The Philadelphia 76ers have a gleaming hole at the center position.  Their starting center Spencer Hawes is a scrub and in his three starts has produced ten points and nine rebounds — total.  

His backup, Marreese Speights, who is defensively challenged and suddenly injury prone has found himself warming the bench for the majority of Philadelphia’s first three games (an average of five minutes per game).  Since Hawes and Speights have been unable to handle the center duties, Elton Brand has spent significant time at the 5-spot over the first three games and done an admirable job.  However Brand is not the answer for 2010-11 nor the long haul.  The old-timer Tony Battie got some playing time at center in the 76ers contests against the Hawks and Pacers and was serviceable.  Battie has seen 19 total minutes on the floor and tallied three points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks, but again the Sixers can not rely on him to start and see major minutes each night.  

It’s clear the 76ers need to look elsewhere at the five position.  A low-post presence is key to compete in the East against the likes of Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and the O’Neal’s in Boston.  Even taller average players like Roy Hibbert will be able to have their ways offensively against Philly on the interior.  The 76ers missed out on numerous opportunities this summer to sign a big and it’s killing this team right now.  So whether it’s through free agency or via a trade, the 76ers will have to start making phone calls for a player who can bang in the post and fix this problem now. 

Lets take another look at some of the players available in free agency and potentially through trade who can plug the hole in the middle for the 7-6.  

 
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The Sixers currently sit a player short of a full roster.  This will be a very tricky spot for the triumvirate of Thorn / Stefanski / Collins to fill.  It’s tricky because the Sixers need a very specific kind of player.  It’s very tricky because the free agent cupboard – and the Sixers’ war chest – is nearly bare.

An old Chinese proverb says, “A problem well defined is a problem half solved.”  Because we always listen to old Chinese proverbs, let’s define the problem before we jump to the solution.  Here’s where the Sixers stand as I type this (Just a paragraph ago they were sitting and now they’re standing.  That’s progress.  I credit Doug Collins.)

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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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