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 Philadelphia 76ers signed free agent center Francisco Elson this morning to bring their roster to 14 players.

“We are happy to pick up Francisco Elson, a veteran big man who can help bolster our front court,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said.

Elson (7-0, 240) was originally acquired by the Sixers from Milwaukee along with Jodie Meeks in exchange for Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey and a second round pick on Feb. 18, 2010.

Elson has appeared in 467 games with 149 starts while averaging 3.7 points (47.8% FGs, 70.0% FTs) and 3.5 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game. In 2006-07, he saw action in 70 games with 41 starts for the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

The Philadelphia 76ers hope that the Boston Celtics don’t wake up and get better in time to catch them in the Atlantic Division. As such, Sixers fans like myself were encouraged when the Celtics looked ready to implode and end the era of the Big Three. But now we might have the Orlando Magic to blame if Boston finally finds a way back into contention.

The Celtics needed a big boost to stop the bleeding and fuel them into getting back to normal. They may have gotten that twice over at the Magic’s expense, after holding them to 56 points on Jan. 23 and then overcoming a 27-point deficit in Orlando on Jan. 26.

At first, their rematch looked comical as the Magic got more points over the Celtics in the first half than they did in the entire game at Boston days earlier. Going up by as much as 27 points early on was a ridiculous reversal, but it is more likely to happen in this post-lockout chaos – and so is coming back from 27 points down to win by 91-83, it would appear.

The Celtics started chipping away at the Magic in the third quarter and then made them look as pathetic as they did days earlier. Orlando only managed eight points in the fourth quarter and 25 in the second half altogether, as Paul Pierce and E’Twaun Moore both outscored the Magic in the fourth by themselves with 10 points each. Even without Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen, the Celtics were still made to look like the champions of old.

Boston seems to have gotten better even without its one young superstar – or at least that is how Orlando made it look. The Magic had looked like surprise contenders that could possibly keep Dwight Howard around before this week, while the Celtics appeared to be on their last legs. Both possibilities may still be true, but if anything can help propel the Celtics out of their early struggles and become a factor again, these two victories can.

Boston is still only 8-9 and remains 3 1/2 games behind Philadelphia for first place. Yet considering that the Sixers are finally about to face a string of tough opponents soon, the Celtics might have found a ray of light just in the nick of time. The rest of the Atlantic Division is still stuck in mediocrity or worse, so Boston remains the team with the best chance to catch up to Philadelphia.

Should the Sixers start losing more, it would be even worse if the Celtics started winning consistently again at the same time. Fortunately, Boston won’t face Orlando again until mid-April, so maybe it will still have a hard time against the rest of the NBA. If it doesn’t, however, this week will loom even larger as the time when the Celtics finally turned a corner.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan.

Other stories from this contributor

76ers need to throttle bottom feeders again this weekend

76ers finally fall against an inferior opponent

Nets failing to win and add more superstars

76ers barely break a sweat over Wizards

76ers still unable to jump over Heat

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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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The 2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers are getting a lot of love for playing solid defense. Under Doug Collins, the team has embraced defense in a huge way. They rank among the best teams in the NBA in most defensive categories and that is why they are off to a strong start. But will any of these players earn recognition on the All-NBA Defensive First Team? A total of five 76ers have earned that honor in the past. This could be the year another joins the list. Here is a look at the five 76ers players to earn All-NBA Defensive First Team honors.

Bobby Jones

Jones earned All-NBA Defensive First Team honors every year between 1979 and 1984. In 1983, he was one of three 76ers players to earn a spot on the team. He reached the first team in the two seasons before he joined the 76ers as well. He was known for his quiet demeanor and respectful play. Jones didn’t draw a lot of attention to himself but the man could grab rebounds and block shots as good as any player in the NA.

Caldwell Jones

Jones was a member of the team in 1981 and 1982. He was a career journeyman that had his two best seasons with the 76ers. Jones was a regular double digit rebounder with the 76ers and also averaged multiple blocks per game. He left the team before the 1982-83 championship season but carried on a solid career until 1990.

Moses Malone

Malone earned honors in 1983, the year he helped the 76ers win the NBA championship. He had earned the MVP award the previous season with the Houston Rockets and did so again with the 76ers. He led the league in rebounding in the 1982-83 season and also contributed two blocks per game.

Maurice Cheeks

Cheeks earned a spot on the team each season between 1983 and 1986. He was another player that didn’t attract a lot of attention yet quietly played amazing defense. Along with Jones and Malone he helped the 1982-83 76ers become one of the greatest defensives teams in NBA history. Cheeks was the all-time NBA leader in steals when he retired.

Dikembe Mutombo

Mutombo earned a spot on the 2001 team. He also won the Defensive Player of the Year award, the only 76ers player to ever win that honor. He was a midseason acquisition for the 76ers and helped the team reach the NBA Finals. Mutombo was among the best in the NBA in rebounds and blocks so it should be no surprise that he is on this list.

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

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It would be great if the Philadelphia 76ers could play the Washington Wizards in every game. For the third time this season, the 76ers faced the Washington Wizards. For the third time this season, the 76ers won the game comfortably. The win moved the 76ers to 12-5 on the season and helped maintain their lead in the Atlantic Division. The win was that much more impressive considering that the 76ers were missing their top two big men. As a 76ers fan, I’m happy the team got the win. It was a great way to kick off an important stretch for the team.

The 76ers raced out of the gate and led 33-14 after the first quarter. The lead was 30 points at halftime. After that the 76ers could call off the dogs. They ended up coming out on top with a 103-83 win. The win was made possible from a nice combination of work from the starters and the bench. Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand led the 76ers with 17 points. Brand, playing with a stomach virus, also added nine rebounds to help make for the absence of Spencer Hawes and Nikola Vucevic. Jodie Meeks had 15 points while Andre Iguodala had seven points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists.

The bench was also stellar. Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams each had 14 points while LaVoy Allen had 10 points and made all five of his field goal attempts. As a team, the 76ers shot 52 percent from the floor. It was a great shooting night for the team when they really needed it. It was clear that the defense would suffer a little without the big men. The 76ers had to shoot the ball well and they did just that.

Overall, this was a big win for the 76ers. The Wizards are a terrible team but no one can be overlooked. Coming off of a tough loss to the Miami Heat and kicking off a huge home stand, the 76ers needed to make a statement in this game. They were able to do that. Now they should have momentum for the upcoming games.

* – 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 and Washington Wizards have seen plenty of each other
the last two weeks. That’s no problem for the 76ers, who have had little trouble
in recent matchups.

Philadelphia will try for its fifth straight victory against Washington on
Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Atlantic Division-leading 76ers have dropped two of three, including a
113-92 defeat at Miami on Saturday. While Philadelphia (11-5) didn’t have to
contend with Dwyane Wade, it allowed the Heat to shoot 54.3 percent and trailed
by as many as 21 points.

Louis Williams scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures, but
Andre Iguodala was held to a season-low four points and starting center Spencer
Hawes missed a third straight game with a left Achilles’ strain.

Rookie Nikola Vucevic, who started in Hawes’ place, strained his left knee
midway through the third quarter, although Philadelphia said he could have
returned. He had a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds.

“We hung around and fought there a little bit,” coach Doug Collins said.
“(Miami) wore us down.”

Hawes could return Monday when Philadelphia faces Washington for the third
time in 11 days. The Sixers swept a home-and-home series Jan. 13 and 14 by
scores of 120-89 at home and 103-90 on the road. Williams averaged 21.5 points
in those games.

Philadelphia has won four straight overall against the Wizards by an average
of 19.8 points.

The Sixers are eager to get a season-high seven-game homestand off to a good
start. Philadelphia is 7-1 on its own court, holding teams to 82.6 points, and
it will try to put up similar numbers in a favorable first half of the home
stretch. The first four games are against teams with losing records, including a
Washington club that is 0-6 on the road while shooting 38.0 percent and
averaging 82.3 points.

The league-worst Wizards (2-14) are trying to avoid a third straight loss.
They’ve given up at least 100 points in six straight, falling 100-94 to Boston
on Sunday.

John Wall had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Nick Young
scored 19 points. Washington took an 84-83 lead with 6:06 remaining, but the
Celtics regained control with a 10-2 run.

Despite the loss, the Wizards feel they are taking steps in the right
direction. After the back-to-back defeats to Philadelphia, their last three
losses are by an average of six points.

“Ten days ago we weren’t competing at a high level,” coach Flip Saunders
said. “We’ve gotten to the point now we’re competing at a high level. Now we’ve
got to find a way to close out these games.”

Wall has been a big reason for the more competitive play. On Sunday, he shot
9 of 18, recording a double-double for the second straight game. The second-year
point guard is averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.4 assists the last five
games after scoring 12.8 points in his first 11 games.

With Wall playing better, the Wizards, one of the NBA’s lowest scoring teams
at 89.0 points per contest, have put up 102.3 in the last four.