The Philadelphia 76ers are red hot right now. That might be stating the obvious, but it is something we haven’t been able to say a lot about this team over the past decade. But the 76ers routed the Sacramento Kings 112-85 to win their sixth straight game. As a 76ers fan, I’m excited about the prospects of this team. At 7-2, the 76ers look like the best team in the Atlantic Divison. That seemed clear against the Kings.

As is the case with a team this deep, every game has a different player stepping forward. Against Sacramento, that player was Elton Brand. Brand had his best game of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 10-14 from the floor and was a dominant force underneath. His effort was especially huge because Spencer Hawes once again left the game early because of his back strain. Without Hawes, Brand needed a big game and he gave the 76ers one.

Evan Turner also added a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He led a total of eight players that saw action off the bench, by far the most of any game this season for the 76ers. Lou Williams had 15 points and Thaddeus Young added 10 points. Rookie LaVoy Allen stepped in with five points. Starters Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks also scored in double figures while Andre Iguodala made all three of his field goal attempts. Offensively, the 76ers shot the ball well once again.

Defensively, they put the clamp on the Kings. A late flurry when the game was already out of hand is the only reason the Kings were able to reach 85 points. They shot just 39.5% for the game and were outrebounded by the 76ers. Holding opponents below 40 percent shooting has become a theme for the 76ers. Their strong defense is more impressive than their strong shooting right now, and that says a lot.

The 76ers will seek their seventh straight win when they go on the road to face the New York Knicks. This is a big game between division rivals and an excellent measuring stick for the 76ers. Winning a third game in three nights won’t be easy, especially on the road. But Doug Collins has this team playing so well that they can beat anyone right now.

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

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks take on the Atlantic division leading Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night (Jan. 11). If there was a game to prove where the Knicks stand as a team it is certainly this one. The 76ers have gone on a nice six-game winning streak to start pulling away from the rest of the division and now it falls on the Knicks to bring them back down to earth.

The Knicks are on a nice streak as well, winning three-straight games against the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Bobcats. If we are talking about strength of schedule, that is a pretty weak set of opponents, but at least the Knicks came out on the winning end. The team should have been able to win the last five games though, but losses to the Toronto Raptors (Jan. 2) and Charlotte (Jan. 4) derailed that opportunity.

Coach Doug Collins has the 76ers playing very well this season and the team has shown a lot of improvement in the 2011-12 season. The problem though, is that Philadelphia is also beating up on sub-standard opponents, possibly inflating what they have done to this point in the season. The win streak includes games against the Sacramento Kings, Toronto, Detroit and the New Orleans Hornets.

The 76ers nearly have seven players averaging in double-figures this season (Elton Brand is at 9.6), with Louis Williams leading the way at 16.4 points per game. Every starter is averaging in double-figures scoring and the team has seen the significant emergence of center Spencer Hawes. He is at 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game through the first nine and looks to have really turned a corner in his career.

On Wednesday (Jan. 11), the 76ers will present a lineup of Jrue Holiday at point guard, Jodie Meeks at shooting guard, Andre Iguodala at small forward , Elton Brand at power forward and Hawes at center. Significant minutes off the bench go to Williams, guard Evan Turner and forward Thaddeus Young, making it tough to stop this team from scoring. The 76ers are averaging 101.6 points per game and are shooting 48.5 percent from the field. It makes them the third-highest scoring team in the NBA to this point.

One of the main keys to this game is that the Knicks have to shoot a better percentage than 38 percent they put up against the Bobcats on Monday (Jan. 9). The team also needs to do better than 1-for-10 from three-point range if this game is going to continue the nice winning streak. In order for that to happen, Iman Shumpert has to play as well as he has over the past week and continue distributing the ball well. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire have to find a flow on offense, because going 13-for-43 and still winning on Monday is definitely a fluke.

The Knicks catch the 76ers at a bad time, especially with how well the entire roster has played for Philadelphia. Tyson Chandler has to come up big in the middle, Stoudemire has to actively crash the glass and someone needs to step up from the Knicks bench to make an impact on the scoreboard. This looks like a very tough game, but it is also one that the Knicks can grow from.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday (Jan. 11) in Madison Square Garden.

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

PHILADELPHIA – Elton Brand had a season-high 21 points and 10
rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers routed the Sacramento Kings
112-85 Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

The Sixers are 7-2 and lead the Atlantic Division. It’s their
best start since Allen Iverson helped them open 10-0 on their way
to the NBA finals in 2000-01.

Rookie Jimmer Fredette scored seven points in his first start
for Sacramento. Filling in for injured leading scorer Marcus
Thornton, the former BYU sensation shot 2 for 7. DeMarcus Cousins
led the struggling Kings with 17 points.

Evan Turner had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and
Jrue Holiday added 17 for Philadelphia, which had six players reach
double figures. With second-year coach Doug Collins calling the
shots and a deep roster, the Sixers are relevant again in
sports-crazed Philadelphia.

After winning 41 games and losing to Miami in five games in the
first round of the playoffs last year, the Sixers are one of the
NBA’s up-and-coming teams. They’ve won five games by at least a
20-point margin.

This game quickly turned into a rout early in the third quarter.
An 11-0 run featuring three baskets from Brand extended the lead to
63-42. It reached 84-60 when Jodie Meeks hit his third 3-pointer of
the quarter.

A 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter made it a laugher. Lou
Williams scored six in a row and Thaddeus Young capped it off with
a dunk that put Philadelphia up 94-62.

That allowed the reserves at the end of the bench to see rare
action. Andres Nocioni played in his third game. Tony Battie and
Lavoy Allen entered for just the second time this season.

Fans roared when Meeks hit a jumper midway through the fourth to
give the Sixers 100 points, which means fans can take their ticket
stubs to McDonald’s for a free Big Mac on Wednesday.

The only negative for Philadelphia was an injury to starting
center Spencer Hawes. He didn’t play the second half because of a
strained lower back.

The Sixers had another slow offensive start and trailed 11-8
midway through the first. Turner’s driving layup with under a
minute left gave Philadelphia a 22-20 lead, and it led the rest of
the game.

Thornton missed his first game with a bruised left thigh. The
Kings already were without starting forward Chuck Hayes, who is
expected to miss three to four weeks with a dislocated left
shoulder.

The Portland Trail Blazers had a great game against the Philadelphia 76ers to open the NBA season. The Rose Garden crowd got treated to a much quicker offense from the Blazers, but at times they were playing a little bit out of control. It allowed the 76ers to stay in the game for a bit, but it also seemed to help the flow of things when the Blazers put in bench players Nicolas Batum and Jamal Crawford to give the starters a break. The great mix of offense and defense allowed the Blazers to win this game 107-103.

LaMarcus Aldridge finished the game with 25 points by going 11-for-25 from the field. Aldridge also had 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks to really fill up the stat sheet. Gerald Wallace did the same, by posting 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist from the other forward slot. Starting center Marcus Camby finished with 6 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 13 rebounds to show that once again, age is only a number.

Newly acquired point guard Raymond Felton finished with 12 points (4-for-14 shooting) to go along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds in his first regular season game for the Blazers. Wesley Matthews had 16 points, Crawford had 12 and Batum had 10 to put six Blazers in double-figures for the night.

There were areas of the game where the Blazers could improve, including shooting a higher percentage (41.5 on Monday), but this was a really good game to start out the year. The Blazers grabbed 50 rebounds (17 on the offensive glass), dished out 24 assists and scored more than 100 points already. That is a good sign for the offense in the coming season, and hopefully the scoring can stay as balanced as it was in this game.

It’s exciting that the Blazers are back on the court now and this was the perfect game for the home fans to enjoy. Not only was it a nice win, but it came against a team that most analysts feel will easily make the 2012 Eastern Conference Playoffs. Next up for the undefeated Blazers is a game against the Sacramento Kings (at home) on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. PT.

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*Ryan is a Northwest bred sports fan that has been a Portland Trail Blazers fan for years. He doesn’t miss a game, and has high hopes that the Blazers can improve their roster during the offseason and come back even better in the 2011-12 NBA season.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

PHILADELPHIA — Center Spencer Hawes has accepted the Philadelphia 76ers’ qualifying offer and practiced with the team Sunday.

Hawes will make $4.1 million this season and become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Hawes, 23, played for Seattle Prep and the University of Washington before starting his pro career in 2007 with the Sacramento Kings.

The 7-foot-1, 245-pound Hawes started all but one game for the Sixers last season. He averaged 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. Philadelphia was 14-6 when Hawes scored in double figures.

“With the signing of Spencer, we now have our core returning — a group that is very familiar with each other, their roles and coach (Doug) Collins’ system and philosophies,” said Sixers president Rod Thorn, a former Sonics player and assistant coach who has a degree from the University of Washington.

Forward West to play for Pacers

Forward David West, previously with the New Orleans Hornets, has agreed to a two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers.

West’s agent, Lance Young, said the contract is worth $20 million.

West, 31, had knee surgery April 12. The two-time All-Star averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds last season before tearing a knee ligament March 24.

“Indy was a team that I was really giving a good, hard look at,” West said. “They’ve got a good balance in terms of a couple good veterans and some really good young players. There are some budding guys and I think that’s a team that I can help in the next couple years.”

As for his health, West said, “I just feel good. Obviously you can’t really simulate what the NBA environment and atmosphere is, but I’m anxious to get back on the floor and play. I’m confident in the rehab that I’ve done and I’ll be eight months out of surgery.”

It’s official: Lakers trade Odom

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers have traded forward Lamar Odom and a second-round draft pick to the champion Dallas Mavericks for a first-round pick and an $8.9 million trade exception, capping the Lakers’ 72-hour breakup with last season’s Sixth Man of the Year.

The Lakers and Mavericks announced the deal Sunday night, three days after Odom learned Los Angeles was attempting to trade him in a megadeal for New Orleans guard Chris Paul.

After the league blocked that trade, the 32-year-old Odom declined to report to the Lakers’ opening day of training camp Friday. Odom requested a trade, and the Lakers improbably swung a deal with the rival Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles in the second round of last season’s playoffs.

Odom will aid the Mavs’ recovery from Tyson Chandler’s departure to the New York Knicks. Odom will make $8.9 million this season in the third year of a four-year contract.

Of the trade, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant said, “To be honest with you, I don’t like it. It’s tough to lose Lamar. Pau (Gasol) is still here, and we’re all thankful for that. It’s hard when you’ve been through so many battles with players to just see them go somewhere else. It’s tough.”

Odom starred in a reality show last season with his wife, Khloe Kardashian, clearly enjoying his celebrity at the main intersection of sports and entertainment.

“You’re talking about the Sixth Man of the Year last year,” Bryant said of Odom. “He played lights-out. I don’t understand the criticism of reality shows and this. I don’t get that.”

Notes

• The Golden State Warriors are making a run at a big man.

The Warriors signed Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, 23, to a four-year offer sheet worth approximately $42.7 million. Because Jordan is a restricted free agent, the Clippers have three days to match the offer.

“We’ve always known one of the key factors for this team to get better was to rebound, the ability to defend and block shots. That’s the main ingredient that we wanted to see, and there are actually three of them, and DeAndre has those,” Warriors general manager Larry Riley said. “Those things are important to us.”

• Phoenix re-signed forward Grant Hill and signed guard Sebastian Telfair and first-round pick Markieff Morris of Kansas.