Sixers' Collins may pull Turner from starting lineup

A week ago, 76ers coach Doug Collins said he would not consider removing rookie Evan Turner from the starting lineup.

After Wednesday's practice, Collins had loosened his grip on that declaration.

"Yeah, I would," said Collins when asked about bringing Turner off the bench.

So what has happened in the last week, forcing Collins to examine Turner's role?

Really, it's more what hasn't happened.

In the last four games, Collins explained, Turner has eight rebounds in 82 minutes.

"I talked to Evan . . . and that's the thing I was talking to him about," Collins explained.

Continued Collins: "And so, yeah, definitely, I will consider it."

After Wednesday's practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, assistant coach Michael Curry ran Turner, the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, through a variety of off-the-ball shooting drills.

In the last four games, Turner is 2 for 14 from the field.

"Evan, I don't worry about his attitude as much because I know what's in his heart," Collins said. "I know he just wants to win. I know what a competitor he is, and I know that he's frustrated. But the important thing is that he can't let that frustration then spill out. That can't happen because then you get two or three losses and then everybody wants to start pointing and stuff."

The Sixers' current starting lineup includes Jrue Holiday, Turner, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes.

Turner did not start the season's first six games but was inserted into the starting lineup when Iguodala was first sidelined with right Achilles tendinitis.

"When a guy keeps a lot of things inside it's hard for someone from the outside to talk to him," Brand said of Turner. "But he works so hard, so that makes him work even harder because he's his toughest critic. So I think that's where you'll see the gains come in."

If Collins does make a move away from Turner, he has various options: He could swap out Turner for Jodie Meeks, or he could slide Iguodala to the shooting guard and start either Andres Nocioni or Thaddeus Young as the small forward.

Halftime warm-up. After Tuesday's victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Collins said that he would begin sending out an assistant coach to watch over the team's end-of-halftime warm-up. So far this season, the Sixers have been vastly outscored in the third quarter of games, and Collins said a more focused halftime warm-up could help solve this issue.

"The first five minutes of the third quarter is when you can make a move because a lot of teams don't come out and get ready to play at the start of the third quarter," Collins explained.

The schedule. The Sixers' next month of games is grueling, including home games against the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers and an eight-game road trip spanning the holidays. On Friday, the Sixers will jump-start that monthlong schedule with an away game against the Atlanta Hawks.

"I don't even know how to describe this month we have coming up, but we have got to stay together," Collins said. "I don't know if the best of teams would want to face the schedule we have coming up."

Said Brand: "Luckily we're in the East, so we're not far out of a playoff spot. . . . We're definitely feeling positive around here."