Dealing with the injuries is just something his team is going to have to learn to cope with, said coach Doug Collins.
"If you're not mentally tough it's going to be tough to survive in a year like this because it's an ongoing problem in the NBA this year," he said. "All you do is see all the people who are out with injuries and most everybody has been playing shorthanded some time this season already early.
"I look at some of the teams throughout the league who have lost some guys to injuries and have found a way to win and you see some teams that have lost guys to injuries and they've lost. I mean key guys. Milwaukee's lost five in a row without [Andrew] Bogut, Toronto has lost six in a row without [Andrea] Bargnani, the Bulls have only lost once without [Derrick] Rose, Miami has lost just once without [Dwyane] Wade. Atlanta has lost [Al] Horford for the year and [Brook] Lopez has not played at all for New Jersey. So I told our guys there's zero excuses. Everyone is going through this and we just have to find a way to win."
They did just that last night, and rather emphatically, as the Sixers thumped the Washington Wizards, 103-83, at the Wells Fargo Center.
Collins was dealt a bit of a scare yesterday morning when forward Elton Brand asked to leave the shootaround due to a stomach ailment. Brand was in the building last night at his usual time, shooting jumpers 2 hours before the game and said he felt fine. He started the game well, too, scoring 11 points in the first 9 minutes, as the Sixers pulled out to a 23-10 lead. Brand finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 active minutes.
Injury updates
