Elton Brand was a huge reason the Sixers were in this game at all.  For EB it was his third straight double-double.  While Joakim Noah had a field day grabbing boards, Brand stood tall and helped to get the Sixers extra possessions.  His jumper was precise as it was last year.  He played some of his basketball of the season.  Though, he needs to be more of a factor in the 4th quarter, as he his the most important veteran on the team.

Had it not been for two horrid 3 point attempts in the closing moments of the game (one was an air ball early in the shot clock and down only 2 points & the other missed the rim and hit the other side of the glass), Iguodala’s efforts would have been more than satisfactory.  He had the jumper working early in the game, did an outstanding job of getting his team involved offensively and was his usual spectacular self in transition offense (though, there wasn’t too much of that).  Yet, the last Iguodala memory from this one will probably be his last 2 shot attempts.  FYI…Those two awful misses were the only two FGAs by our 2012 All-Star and the alleged leader of this team in the 4th Q of a tight game. 

He’s learning, sure.  But, his turnovers are becoming unacceptable to take.  He’s not providing much anything else to the Sixers (at least on this night) other than being a big body.  The least he can do is be more careful with the basketball.

Absolutely Horrendous!  The following should sum up his night…There was a sequence in the third quarter where he missed 3 WIDE OPEN threes in one offensive possession.  He’s supposed to be a shooter.  Allen Iverson was also supposed to be a point guard.  And Stephen Jackson is available.

Holiday was hot in the first half.  He got involved in a bit of a mini-duel with Derrick Rose early on.  That didn’t last long. He became more of a facilitator in the second half.  It’s good to see him being more aggressive , but he’s got to start developing more penetration into his game.   That dime he dropped to Thad on the break during the 4th Q comeback was a thing of beauty.

It was a rough night for Lou.  There were no 4th quarter heroics, when his team could have used it the most.  He jacked up two horrible long jumpers in the early 4th that helped produce a 8-0 run for the Bulls.  Though, it was impressive to see him hustle defensively, dish the rock, and look to his teammates despite his woeful shooting night.

Young was very quiet in the 1st half, but he woke up like a monster in the 2nd half.  His 4th quarter kept the Sixers alive as the Bulls started to pull away. He did just about everything in the 4th. He dropped huge jumpers.he finished fast break opportunities and hit big free throws.  He didn’t get much help though.  He had a good defensive night, though he and the Sixers got caught on some switches and Derrick Rose simply got the better of him at times.

Turner did not play well.  He made terrible shot selections, including a shot in the 4th quarter that helped the Bulls score on the other end and establish an 8-0 run.  That was a pivitol point in the game as the Bulls stretched their lead to double digits in the 4th.

Lavoy Allen could learn a thing or 2 from his fellow rookie.  Vuc had more than a solid game as he scored in various ways.  He backed down Noah at times.  He knocked down his smooth buttery jumper.  He made nice inside moves to score and he battled all night long in the trenches.  It would have been interesting to see how he would have performed in the 4th quarter but Thaddeus Young needed to be out there.

This is the Elton Brand we’ve been waiting to see all year.  Brand had a strong double-double(14 points, 14 rebounds) as well as played with high intensity on the defensive end (two steals, two blocks).  He had the team fired up all game and the team responded.  It’s a good thing to see and hopefully he can keep it up.

Andre has been playing some of his best basketball of the season after the All-Star break.  Maybe he finally wants to play the leadership role for this team.  Andre had a double-double scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while also dishing a team-high six assists.  His improved play this season is a great thing to see.  You can tell he wants to win more than ever and will do anything he can for that to happen.  He also hit a three to give fans free Big Macs and put the Sixers over the century mark late in the game (For the 1st time in 19 runs).  That’s a clutch shot in my book.

Lavoy had himself a solid game.  10 points and seven boards in 20 minutes is all the team’s asking for.  They’re the type of numbers he’d put up nightly for the Temple Owls.  Maybe he’s got March Madness on his mind?

Jodie was…well Jodie.  He played little minutes as Doug Collins found other options to take his spot on the floor.  Is there a worse starter in the NBA right now?

Jrue played some pretty good D on shot machine Monta Ellis, holding him to 10-22 from the floor.  He also added 13 points while dishing four.  Once again this wasn’t a great performance by Holiday, but enough to get the W.  We’re all waiting for him to step up.

This game was Lou’s apology for not showing up in the 4th in the teams loss to the Thunder.  Lou hit for 25 on 9-15 shooting.  He also dished three assists, which seems to be a skill he’s been using more often.  His 25 points was a game-high, well…he was a fourth of the way to Wilt’s 100.  We’ll get to that after the jump.

Thaddeus has been playing some inspired basketball lately.  Young had 16 points and seven rebounds, however he did have a tough time guarding a bigger David Lee who hit for 24 and pulled down 15 rebounds.  Since the ASB Young is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds for the now famous “Night Shift” (Although it was hilarious that ESPN announcer mark Jones did not know the Sixers bench had that nickname).  It could be time for Collins to plug him into a starting role.

When is Evan Turner going to get more PT?  In seven of the teams last 12 games, Turner has seen the court for less than 20 minutes.  During that same time-span the Sixers are 4-8.  When Turner has played 25 or more minutes this season the Sixers are 9-7.  The Sixers aren’t dramatically better with Turner on the court (Except for at rebounding.), but better nonetheless.  He would definitely put up better numbers than four points and five rebounds.

Nik wasn’t used much in this game.  Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen did enough to stay in the game.  Still love whenever Malik Rose does this call, unfortunately it didn’t happen in this game:

Forget the double-double and the solid defense for a second. The old war horse, is…well, old. He started out the game 1-5 and finished 5-14. He showed signs of life in the 3rd Q when he scored 4 straight (6 overall) during the Sixers 15-2 run and grabbed 7 boards. But he was a no show in the 4th (2 pts.) and his horrific off balance shot at 2:23 of the 4th made me throw the remote. What happened to the 2010-11 version of EB?

Another stat sheet stuffing night for Dre and as a bonus he threw in some sick dunks that had the WFC crowd on their feet. Additionally, his defense on KD for most of the night was outstanding. Here’s my two big issues with his game last night: (1) Until the final five seconds of the game, AI9 had only one bucket (a lay-up) and did not attempt a FG in that quarter. The team’s leader can not disappear in the 4th Q of a tight game and Dre did it again last night. (2) Dre should have gone to Collins in the 4th and demanded to be locked down on Durant.  The Sixers got killed several times in the 4th by their usual “switch everything” policy as Holiday ended up guarding the much taller Durant.  It’s what team leaders like Kobe or Lebron would have done.

Lavoy is having a nice rookie year, but last night was a disaster for him.  He had a couple TOs and fumbled away a sure fire dunk in the 1st Q. Additionally he provided no presence on the glass for the Sixers.

Capt. Streaky showed both sides of his game last night.  He hit some shots that he’s supposed to hit, but when the Sixers really needed a bucket in the 4th, he went 0-4 and missed some absolutely critical shots.  But a tip of the hat to Meeks on the defensive end as he really has improved that facet of his game.

How hard can it be to figure out which way to guard your old college teammate?  Apparently it’s so difficult that you can’t make the adjustment until hafltime. (But Jrue did have some simply filthy offensive moves in this game.)

We love that LW handed out 6 dimes last night, but he shot us out of this game all by himself.  0-5 in the 4th to be exact. And the TO Louis had on the set play with 5 ticks remaining is a mistake an eighth grader wouldn’t commit.  If only he had learned to close out games like his mentor Iverson.

Mr. Consistent had a solid game and his 14 first half point were a huge lift, but he also went MIA in the 4th (1-4 on FGAs). It’s pained us to write that line.  His energy and defense off the bench were excellent as always last night.  Collins has tried Dre and Louis as the “closer” on this team and neither has worked out. Maybe it’s time to give Thad a chance in that role.

ET’s defense was excellent last night, but 0-3 from the field is no way to get out of the dog house.  Although it’s tough to get anything going offensively with only 16 minutes of burn.  Turn the kid loose coach.

So in 28 minutes vs. Houston “Big Nik” goes for 18 & 8.  Since then he has played 24 minutes (most of it in mop up duty) @ DET and then 13 minutes last night.  What gives coach?  The rookie should be starting and playing 25 minutes a night until Hawes comes back.