76ers must solve shooting, toughness woes quickly

In its 16-year history, the Wells Fargo Center has been known as the CoreStates Center, the First Union Center, and the Wachovia Center.

There have been plenty of horrid shooting performances. But no matter what the name on the outside of the building has been, never before has a team shot as poorly as the 76ers did Wednesday, when their 29.8-percent performance made it possible for the Detroit Pistons (1-8) to end their eight-game losing streak at the start of the season and secure a 94-76 win over the Sixers (4-4).

The good news for the Sixers is that the NBA season doesn't allow teams to wallow in defeat. And with a game against the Utah Jazz (4-5) at Wells Fargo on Friday, the Sixers, just 1-3 at home this season, will be looking to erase the memory of the boos the home crowed rained down on them Wednesday.

"One of the things that I've tried to pride ourselves in, in this city, is that the team that we put out on the floor every single night is reflective of hard work, blue-collar toughness, and all the things that Philadelphia is," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "And last night was not one of those nights.

"Maybe you have to have those nights," Collins continued. "Maybe then it becomes a lot of self-inspection. Unfortunately for me, I take it so much on my own shoulders to always find the answer for everything. Sometimes the answers are that you just have to go out and play and be tough, and you have to take the fight to somebody else. And at home, for whatever reason, teams have come in here, and they have taken the fight to us."

A big problem for the Sixers is that they have gotten out to sluggish starts in their three home losses, trailing at halftime in the three losses by an average of almost 13 points. In their home opener against Denver, their lone home victory, the Sixers not only led by eight points at the break, they also held the Nuggets to just 37.5-percent shooting.

More than anything it has been the lack of energy, according to Collins, that has hurt the Sixers at home. That translates to areas such as rebounding and points in the paint. In their last two games, Milwaukee and Detroit combined for 36 more rebounds than the Sixers.

The Sixers have also shied away from physicality in the paint. In their last two games they have been outscored by a whopping 84-52 in the lane.

Forward Thaddeus Young said the key for the Sixers is the start of games.

"We have to impose our will on the game early, pretty much from the jump," Young said. "We have to go out there, be active, and show a lot of aggressiveness."