This Friday edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s opponent the red hot Atlanta Hawks.

The 76ers are riding a two-game winning streak (their 1^st of the year) as they head to “Hot ‘lanta” to face a Hawks team that is on a four game winning streak.

On the 76ers side of things, this game is all about Evan Turner for us.  Now that Turner has been “benched”, we will be very anxious to see how the kid handles the return to the pine.  According to every scouting report we read before the 2010 NBA Draft, Turner has a high basketball IQ and is mentally tough, so hopefully he understands the demotion and will not be shaken by this move.  But you never know how a player, especially a rookie, will react to losing his starting spot until it actually goes down. 

When he does get in the game, Turner must be aggressive and get some buckets against Jamal Crawford who on his best day is a mediocre defender.  Turner’s recent struggles are scary — 1.4 ppg. in his last four runs – and this game presents a solid opportunity for him to get back on track.      

The big story out of Atlanta this week is that All-Star guard and leading scorer Joe Johnson will miss several weeks of action with an injury to his shooting elbow that required surgery on Thursday.  However, Philadunkia nation should not start jumping up and down with visions of an upset because of that news. 

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All is not well in Turkey…

In our last Iverson update we reported that “The Answer’s” next game for Besiktas would be on December 3^rd .   We got that information from the club’s own website.  What we have learned since is that Besiktas web site only lists Turkish League games and does not list Eurocup games on the schedule they post online.  

So on Monday night, Besiktas traveled to France to play French basketball club Asvel Basket in Euroleague action.  The Asvel Basket faithful were racked and stacked at the L’Astroballe in anticipation of Iverson’s French debut.  Allen was once again in the first-five for Besiktas and that’s about all the only good thing we can report for Iverson’s latest adventure on the other side of the pond.    

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It’s kind of hard to believe that the Philadelphia 76ers 2007 first round draft pick is now a veteran.  But he is.  Thaddeus Young, 22, has played in 234 career games and has quietly been thriving of late after a sluggish start to the 2010-11 season. 

Often going into games uncertain of how much time he will receive off the bench, Young hasn’t let that affect his aggressiveness.  He’s scored over 10 points in nine of the Sixers last  10 games (13.5 ppg).  Behind Brand, Holiday and Iguodala, Thad is becoming one of few players on the roster Doug Collins can count on night-in and night-out.

“I’ve been pleased overall early this season.  I embrace being the guy coming off the bench to give us that spark,” said Young. “I provided that tonight,” Young continued after a recent game vs. the Wizards.  “My teammates always do a good job of helping me get into the game.”

Young demonstrated what he could do with extra minutes (39 of them) against the Milwaukee Bucks on November 19^th.  With AI9 sidelined, someone had to team up with Elton Brand to try and solve what was at the time the NBA’s top ranked scoring defense.  Thad did more than solve the Bucks, he torched them.  He got to the free throw line (7-for-8) he poured in an assortment of short jumpers and slam dunks (8/13 from the field) and most importantly he was versatile enough to lead multiple fast breaks.

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This summer’s unfortunate, but necessary departure of center Samuel Dalembert has left a gaping hole defensively at the five spot.  There is absolutely no one on this 76ers roster that can shut down opposing big-men.  Coming into the season we figured it would be an problem, we just didn’t realize the extent of the issue.  

As a group, the 76ers current post presence have been hopeless at times on defense.  Spencer Hawes has great size but his lack of mobility and athleticism kill his chances.  Marreese Speights is agreat athlete who can shoot, but  he lacks any resemblence of focus at the other end of the floor.  Tony Battie is buried on the bench and past his better days.  Elton Brand has guarded the five position at times but at 6’9” his frame is too small to contend. 

Getting dominated in the paint by the opposition’s frontcourt has been a consistent theme this season.  Post players facing the 7-6 have had some of their best games of the year and the scary part is we have yet to face guys like Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer, Blake Griffin,  Al Jefferson and Jakim Noah.  

After the jump, we’ll take a look at some of the damage big men around the League have done to the 7-6 so far this season. 

 
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The Philadelphia 76ers (5-13) capitalized on a struggling Portland Trailblazers team to hand them their fourth straight loss with a 88-79 victory at home.  After beating the New Jersey Nets on Saturday the Sixers clinch their first back-to-back wins of the new season and first consecutive wins since March 26^th.  The winning streak will be tested Friday when they travel to Atlanta to play the Hawks, a team that has won their last three matches. 

What was most impressive about the ball game was how beautifully the ball club executed in the fourth quarter.  Dominating the lifeless Trailblazers and holding them to only 11 points in the fourth.  Portland only connected on 4-of-20 field goals to close out the ball game.  The 76ers defense was stellar, during the final stanza and certainly a much better effort than what was seen in the first half. 

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