Brand did a little bit of everything in this game.  Although he wasn’t necessarily a force offensively, he made an impact defensively notching three steals and three blocks.  At this point Brand doesn’t need to do all that much for the team offensively for the team to succeed, but it would be nice if he can continue this defensive intensity moving forward.

Andre Iguodala fresh off of a nice All-Star game performance showed a little bit of All-Star flare in this one.  Iguodala led the team with 4 steals, had a couple nice dishes and slams in transition, and surprisingly was able to shoot 2-3 from beyond the arc!  He hasn’t been that effective from the outside since February 1st when he went 2-3 from deep in a win against the Bulls.  This is the type of game we’d like to see from Dre every night.  If he can limit his shots to high percentage looks while also creating looks for teammates and being a lock-down defender then the Sixers are going to be very successful the rest of the season.

Lavoy got the start, but wasn’t really needed in this game. Four of his “Night Shift” teammates received more minutes than him as he spent much of the game on the bench.  I’m sure he would’ve much rather been sleeping on his couch; Andre Iguodala wouldn’t have minded either. 

Solid overall performance from Meeks.  Doug Collins will do anything to keep Meeks on the floor to stave off reporters asking for his head.  So you know if Meeks logs over 30 minutes in a game, over better players like Evan Turner or Lou Williams, then Meeks had himself an above average game.  He shot efficiently going 4-7 from the field for 12 points, had a couple steals, and played great defense on the likes of Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon.  Meeks logged 36 minutes in this game. When Meeks plays 30 or more minutes this season, the Sixers are 8-4(with two of those losses coming in overtime). Unfortunately for him, his play is usually too streaky though to get him that kind of minutes. This is typically a good thing for the Sixers though.

Jrue, like Brand and Iguodala, also shined on the defensive end notching three steals by games end.  He also added 10 points and dished out five assists.  Not incredible numbers by Holiday, but he did enough to keep the Sixers ahead.  He applied great pressure on rookie Brandon Knight who shot only 2-8 from the field.  Followers of this team are hoping he can find his rhythm both offensively and defensively in the second half of the season. He has a tough task against Russell Westbrook and the Thunder next game.

Remember when the Sixers let Andre Miller walk in hopes that Lou Williams could handle point guard duties for the team? That turned out to be a complete disaster, but in this game he showed that all the training he had to do did not go to waste(maybe Eddie Jordan did do something right?). Lou notched a game-high seven assists while adding 13 points.  He’s now hit 10 or more points in 31 games this season.  The seven assists tied a season-high (which he had in the disaster of a game against the Magic).  Sometimes it’s better to make the extra pass than taking the extra shot, but people have to realize that Lou was mentored by Allen Iverson who averaged 21 career shot attempts per game.  Lou in comparison has only four games where he’s shot 17 or more this season. Hopefully this is the result of his other mentor, Andre Miller.

Young set the tone for the Sixers in this game and exemplified the kind of heart and hustle the Sixers had been playing with before their five game skid by All-Star weekend. Young had 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half.  He also added eight boards, two steals, and two blocks.  It was only Young’s fourth 20 point game this season after reaching the 20 point mark 15 times last season.  He’s the x-factor for this Sixers team, and his performance in this game is the reason why he was given a 5-year $43 million contract in the off-season.  Just please don’t embarrass yourself on a freebie again.

Evan Turner had an MVP type performance in the NBA’s Rising Stars Competition over All-Star weekend scoring 16, rebounding 11, and dishing out seven in a win for Team Chuck over Team Shaq.  It should’ve been enough, if Team Chuck didn’t also have Kyrie Irving who went 8-8 from beyond the arc for 34 points, while dishing nine(As Stewart Scott would say, “the dude is sick nasty”).  On Tuesday night, Turner didn’t do quite as well but still contributed in the Sixers win.  He played great defense while on the floor as well as hit for eight points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out three assists.  Turner now has 12 games this season where he’s grabbed at least seven boards, he had 15 all of last season.  His highlight of the night was a sweet full-court dish to Thaddeus Young, which can be seen here.

See Lavoy Allen. Just like his rookie counterpart, Vuc didn’t need to do much in this game and the two had nearly identical stat sheets. I’m excited for Spencer Hawes’ return for two reasons. One, because he’s an absolute factor in the success of the team this season. Two, because the battle for minutes between Lavoy and Vuc is going to be exciting to watch. These two rookies give it their all when they’re on the court and contrast each other perfectly. Imagine Big Nik trying to fit in at Temple University or Lavoy Allen sitting around a Montenegrin hookah bar. It would be high comedy at its finest.

Despite 4 first half TOs, another solid night from Dre.  But again we need more.  As the “leader” (notice we did not write “star”) of a team that is in the middle of a 4-game losing streak, you have to be more assertive and carry your team to a W if necessary.  Scoring 2 points in the 4th Q of a very close game is not acceptable for an All-Star selection.

Lavoy’s surprising rookie year continues.  What has amazes us is how strong this kid is on the blocks.

What do you want from this guy?  He’s like 40 and has no right starting in the NBA.

Capt. Streaky was set to have a huge game only his 3-point stroke went MIA last night.  Meeks had some wide open looks from deep and the Sixers desperately needed him to drain one or two of those 3PAs, but he couldn’t find the bottom of the basket.  Still, he hit a bunch of 2′s, played decent defense and got to the FT line, so all and all an okay night

Foul trouble plagued Jrue all night and it’s a shame because we wanted to see more of him vs. Lowry.  Also his shot was off, Jrue only dropped 2 dimes and had zero FT attempts.  That’s 3 straight games where he has failed to get to the FT line.  He did however have a nice 4th Q, including a stop of Houston’s red hot Martin and a quick bucket at the other end. His left hand finish at the 2 min. mark was also a thing of beauty.

Jrue’s foul trouble produced a lot of minutes for LW and that meant a lot of ill advises shots for LW.  His 2-7 start from the field did not help things in the 1st half.  Still he did drive the ball to the hole and get to the FT line 11 times last night, which is something we have been begging the Sixers to do.  But he also hoisted his fair share of long 2′s which is what the Sixers need to stop doing.

Mr. Consistent had another solid night.  It’s just too bad his energy and offensive punch weren’t given the chance to bring this one home for us in the final stanza.  The refs also handcuffed Thad as he was the victim of a horrendous charge call (it was flop by Lowry) in the 4th that stopped some momentum the Sixers had going.

His defense in the 2nd and 4th Q’ was stellar, but 1-6 from the field in 19 mins. is not going to get you out of Doug’s doghouse.

“Big Nik” kept the Sixers in the 1st half all by himself.  Included in his career high 18 points was a 6 point outburst in the late 1st Q (12 pts. in the 1st half), some solid post moves and a host of impressive offensive rebounds that he capitalized on.  Why the hell Collins took him out of the game in the mid-second Q for Battie is beyond comprehension.  Collins should have stuck with Nik’s hot streak all the way to half time.

Brand was one of the lone bright spots for the Sixers in this one. He played solid defense on Blake Griffin, forcing him to shoot 8-19 from the floor for 16 points. He also added a double-double for himself 12 points and 10 rebounds. The best stat of the night was that Blake the high riser was only held to one dunk and it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the one he had on Perkins a couple weeks ago. I could watch that all day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_Vy0lDk_A

After being selected to his very first NBA All-Star game I expected Andre Iguodala to come out and show his home crowd why he deserves to be there. Don’t get me wrong 12 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists is a solid stat-line, but it was his defense on Chris Paul in the final stanza that mattered most. Iggy was assigned defensively to Paul clinging to a 1-point lead in the final seconds of the game. Paul drilled the go-ahead bucket with 3.2 seconds to play over Iggy’s outstretched hands. LAC 78-PHI 77

Vuc was non-existent on the court. After getting the start, he only notched 12 minutes of PT as Collins decided to go with a smaller line-up. It almost had shades of the Denver Nuggets game earlier in the season. I’ll get to that later…

Meeks had a decent game at best. His defense left much to be desired as both Randy Foye and Mo Williams hit for double figures. Meeks hit for 10 points, but shot just 1-5 from beyond the arc. When Jodie hits three or more from deep this season the Sixers are 8-1.

Jrue had a terrible game defensively in this one, and outside of his defense on Derrick Rose this season it seems as if good point guards have had their way with him. Deron Williams, Andre Miller, Dwayne Wade, and now Chris Paul have all exposed his weak D. He also missed a crucial free-throw at the end of the game that could’ve very well been the end for the Sixers if they hadn’t played flawless defense on the ensuing inbound right after.

3-11 shooting doesn’t cut it and his final shot attempt to win the game was ugly and embarrassing. When you’re being swarmed by two defenders you have to get the ball to someone else. Disappointing game from Lou on an otherwise great season.

Solid game from Thad. Great D on Blake, but was out-hustled by his former teammate Reggie Evans. We’ll get to that after the jump.

Didn’t do too much in this game. More physical bodies in the post for the Clippers led to 15 offensive rebounds. It wasn’t as ugly as the Lakers game on the boards, but it seemed as if the Sixers didn’t do enough in this one.

12 minutes? I’m not sure what went into coaches decision here. He was efficient on the offensive end and he’s one of the Sixers best perimeter defenders. If he had been assigned to Paul more in the game, maybe he wouldn’t have penetrated as well as he did.

With Hawes in the line-up the Sixers are 12-2.  Without him they are just 6-7.  It’s becoming more and more apparent how important he is to the teams success.