - I think he was tremendous for us tonight."


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On the unofficial national holiday known as "Super Bowl Sunday," the Sixers defense was anything but "super" on Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire and Landry Fields combined for 66 points as they led the New York to a 117-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.

The two teams were less than 48 hours removed from their spirited contest on Friday night, a 100-98 Sixers victory at the Wells Fargo Center. Down by 9 entering the 4th quarter, the 76ers ripped off a 23-4 run as the Knicks appeared to come apart at the seams.

Elton Brand had his best game as a Sixer with 33 points and 17 rebounds. Andre Iguodala, in his new "point-forward" role, was nearly flawless with 18 points, 16 assists and no turnovers.


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Nearly 50 games into the season, and the Sixers are as much of an enigma as they were when they began the 2010-11 campaign more than three months ago.

One thing for certain is that hiring Doug Collins was the best move that the organization has made in quite some time. His tone with this team has been pitch-perfect: stern with the younger players when needed, yet he handles the veterans with the respect they've earned and deserve.

The added benefit of having a former All-Star point guard as a head coach is that he can impart his wisdom on a young guard under his tutelage, provided that the player is willing and eager to learn.

Fortunately, Jrue Holiday fits that bill.

Holiday, who is averaging 14.2 points and 6.6 assists this season, has probably shown the most improvement out of anyone who was on the Sixers' roster last year. The sophomore point guard is tied with the Spurs' DeJuan Blair for most double-doubles by a 2nd-year player with nine.


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This is getting old.

Once again, the Philadelphia 76ers had a victory well in hand before gift-wrapping it and giving it away to a less talented team. This time, they blew a 21-point 3rd quarter lead, losing 99-94 Friday night to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Wells Fargo Center.

By all accounts, this was a unique defeat, even for a team that seemingly invents new ways to lose on a weekly basis.

In the NBA, it isn't often that a team loses when they shoot 13-for-20 from beyond the arc. But that's exactly what happened down in South Philadelphia last night.

Early on, the game was relatively uneventful - the Sixers led 44-40 at halftime, with both teams shooting less than 43 percent to start the game. The Sixers' bench, which has been phenomenal over the past few games, outscored the Grizzlies' reserves 21-0 in the first two quarters.

A 25-5 run early in the second half sparked the Sixers to a 70-49 lead late in the 3rd quarter. And that's when the wheels began to fall off.


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Monday night's Sixers-Suns game was delayed at the start by about 10 minutes due to a problem with one of the baskets used during pregame warmups.

Knowing what they know now, Phoenix probably would have chosen to postpone the game altogether.

Unlike the Suns, Elton Brand had no problem with the basket at all, scoring 22 points and grabbing 9 rebounds - powering the Sixers to a 105-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Center, sweeping the season series.

The Suns entered the night ranked 3rd in the NBA in scoring at 106 points per game. But their problem on Monday was on the defensive end - in two games, they've allowed the Sixers to score 228 points.

The last time these two teams met, the 76ers set a season-high in points in their 123-110 victory on December 29. In that game, Evan Turner scored a career-high 23 points, and looked as solid as he has all season.


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Well, at least the Sixers didn't give this one away.

D.J. Augustin scored a career-high 31 points, including 25 in the first half, leading the Charlotte Bobcats to a 100-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

One night removed from a monumental loss against the Orlando Magic, the Sixers came out relatively strong against the Bobcats, shooting 57 percent from the floor in the first quarter.

But Charlotte was just as hot in the first half, led by Augustin, who was 10-for-11 from the field before intermission.

The Bobcats were never able to pull away from the Sixers, due in large part to the play of Andre Iguodala. For what it's worth, Iguodala played the facilitator role rather well, scoring 19 points and tallying 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

The Sixers were down 6 points at the half, and trailed by as many as 8 in the 4th quarter, but powered back to take a 89-88 lead with 3:23 to go. Thaddeus Young led the charge, scoring 15 of his team-high 21 points in the decisive final period.


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