Sixers Notes: 76ers' Collins thinks Turner, Iguodala playing well together

TORONTO - For much of the season, an underlying topic for the 76ers has been the possibility of Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner playing well together.

Iguodala, the team's anointed franchise player, and Turner, the lottery draft pick, seem to cover much of the same ground: good passing, good floor game, strong rebounding, weak outside jump-shooting.

During Iguodala's absence because of Achilles tendinitis, an injury that has cost him 12 games this season, Turner's numbers increased. The boost could be explained by the rookie's increased minutes, but some concern arose over the ability of the two guards to coexist.

Before Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Raptors, coach Doug Collins said he liked what he has seen from the pair.

"They've really, actually, been playing well together," Collins said. "Tell you what, we're good defensively when those two guys are out there together because we have size, we can switch a lot of things, both of them are good rebounders. One of the things I have to be concerned about is to make sure we have enough shooting on the floor with those guys."

Collins said that he usually tries to put combo guard Lou Williams, perhaps the team's best scorer, on the floor with Iguodala and Turner. Entering the game, Iguodala was averaging 14.1 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor, while Turner was averaging 7.3 points on 40.2 percent shooting.

"I don't even really pay attention to it," Turner said of playing with Iguodala. "Sometimes I sub in for him. I think once our team gets going and gets on a run, it doesn't really matter who's out there. It's not like it's an isolation for me one time, isolation for him the next."

Former Sixers forward Reggie Evans, who was traded to the Raptors in 2009, did not play Wednesday. On Nov. 26, Evans suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot and was scheduled to miss approximately eight weeks. Evans grabbed 22 rebounds in the Raptors' Nov. 24 victory over the Sixers.

"Reggie just crushed us last time we were here," Collins said. "He just got every rebound."

Evans is averaging 4.0 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.

Entering the game, the Sixers were 0-2 against the Raptors this season. Collins said his team was aware of its poor record against Toronto.

-Kate Fagan