Hawes to likely miss Friday's game
When it comes to injuries this season, the 76ers (10-4) are going to err on the side of caution. What this means for the immediate future is that you're not going to see center Spencer Hawes in a Sixers uniform Friday, against Southeast Division leader Atlanta (11-4), and perhaps on Saturday, when the Sixers play at Miami.
When it comes to injuries this season, the 76ers (10-4) are going to err on the side of caution. What this means for the immediate future is that you're not going to see center Spencer Hawes in a Sixers uniform Friday, against Southeast Division leader Atlanta (11-4), and perhaps on Saturday, when the Sixers play at Miami.
Hawes is no longer suffering from the sore back that kept him out of the Sixers' loss at New York last week. Hawes sat out Wednesday's 108-104 overtime loss to Denver at the Wells Fargo Center - the Sixers' first loss at home this season - with a strained left Achilles tendon.
"The back feels great," Hawes said Thursday after practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "Unfortunately, sometimes, they say, when it rains it pours. As soon as the back started feeling better I strained the Achilles. But it's feeling better today."
While this may be so, the Sixers want to nurse Hawes back to full strength so that he will be an asset down the road.
Asked if he thought Hawes would be available Friday against the Hawks, Collins furrowed his brow and shook his head.
"No, not really," Collins said. "I don't think it looks like he's ready to play."
There's no doubting that the Sixers are a better team with Hawes in the lineup. The Sixers run a high percentage of their offense through him. He is having his best season in many regards.
In just under 27 minutes per game, Hawes is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds. He's also averaging 1.7 blocks per game. Without Hawes in the lineup, the Sixers are 0-2 this season.
"If it was the Finals I could play," Hawes said. "But, you know, where we are right now and the fact that it's kind of lingering, it's best that you try and get it taken care of."
The Sixers were disappointed that they blew an early, 14-point lead against the Nuggets, rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, and squandered a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
But what bothered the Sixers most was the trio of three-pointers the Nuggets connected on at the end of the third quarter.
The Sixers were so miffed at themselves for not communicating on those shots that they called a players-only meeting after talking about the flubs with the coaching staff Thursday.
"We had a meeting of the minds, a little powwow just to make sure everybody is on the same page and to avoid any slippage," said reserve guard Lou Williams. "When you lose a game, I think it's important for everybody to sit down and say: 'OK, are we all right?' That was basically it. We had a meeting to make sure everybody was happy.
"This is the most success that we've had in a long time, and we're not planning on letting that go," he continued. "We can't afford to lose three, four in a row based on guys not being able to talk out small, little things. We lost one, we consider that a losing streak in our building, so we just had to talk it out."
