The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, January 28. The lowly Pistons are just 4-16 and this will be the second time the 76ers host them in the month of January. This is a game the 76ers have to win. After this, things get a whole lot tougher. The 76ers will play a long stretch of games against winning teams after they host the Pistons. While they are good enough to win those other games, beating the teams they should beat is essential. I don’t think the 76ers should have any problem handling Detroit.

The last time the two teams met was the home opener for the 76ers. Philadelphia routed Detroit 96-73 in that game. Once the pride of the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have drifted near the bottom of the league as they are trying to rebuild. Detroit has been mostly awful all season and there is no excuse for the 76ers to lose to them. Both teams are coming off of games the previous night. The 76ers routed the Charlotte Bobcats and were able to spread the minutes out in such a way that no player should feel tired in this game.

Once again, the 76ers are likely to be without Spencer Hawes and Nikola Vucevic. Hawes is battling an Achilles injury while Vucevic is resting his knee. By now, the 76ers should be accustomed to playing without them. Elton Brand and Tony Battie will have to grab rebounds and make things happen underneath. Newcomer Francisco Elson should also help. He played a few minutes against Charlotte shortly after the 76ers officially signed him. LaVoy Allen has also become a solid force in the rebound department. Together, those players should help the 76ers dominate that area.

Overall, I am looking for the 76ers to dominate this game and spread out the minutes. Anything less than a victory would be a major disaster in this game. The 76ers are better in all areas. Getting a second straight win will help the 76ers gain confidence as they embark on their difficult stretch. I believe they will get that win and continue to play well after that.

* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.

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The Philadelphia 76ers have avoided consecutive defeats so far this season
but it’s been nearly two weeks since they’ve earned back-to-back wins. A visit
from the Detroit Pistons might help them remedy that.

The 76ers will try to build on a strong defensive performance Saturday night
while attempting to deny the Pistons only their second road win this season.

Philadelphia (13-6) has split six games since a 9-1 stretch, and kept a
pattern of alternating losses and wins going with an 89-72 win over lowly
Charlotte on Friday night.

The Atlantic Division leaders limited the Bobcats to 38.6 percent shooting
and a 4-for-15 performance from 3-point range while allowing their second-fewest
points in a game this season. For the second straight contest, Lou Williams had
a team-best 17 points off the bench.

“We’ve always been good at bouncing back,” point guard Jrue Holiday said.

Holiday and the rest of Philadelphia’s starters also got plenty of rest
during the rout and that could help them Saturday.

“To not have guys play heavy minutes is a real blessing,” coach Doug Collins
said.

Collins’ team is seeking its first back-to-back wins since a three-game run
Jan. 13-16. The 76ers might have a chance to pull that off against the Pistons
(4-16), who are 1-8 on the road and coming off another bitter defeat.

The 76ers, meanwhile, own one of the best home records in the Eastern
Conference at 9-2 and blew out Detroit 96-73 at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 6
as Jodie Meeks scored 21 points.

Collins, though, isn’t taking the Pistons lightly.

“Detroit is better than its record,” he said. “They’re playing good
basketball, and they’ve got good guards. They’re a very good defensive team.
We’re going to have to play well to get that game tomorrow night.”

After falling short against Miami two days earlier, Detroit appeared that it
might earn its third win in 15 games and first in three contests Friday.
Instead, the Pistons blew a six-point lead over Atlanta in the final 54 seconds
of regulation en route to a 107-101 overtime loss.

“We kicked that game. We should have won the game, but we didn’t make
winning plays down the stretch,” coach Lawrence Frank said. “I think we were
defeated as soon as (the tying 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left) went in, and the
game went to overtime. We have to be mentally tougher than that.”

Greg Monroe scored at least 20 points for the second straight game with 22.
He also had a team-best 22 during the loss in Philadelphia earlier this month.

The Pistons might have as many as four players out for this visit. Tayshaun
Prince is dealing with a family matter while Ben Gordon (shoulder), Will Bynum
(foot) and Charlie Villanueva (ankle) are injured.

The status of Philadelphia starting center Spencer Hawes is unknown because
of a strained left Achilles, and rookie big man Nik Vucevic is dealing with a
left knee quad strain.

The teams have split their last six overall matchups with the 76ers winning
two of the last three. All three of those games have been in Philadelphia.

The NBA All-Star Game is about a month away. The festivities will start on February 23 in Orlando, Florida. As a Philadelphia 76ers fan, there hasn’t been a whole lot of reason to be excited about the actual game. For the most part, 76ers players have not had involvement in the game for a long time. Outside of Allen Iverson, it feels like forever since we have seen a 76ers player appear in the All-Star Game. Could that change this season? I would love to say it would, but I don’t see it happening.

The early returns for the fan voting are void of any 76ers players. We can forget about any 76ers player being voted in as a starter. The center will be Dwight Howard. The guards will be Derrick Rose and Dwayne Wade. The forwards will be LeBron James and either Chris Bosh or Carmelo Anthony. That’s about as predictable as saying the summer months will be hot. The only hope that the 76ers have of sending a player to Orlando would be if a reserve is chosen.

There is a possibility that the coach of the All-Star Game could be Doug Collins. The 76ers could push to have the best record in the conference by the time of the deadline, though that is fairly unlikely. I’m going to assume that Collins is not named the coach. That would seemingly hurt the chances of any 76ers player landing an All-Star spot but maybe it shouldn’t. There are a couple of players that could wind up being excellent additions to the roster.

Spencer Hawes seemed like a surprising choice for a backup up center spot after his strong start. But his injuries have likely ended those hopes. Realistically, the two players that have a shot at making the team are Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. Williams is the leading scorer on the team but he doesn’t start. He is also not the strongest defensive player. I don’t think he will hear his name called. But Iguodala has a shot. Though his numbers aren’t spectacular, he is one of the more complete players in the league. He does everything well even if he doesn’t do anything great. More importantly, he has adopted a great leadership role on a team that looks like a division champion. I think Iguodala will get a real look as a possible reserve on the team.

If I had to bet, I would say that no 76ers player would make the All-Star team. The best hope might be seeing Evan Turner participate in the rookie-sophomore game. That doesn’t generate a whole lot of excitement but it would be something. The NBA All-Star Game is a reward for superstars and the 76ers really don’t have one. But I do think there are future All-Stars on this team. Guys like Turner and Jrue Holiday will hear their names called one day. But for now, fans will just have to cross their fingers and hope Iguodala gets a surprising call.

* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.

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You get your kid a bicycle, but to exercise caution, you put training wheels on it to keep him from falling over too many times. As the kid continues to ride the bike, you realize the training wheels are rarely touching the ground. The kid rides the bike so fast, and is so comfortable with the new toy, he uses it like a pro.

Young team in the process of hard work and growth.
Philadelphia 76ers

So, one week you take them off. While he still does very well, it’s not as well as when the training wheels were attached; he’s a bit more cautious and over-thinking as he rides. He rides for a good while, then his bike gets a bit wobbly and he falls.

What’s the difference?

There’s more to riding a bike than just having the ability to do it. There’s a phase where kids have to learn how to physically, as well as mentally, get the feel of riding a two-wheeled bike. Once the training wheels come off, however, the kid usually gets the hang of it in no time.

No doubt, being that 1949 was the year the Huffy company invented training wheels, that was the way most BMX cyclists began their greatness.

This is similar to the phase your Philadelphia 76ers are going through.

Last week, the training wheels came off. They were up against teams that are considered dangerous teams. They wobbled at times, they soared at times, and they fell at the end of the week.

But what have we learned?

Anyone who knows basketball knows this: the Philadelphia 76ers are a very good team. There are things they will need to get used to physically, as well as mentally.

The team being an average age of 25 automatically tells you there are things about the elite pro game a young team has to learn before they can be catapulted into that next phase of top-tier teams. One of those things are what they experienced last week.

They’ll need to be able to sustain top-level play in concentrated stretches of season; after all, that’s what the postseason is, right?

The best thing that has happened tot he Sixers, in my opinion, is the apparent respect they’ve received from the best teams in the league.

That’s step one.

Sunday night, the Miami Heat fell to the mediocre Milwaukee Bucks after looking A-plus against a three game stretch of top teams—including the Sixers.

“We can’t make no excuses for ourselves,” James said. “But no one had energy from the start of the game to the end.”

Stop it.

They played great all week, and they beat the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Philadelphia 76ers—all with resting days in between. What really happened was: the Heat took Milwaukee too lightly after playing high-level basketball the last two weeks.

This says something good about the Sixers—folks are no longer going to be caught off guard by the them. The Sixers have made some waves early in the season, and everyone is coming into the game planning accordingly. The wins from here on out will be quality.

For a young team, that’s great.

You don’t want to become a team that becomes accustomed to playing against below average teams, you want to learn how to beat the best so that you’re ready for the next level.

February is that time.

Ten of Philadelphia’s 15 games in February are against unmistakable top contenders. And just like they’ve proven they can beat the bad teams, February will be their time to become accustomed to riding without their training wheels.

With that being said, here are three things you shouldn’t do when watching the Sixers this February:

1. Don’t get too upset if they begin to struggle.

I said in my last Sixers’ article, (before the week began) this February would be like the metal tempering process. We’ll see them meltdown a little bit; but as we have seen—particularly against the Miami Heat—the Sixers never say die. That sort of team is a team that learns. So when they heal from the Heat they’ve been through, they will heal a lot stronger.

2. Don’t get too happy should they go over your expectations.

There’s another level of play after the regular season called the Playoffs where veteran teams like the Heat take their game to another level. The Sixers struggle to play with the Heat when they’re on top of their game. So, try to keep any success they have in February in perspective. We already know they’re good.

3. Trade talk

Let’s try to keep the Andre Iguodala trade talk out of the picture due to everything I’ve said above. There will, no doubt, be times where he will need to take control during this process; end of story. Coach Collins does that, presumably, to allow Iguodala’s veteran experience and athleticism to calm the young team down.

He’s not a last second shooter—we all know that—but he’s not a youngster; he won’t spaz under duress.

View February as your team’s growth month. They have a great coach. Know that he has prepared them way ahead of time for this. When February begins, they will be ready; when it ends, they will be better.

But, before all of that happens, the Sixers get to take what they’ve learned last week, and learn how to adjust back to playing below average teams—piling up some more wins before going into February.

I’m sticking to my prediction of coming out of January 15-6.

Monday night they face the 2-14 Washington Wizards; a team they’ve beat an average of 22 ppg.

Vincent Heck is a life-long resident of the Philadelphia area, and a featured ‘Fan View’ blogger on Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @HeckPhilly

You can email Vincent: vheckphilly@yahoo.com

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The Philadelphia 76ers took a huge step toward convincing the rest of the NBA that they are the real deal. After trailing by double digits in the first half, the 76ers put together a strong game and ended up with a 90-76 win over the Atlanta Hawks. This was a win over a first place and team and that shouldn’t be overlooked. More importantly, it allows the 76ers to quell the talk they can only beat bad teams. As a 76ers fan, I was impressed with this win. I expect more will follow.

Things looked rough in the first half. The 76ers fell behind by double digits early in the second quarter behind some poor shooting and less than stellar defense. They started to right the ship and ended up trailing by eight at the break. The third quarter was an entirely different story. The 76ers outscored Atlanta 25-10 in the third to go up by seven points. They completely shut down the Hawks on defense and did everything right. The good times continued in the fourth quarter as the 76ers ended up with a comfortable win. The Hawks managed just 29 points in the final 24 minutes.

There were several standout performances for the 76ers. Jrue Holiday had 16 points and 11 assists in the game. Elton Brand picked up the slack with Spencer Hawes out of the lineup and ended up with 16 rebounds to go along with his 10 points. Andre Iguodala and Jodie Meeks also played well as the starters really helped in this game. Thaddeus Young led the team with 20 points but the rest of the bench didn’t do too much. That is out of character for the 76ers but fortunately the starters were able to make up for it.

The second half defense was huge for the 76ers. That is the way the 76ers win games. Atlanta is a solid offensive team and it looked like they were on their way to another strong performance. But the 76ers proved that they are strong enough on defense to shut down any team. Hopefully the formula continues as the schedule continues to get more difficult.

* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and fan of the 76ers. Follow him on Twitter here.

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By Kevin Kraczkowski

– Panthers Editor

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Jan 21, 2012 – The Miami Heat will be hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at the AA Arena tonight. It’s the first of four meetings this season between the two teams, and the first of two times they will play in Miami. The Heat are 5-1 at home, Philadelphia carries a 4-3 road record into the game. For the Heat, this is the third game of a five game homestand. They beat the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday with a 39 point third quarter, 120-98. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, 98-87. They continue the homestand on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks and on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 76ers just finished a three game homestand, going 2-1. After tonight’s matchup, they will begin a seven game homestand, concluding with an engagement with the Heat on February 3rd.

The two teams last met on April 27th of last season in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Miami posted a 97-91 victory in game five to advance to the Conference Semifinals, against the Boston Celtics. The Big Three all posted double doubles, as Dwyane Wade scored 26 with 11 rebounds and seven assists, Chris Bosh had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and LeBron James scored 16 with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Mario Chalmers added 20 for the Heat. Elton Brand and Andre Igoudala led the 76ers with 22 points each.

NBA Playoffs 2011: Phila Sixers Vs Miami Heat Game 5 Highlights (via NBAHiighlights)

Miami took down the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-87 on Thursday night. The Heat led by 21 points after three periods before relaxing down the stretch. LeBron James scored 31 with eight assists despite going home earlier in the day with an undisclosed sickness to lead Miami. Chris Bosh tossed in 15. Pau Gasol scored 26 to lead Los Angeles.

Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers [1.19.2012] (via CakesBerry)

The 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks last night, 90-76 behind Jrue Holiday’s 16 points and 11 assists. Thaddeus Young added 20 off the bench. Elton Brand had 10 points and 16 rebounds. Willie Green scored 14 to lead Atlanta.

Game Time: 7:30 EST

Season Series: 0-0

All-Time Series: 41-50

Standings:

Miami Heat: 10-4, second in the Southeast Division, tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference, tied for fifth in the NBA.

Philadelphia 76ers: 11-4, first in the Atlantic Division, tied for second in the Eastern Conference, tied for third in the NBA.

Starting Lineups:

Miami Heat:

PG – Mario Chalmers

SG – Shane Battier

SF – LeBron James

PF – Chris Bosh

C – Joel Anthony

Philadelphia 76ers:

PG – Jrue Holiday

SG – Jodie Meeks

SF – Andre Igoudala

PF – Elton Brand

C – Nikola Vucevic

————————————————————–

Common Thread:

Neither team employs a player who has appeared with the other team.

Team Milestones:

James Jones needs two more 3-pointers to pass Jamal Mashburn into 14th with 211.

Four more 3-pointers will put Mario Chalmers at 305, passing Jason Williams into seventh.

Chris Bosh needs seven more free throws to pass Caron Butler into 19th, with 443.

With one more assist, Udonis Haslem will pass Rony Seikaly into 19th, with 574. Five more blocks will put him in 11th with 185, passing Brian Grant.

Team Leaders:

PPG:

LeBron James, 29.9

Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade,19.6

RPG:

Udonis Haslem, 9.4

Chris Bosh, 8.1

LeBron James, 7.9

APG:

LeBron James, 7.6

Dwyane Wade, 5.4

Mario Chalmers, 4.4

SPG:

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, 2.0

Mario Chalmers, 1.7

BPG:

Dwyane Wade, 1.7

Chris Bosh, 1.0

Read More: Chris Bosh (F – MIA), LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), Mario Chalmers (G – MIA), Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers

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CBSSports.com wire reports
Jan. 20, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — Jrue Holiday-to-Andre Iguodala was exactly the sort of high-flying connection the Philadelphia 76ers needed Friday night.

Holiday had 16 points and 11 assists, and Iguodala scored 11 points to lead the 76ers to a 90-76 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

“We can play against tough teams,” Iguodala said.

Play and win.

Thaddeus Young scored 20 points and Elton Brand grabbed 16 rebounds to help the 76ers win for the 10th time in 12 games and improve to 7-1 at home.

The Sixers left a dismal first half in the dust with a sensational third quarter. Jodie Meeks hit a pair of 3-pointers and Iguodala rocked nearly 18,000 fans with a pair of thunderous dunks during a 14-0 run.

In a game between teams that started the night as division leaders, the Hawks were in control until the Sixers found their way.

Coach Doug Collins wrote a halftime note for his team on the board: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,”

“I thought our guys went fast in the first half, and alone,” Collins said. “I thought we went far in the second half, and together.”

Holiday had five of his 11 assists in the third and the Sixers pulled ahead by 18 in the fourth.

Former Sixer Willie Green scored 14 points and Jeff Teague had 12 for the Hawks, who snapped a four-game winning streak. Atlanta had been perfect since All-Star center Al Horford tore his left pectoral muscle, an injury that required surgery and could keep him out for the rest of the season.

Hawks coach Larry Drew could be heard yelling at his team in the locker room after the game.

“It got tough for us and we quit,” Drew said. “That’s what happened. I was more disappointed than frustrated.”

Even Horford couldn’t have done much to stop the Sixers’ mix of fastbreak dunks and 3-pointers in the third. Coming off their first home loss of the season, and a game Saturday at Miami, the Sixers knew they had to have this one to keep the early-season good vibes going.

“You win this game. You don’t lose two in a row at home,” Collins said.

Iguodala ignited the run when he scooped up a loose ball of an Atlanta turnover and turned it into a driving slam that cut it to 51-50. Meeks, who had 12 points, buried consecutive 3s to the delight of a loud and large crowd. Years of .500 or worse basketball had sucked the life out of the Wells Fargo Center. Sure enough, thanks to a fast start and slashed ticket prices, the arena is suddenly the place to be on a Friday night — or any night.

Holiday ended the run on a highlight reel-worthy feed to Iguodala for an alley-oop that nearly brought down the rim.

Yes, this was the same team that looked disconnected and missed 12 of their first 17 shots.

“We settled down a little bit, got some stops and went on a little run,” Iguodala said.

They turned up the defensive pressure in the third and would have held Atlanta to seven points had Green not sank a 27-footer at the buzzer. The Hawks scored only 29 points in the second half.

“They took the level of intensity up and we didn’t respond,” Green said.

The Sixers even played without center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles’ strain). Hawes will also miss Saturday’s game at Miami.

Philadelphia triggered its offense off the fastbreak and turnovers and buried the Hawks with easy buckets. Iguodala, who fans wanted traded after years of symbolizing a stagnant franchise, has been embraced this season for giving them the flashy dunks in combination with the flashy victories.

The Sixers had built their Atlantic Division lead by burying some of the NBA’s worst teams. Even without Horford, the Sixers passed a nice test of beating a division leader.

“We felt we had to have this win against a really good Eastern Conference team,” Brand said. “We want to say we’re an elite team, so we had to win this game.”

Notes

• Iguodala became the fifth Sixer with 1,000 career steals. He’s behind Maurice Cheeks, Allen Iverson, Julius Erving and Charles Barkley.
• The Sixers are off to their best start since they went 12-2 in 2000-01.
• The Hawks turned the ball over 15 times.

The Miami Heat got some unexpected resistance from the Philadelphia 76ers in
the first round of last season’s playoffs during their run to the NBA finals.

Philadelphia is proving this season its solid play in that series was no
fluke.

The Heat may again be without Dwyane Wade when they host the Atlantic
Division-leading 76ers in a playoff rematch – and possible late-round postseason
preview – Saturday night.

Second-seeded Miami beat Philadelphia in five games to advance to the second
round, but aside from a 94-73 loss in Game 2, the 76ers gave the Heat all they
could handle. The other four games were decided by no more than eight points,
with the final three decided by six or fewer.

The 76ers (11-4) have seemed to use that series as motivation. They lead the
Atlantic Division by a full five games and have won four of their last five
after beating Atlanta 90-76 on Friday.

Philadelphia trailed by eight at halftime but pulled away after a 14-0 run
in the third quarter.

“I thought our guys went fast in the first half, and alone,” coach Doug
Collins said. “I thought we went far in the second half, and together.”

Thaddeus Young scored a game-high 20 points while Jrue Holiday added 16
points and 11 assists.

“We can play (well) against tough teams,” said Andre Iguodala, who scored
11.

Collins said he wanted a win badly after the 76ers fell 108-104 in overtime
against Denver on Wednesday.

“You win this game. You don’t lose two in a row at home,” Collins said.

Philadelphia, though, hasn’t had much regular-season success against Miami
in recent years.

The Sixers have lost seven straight matchups, including a three-game season
sweep last season. They have lost nine straight in Miami – playoffs included -
and it may not get any easier against a Heat team that improved to 5-1 at home
with a 98-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

LeBron James scored 31 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists for
the Heat (10-4), who played their second straight game without Wade while he
nurses a sprained right ankle.

James fought off a cold to have another solid outing. He’s averaging 33.0
points and 8.0 assists over his last three games.

“A chest cold can get to you at times,” James said. “But I felt like I
could help the team.”

His effort helped Miami improve to 5-0 this season without Wade, who is
questionable despite practicing Friday.

“We don’t take (James’) talent for granted, nor do we take Dwyane’s talent
or Chris (Bosh’s) talent,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They’re special players
and they can rise to the occasion.”

James averaged 23.6 points and 9.7 boards in the eight meetings against the
Sixers last season.

Louis Williams leads Philadelphia with 15.1 points per game, though he was
held to six Friday. He averaged only 10.8 points in the playoffs, but his
3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in Game 4 helped the Sixers to an 86-82
win – their only victory over the Heat in the last 12 meetings.

The Philadelphia 76ers will be without Spencer Hawes once again when they face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, January 20. This will be the third game that Hawes misses in the second in a row. Hawes is nursing an injured Achilles and is also likely to miss the game against the Miami Heat on Saturday, January 21. Without Hawes, the 76ers will be a major disadvantage in both games. Hawes has had a great season so far and is one reason why the 76ers are off to such a hot start. The team can still win without him but it won’t be anywhere near as easy.

Hawes has been the biggest surprise on the team. From the beginning of the season he has seemed like one of the most improved players in the league. He’s making his shots and he’s grabbing rebounds at a great rate. Right now, Hawes looks like an All-Star player. Unfortunately his health has been an issue. He had to leave a couple of games and missed a full one with a strain in his lower back. Now the Achilles injury is keeping him out for another game. According to Doug Collins, Hawes is not expected to make the trip to Miami. If he does get healthy, it won’t be a big deal. But with lingering injuries that don’t seem to go away, there is going to be a lot of concern over the status of Hawes in the coming days and weeks.

The 76ers will need Elton Brand and Nikola Vucevic to fill the void left by Hawes. Vucevic can step in and start at center for the 76ers against the Hawks. He has been solid at getting rebounds and that will be critical. Meanwhile, Brand is coming off of one of his better games against the Denver Nuggets. He has to be strong inside. Otherwise, the 76ers could wind up in a lot of trouble against both Atlanta and Miami.

You never like to see injuries, especially to top players. But if the 76ers really are on track to being among the elite in the league they need to learn to win despite that. These two games are the toughest so far this season and losing Hawes doesn’t make things any easier. But for this team, the expectations are still going to be the same.

* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.

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