Tape shows 76ers' defense lacking

In between their LeBron James sandwich, the 76ers squeezed in an hour of tape yesterday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The Sixers, struggling at 9-13, spent about 50 minutes watching the replay of Wednesday night's loss to James' Cavaliers before flying to Cleveland for tonight's rematch.

What did the tape show?

"We have to get better defensively," said coach Maurice Cheeks, who kept coming back to defense as the main reason for the Sixers' poor start.

"Offense is always going to come," Cheeks said.

But through 22 games, the offense hasn't arrived. The Sixers are shooting 43.4 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from the three-point line - a lower percentage than last season's NBA-worst 31.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Cheeks said he still believes the 76ers' identity is the same: creating turnovers and getting into the open floor.

Swingman Andre Iguodala, who scored 27 points on Wednesday, echoed Cheeks' sentiment.

"We have to continue to get stops and get out on the break," Iguodala said. "Teams know we can run the ball."

But Cheeks also acknowledged that last season's philosophy - run and gun - was so efficiently executed because the Sixers often ran with only one big man. This season, with the addition of power forward Elton Brand, a wrench has been thrown into the running game.

"It's easier with four smalls out there rather than two bigs," Cheeks said.

Will a change in the lineup reflect that belief?

"I mean, playing Cleveland, I'm not going to play four smalls and have us at a disadvantage," he said.

Against the Cavs, Cheeks juggled the starting lineup, sitting small forward Thaddeus Young in place of shooting guard Willie Green, and moving Iguodala from shooting guard to small forward.

Cheeks said he likely would use the same lineup tonight.

Free throws.

Center Samuel Dalembert is currently second in all-star voting behind Orlando center Dwight Howard. But the numbers are staggering. Howard leads the NBA with 775,993 votes, followed by Dalembert with 650,000. No other Sixer is in the top 10 at his position.