"I just think today was a statement for him," said coach Doug Collins of Iguodala. "The Olympic honor, being one of the [20] guys, coming out, putting a stamp on that today. That matchup with he and Stephen Jackson was a huge matchup for us today."
As far as making the team, Collins thinks Iguodala is right there.
"I think Dre's got a great chance, if he stays healthy," said Sixers coach Doug Collins of Iguodala making the 12-man roster. "When he was trying out for the team last time for the World Championships, my son Chris was working with the team and he relayed to me that [Krzyzewski] needed Dre to be their best on-ball defender and get that starting group a guy that they could put on whoever they have to put on defensively to take somebody out of the game. I think that's his calling card, that he can guard multiple guys, he can lock in and bring that to them. I think he did that with the World Championship team."
Iguodala wasn't available before yesterday's game, and by the time the locker room opened afterward, he had left.
Hawes good
Center Spencer Hawes looked very fit yesterday, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He even hit a pair of three-pointers, his first of the season.
His strained back, which cost him one game and some minutes in others, appears to be a thing of the past.
"I feel better, a lot better," he said. "Having a full day off [Sunday] and getting treatment, and just being able to relax was good for me and hopefully this is the last of the issues."
Hawes was emphatic when asked if he was ever worried the back problem could be more than muscular.
"No. The way it felt and the symptoms, I wasn't too worried about that," he said. "It was just one of those things that is so frustrating because you don't know when the spasm is going to die down, and when it's going to loosen up, and when it's going to lock up.
"That's the frustrating part, but that's the name of the game. For a few days when my alarm would go off I'd be like, 'Alright, what's up?' The first three steps would usually tell me how the back was and how it was going to be. But it's not like that anymore."
Practice time
For the first time since Jan. 3. the Sixers will hit the practice floor at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine today. With the schedule being as crazy as it has been, there simply hasn't been any time to practice.
"We'll do some shooting. We'll get some of our guys who aren't getting some minutes some extra work, to get them sharp and just keep building," Doug Collins said. "We're going to have to keep adding little things as we go on, but now we're just sort of status quo-ing it until we can get in there on that practice floor a little bit."
