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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Could Philly have a rising superstar in Jodie Meeks?


Early in his postgame press conference on Friday night, Sixers' coach Doug Collins smiled and offered the following:

"Jodie... welcome back."

Those three words pretty much captured the sentiment of every Sixers' fan who watched Friday as Jodie Meeks scored 24 points to lead the 76ers to a 105-99 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center.

Meeks, who had scored a total of 14 points in his last four games prior to last night, was aggressive early, attacking the rim and scoring 10 points in the first quarter. His teammates had some extra bounce in their step as well, eager to avenge the embarrassing 121-76 loss that the Bulls handed to them back on December 21.

However, the Bulls were just as hot at the start, shooting nearly 62 percent in the first quarter and leading the Sixers 30-28 after 12 minutes. Most of the Bulls' damage came from inside as they scored 24 points in the paint in the first quarter alone.

Despite trailing by as many as nine points in the second quarter, the Sixers hung with the Bulls in the first half, finding themselves only behind by two - 56-54 - as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

After intermission, the Sixers made their move - they connected on their first nine shots in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 32-18 in the period, bolstered by a 12-0 run. As a team, they shot 14-for-18 in the 3rd, with Meeks leading the way with 9 points.

"We've been getting off to a slow start in the third quarter sometimes," said Meeks after the game. "So we tried to get a good warmup [at halftime], and tried to make a statement in the first four minutes of the third quarter. I think we did that."

Recently, there's been some consternation among Sixers' fans regarding the team's starting two-guard spot. Evan Turner appears to be the most logical candidate, but he doesn't shoot nearly well enough. And even when healthy, Andre Iguodala - who is dealing with a nagging injury to his right Achilles' - is more comfortable operating at the 3 position.

Which is why Meeks, a second-year guard out of the University of Kentucky, is currently in the Sixers' starting lineup. And despite the fact that Meeks is the very definition of a "streaky shooter", he will occasionally give you performances such as the one that was on display Friday.

Early on last night, it appeared as though the Sixers' lineup woes were only going to get worse. Small forward Andres Nocioni fractured and dislocated his right middle finger midway through the first quarter. After going back to the locker room and having it taped/reset, he later returned to start the second half.

But despite the broken finger, Nocioni single-handedly - no pun intended - closed the door on the Bulls in the game's final moments. After Lou Williams missed a jumper with 17.9 seconds left and the Sixers leading 102-99, Nocioni grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and knocked down two free throws to effectively put the game away.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the win is that it came despite the fact that the Bulls' stars played remarkably well. All-everything point guard Derrick Rose dazzled the 15,303 in attendance on his way to 27 points and 9 assists.

Carlos Boozer had his way inside, scoring 31 points on 14-for-19 shooting, and chipping in 13 rebounds for good measure. And Luol Deng was extremely active, finishing with 22 points and 5 rebounds.

But despite their scoring prowess, the Bulls had no answer for the Sixers' guards, especially when it came to defending the pick-and-roll. Meeks, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams combined for 63 points, and routinely had their way with the Bulls' backcourt on the offensive end.

As they head out to Detroit to face the Pistons on Saturday, the Sixers, whose record now stands at 15-21, are now 10-6 this season at the Wells Fargo Center.

To borrow a phrase from Animal Farm, for the Sixers, every win is equal, but some are more equal than others. Especially a win against a team that had run them out of the gym less than three weeks earlier.

"When you get beat by a team by 45 and you come back and are able to win that game, it's a hell of a win," said Collins.
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The Sixers must learn how to be a consistent winner.


Several times this season, the Sixers' inability to close out games cost them a chance at a victory. Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers gave a clinic on how to finish strong, scoring 35 points in the 4th quarter en route to their 93-81 victory over the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Despite an off-night by Kobe Bryant, who scored only 9 points on 3-for-11 shooting, the Lakers turned on their championship form when they needed to, ripping off a 27-6 run that began late in the 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach.

"They cranked it up a little bit on us," said Sixers' coach Doug Collins following the game. "That's what championship teams do. That's what we aspire to do."

One day after Lower Merion dedicated a new gymnasium in Bryant's honor, the Sixers almost put up enough bricks to build a new gym themselves. In front of their second capacity crowd of the season (the home opener was a sellout as well), the Sixers missed their first 11 shots of the game.

Fortunately for them, the Lakers didn't score on their first few possessions either. After Sixers' center Spencer Hawes provided the first points for his team nearly five and a half minutes into the game, the team finished the period strong and wound up leading the Lakers 21-18 after the first quarter.

The energy in the building was palpable, and it clearly buoyed the Sixers after their slow start. The 18 first quarter points for the Lakers were the fewest they've scored in the first period of any game all season.

The Sixers kept it close for the majority of the first three quarters, despite the fact that their starting backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks went scoreless in the first half. Holiday and Meeks finished the game with 12 points on 4-for-22 shooting (18 percent).

Their performance, or lack thereof, was nearly offset by the brilliant play of Hawes. It almost sounds like the proverbial broken record, but once again, Hawes continues to improve every time he steps out onto the court. In addition to his solid defense against the Lakers' big men, he filled the stat sheet last night with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.

The performance of the night, however, clearly belonged to Lakers' forward Lamar Odom. Picking up the slack from Bryant - who sprained his right pinky finger early in the game - Odom scored a season-high 28 points to go along with 8 rebounds.

In the Sixers' defense, players like Odom and Lakers' forward Pau Gasol present a difficult matchup for pretty much any team. So despite the marked improvement they've made since the beginning of the season, they'd have to play nearly flawless basketball to pull out a victory against the two-time defending champions.

Despite all of the excitement in the actual game, the biggest cheers came when Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick and his fiancee showed up late in the 3rd quarter, much to the delight of the 20,366 in attendance. Chants of "M-V-P, M-V-P" rained down upon Vick, who was given his courtside seats by Laker Matt Barnes.

It should be noted that last night's game marked the first DNP-CD (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) in the brief career of Evan Turner. Andres Nocioni - who hadn't played in the previous three games - got the bulk of the minutes that typically go to Turner, presumably because Nocioni's shooting prowess gives the Sixers better flexibility on the offensive end.

After yesterday's game, the Sixers don't play at home again until January 5. Tonight's game in Orlando is the start of an 8-game road trip, with many of the matchups against the class of the NBA.

Games against the Magic, Bulls, Celtics, Lakers and Hornets will quickly test the character of this young team. But if they can play the way they have been over the past couple of weeks, don't be surprised if they return to the Wells Fargo Center a far better team than they were when they left.
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Only the officials could cool off Jodie Meeks' hot hand.


Prior to Friday's 93-88 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers' coach Doug Collins made yet another change to his starting lineup, replacing the struggling Evan Turner with Jodie Meeks.

Given Meeks' performance versus the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night, it'll probably be quite some time before Turner finds himself back with the starting five.

Meeks, in just his second career start, scored 26 points -- including 20 in the first quarter -- to lead the Sixers to a 109-91 win over the Bobcats.

The Sixers led the contest wire-to-wire, playing one of their more complete games on both ends of the floor. But last night belonged to a certain second-year shooting guard out of the University of Kentucky.

There's "hot," and then there's Jodie Meeks in the first quarter of Saturday night's win over the Bobcats. He was on fire right from the jump, starting the game 6-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line.

"He was like a flamethrower out there," said Collins, who was effusive with his praise of his young scorer. "Jodie gives us an extra dimension... he's pretty explosive."

Only the referees' whistles could cool off Meeks, who was forced to the bench after picking up his second foul less than 12 minutes into the game.

Meeks is well-known for his scoring prowess, having set the University of Kentucky single-game scoring record with 54 points against Tennessee in 2009. Less than two weeks ago, he enjoyed a similar hot hand, scoring 21 points during the Sixers' 99-90 loss to the Miami Heat on November 26.

After a string of six DNP-CDs (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) to start the season, Meeks is merely grateful for the opportunity to contribute.

"I just wanted to come in and be solid," said Meeks following the game. "Just take open shots and knock them down."

He and the rest of his teammates were more than solid Saturday night, beginning the game on a 32-11 run. On the defensive end, they forced the Bobcats to miss 13 of their first 17 shots, leading to a 16 point lead at the end of the first quarter.

Meeks wasn't the only one carrying the scoring load for the Sixers; four other players scored 15 points or more, led by Thaddeus Young who chipped in 20 points off the bench. And while Spencer Hawes didn't score in double figures, he enjoyed his best performance as a Sixer (6 points, 9 rebounds).

The enigma that is the Evan Turner situation took another interesting turn last evening. 24 hours after one of his more solid outings of the year (11 points, 4 rebounds), the rookie out of Ohio State logged just over 11 minutes against the Bobcats, with many of those minutes coming with the game well out of reach in the 4th quarter.

With the emergence of Meeks, Collins appears to have the luxury of allowing Turner to grow at his own pace. Still, one would think that the second pick in the draft should be able to earn meaningful minutes for a team that's a far cry from .500.

With the victory, the Sixers improved to 6-14, with wins in three of their past four games. It should also be noted that they've now won four straight games at the Wells Fargo Center -- last year's team never won more than two consecutive games at home all season.

Recent success aside, the Sixers are clearly getting better as the year is progressing. A number of young players (Jrue Holiday, Young and Hawes, among others) have showed marked improvement from the beginning of the season to now. If they continue to grow at this rate, the Sixers could find themselves in contention for a playoff spot once April rolls around.

"I know we’re a better team today than we were 30 days ago," Collins said following the Atlanta loss. "I know that. And so that’s the one thing I’m hanging my hat on."
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