Sixers Notes: 76ers coach Collins wants Holiday to be more aggressive on offense

MINNEAPOLIS - In recent days, 76ers coach Doug Collins has been emphasizing to point guard Jrue Holiday the importance of going into attack mode early in games.

"We need Jrue to be more aggressive and looking to score the ball early," Collins said Sunday. "He needs to score for our team. I don't want there to be any indecision about what he needs to do for our team."

Holiday took Collins' advice to heart. The third-year point guard took 10 shots in the first half Sunday against Minnesota and finished the game with 20 points.

Holiday was coming off his two worst games of the season, and it's no surprise that the Sixers dropped both games, to Orlando and Dallas. In those two losses combined, Holiday shot just 1 for 17 from the field and scored a total of six points. He combined for just seven assists in those games.

Going into Sunday's game, Holiday was averaging 13.4 points and shooting 41.4 percent from the field; both figures were down from last season, when he averaged 14.0 points per game and made 44.6 percent of his shots from the field. In the last 10 games before Sunday, Holiday was averaging 11.6 points and making just 37.6 percent of his shots.

Holiday's approach has always been to get his teammates involved in the offense first, then start looking for his shot - calling his own number when the Sixers really need a basket. Either way, he promised to be more aggressive in coming games.

"I just have to start out attacking," Holiday said. "I know there are times when I try to start off and get the whole team into it. But I think we play better when I start off aggressive.

"And if I start off and make an aggressive mistake, that's better than not being aggressive at all."

Though the Sixers have been struggling to get their offense started, it should be pointed out that they have played some of the NBA's better defensive teams in recent weeks, including Orlando (twice), Dallas, and Miami (twice).

"You have to take that into consideration," Collins said. "We've played some of the best defensive teams in the league in February, you can't overlook that. That's why although we've been struggling, I don't want to place too much emphasis on that. We've played some really tough teams."