Time for Sixers to rebound
MEMPHIS - The hoopla surrounding the 76ers earlier in the season when they jumped out to win 18 of their first 25 games was unlike any surrounding the team in years. Talk of playoff seedings and opponents filled radio airwaves and beat writers' email inboxes.
MEMPHIS - The hoopla surrounding the 76ers earlier in the season when they jumped out to win 18 of their first 25 games was unlike any surrounding the team in years. Talk of playoff seedings and opponents filled radio airwaves and beat writers' email inboxes.
Now the team has lost five of its last seven, including the devastating, 92-91 setback to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, when Kevin Love hit two free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining to seal the game. And so the talk has switched to trades, substitutes vs. starters and the need for another big man.
Somewhere in between lies this season's Sixers team.
Right now, the concerns surround mainly the offense, which hasn't produced more than 99 points in the past 15 games. The loss of Spencer Hawes, who could be out for another couple of weeks with his strained Achilles', certainly has been a key factor, as the team is only 8-10 without him.
And then there is the painful thumb on Elton Brand's shooting hand that seems to get worse with every bang he encounters. He has shot only 38 percent from the floor the past five games. Add to that toll this condensed schedule, which seems to be taking on his 32-year-old legs, and the production that was expected from him just isn't there right now. Thaddeus Young has been terrific off the bench all season, but when you add him as a big man to a lineup that is dealing with an ailing Brand and no Hawes, along with rookies Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen, teams know Young is the featured player they must stop, and he garners much of their attention.
The backcourt also has been a concern for coach Doug Collins lately, as point guard Jrue Holiday had been slumping with his offense before a nice, 20-point, five-assist performance in the loss at Minnesota. Jodie Meeks has been off lately, making only 10 of his last 32 shots in the past four games, and only two of his last 13 from three-point range. Sub Evan Turner has scored in double figures only once in the past 11 games.
So problems are arising. But Collins still has the utmost confidence in his team's resilience. Considering his players' youth, they are an exceptionally professional group that comes prepared every day; they don't allow losses or poor play to carry over to the next day.
Tonight, they'll face another tough matchup in the Memphis Grizzlies, before playing at Houston before the All-Star break.
While the offense struggles, the Sixers will have to rely on their defense, which still is the stingiest in the NBA, by allowing only 87.3 points per game. They also will have to keep getting production from their bench, which leads the league in scoring (43.7 per game), and try to continue to put bandages on the big sore that is the big-man situation.
Are they the team that won 72 percent of their first 25 games? Or are they closer to the one that has dropped five of their past seven? Obviously, they are somewhere in between. And once the All-Star break is over and the schedule tilts to games mainly against conference opponents, the answer should be clearer.
Speights at home
Memphis is now the home of former Sixer Marreese Speights, who was traded to the Grizzlies in January in a three-way deal that brought the Sixers second-round draft picks this year and next.
Speights, who was drafted by the Sixers in the first round in 2008, has averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds over his last three games.
