After a week of summer league basketball in Orlando, the Philadelphia 76ers have a better understanding of where they stand – sort of.  

The 76ers saw some progression in it’s current roster players and got some live action practicing head coach Doug Collins philosophies.  But the Sixers top pick Evan Turner was average — that’s being extremely nice — and no one on Philadelphia’s bench really proved worthy of a training camp invite.  As a result, the Sixers finished 2-3 during the week. 

If Sixers fans didn’t realize the potential of Jrue Holiday, they do now.  Philadelphia’s 20-year-old point guard proved to Coach Doug Collins that he can be “the quarterback of the offense.”  Holiday played in just three games during the week but averaged 19.3 ppg, 6 assists per game and only 2 turnovers per contest.  Holiday started to turn the corner in the second half last season and it’s always encouraging when a second year player is able to have his way against summer league competition.  Holiday won’t be asked to score as much in the regular season but it was good to see him shoot 47.4% on 38 shots. Jrue routinely was able to get to the basket and will be starting for the Sixers from day one in 2010-11.

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The matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets was the game many NBA experts had pegged as the must see matchup from the 2010 Orlando Pro Summer League.

The game had quite a few different storylines.  First and foremost it was the debut of Sixers guard Evan Turner and Nets forward Derrick Favors, both top three picks.  Of course both teams also made coaching changes, both hiring former television analysts; Doug Collins (TNT) to Philadelphia and Avery Johnson (ESPN) to New Jersey.

 But instead it was Philadelphia point guard Jrue Holiday who stole the show Monday night, scoring 23 points and dishing out 8 assists.

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Now that the ball is no longer bouncing at the Wachovia Center for the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2009-10 campaign, players have some free time to do things outside the basketball realm.  Recently Sixers forward Marreese Speights was at the Copabanana on South Street as a guest bartender in order to raise money for the Ronald McDonald house in Philadelphia.  Speights is possibly following in the footsteps of fellow teammate Samuel Dalembert who recently received the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for helping out mightily with the relief effort in Haiti.

“Helping out with the Ronald McDonald house is a great feeling,” said Speights.  “I realized that it’s harder to serve drinks then I thought it was, but I’m doing my best to help out the children.”

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