"I would have been really, really nervous had I known that Spencer was going to miss 10 of those [early homestand] games and that Nik would miss games in that stretch," Collins said. "I'm just thrilled that we've been able to find a way through our injuries to win games at home."
So how did the engine keep chugging along? A lot of the credit has to go to the engineer. Somehow, Collins has mixed and matched his frontcourt players, getting the most out of whomever happens to be dressed on a given night.
With Brand out Monday against the Lakers' Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, Collins used Hawes, Vucevic, and rookie Lavoy Allen. They hardly shut the Lakers' big men down. But they kept the Sixers in the game, allowing Andre Iguodala's defense and Lou Williams' late offense to fuel a comeback win.
One key basket in the Sixers' run: With Williams trapped in the corner, he desperately passed out to Hawes just inside the three-point arc. Hawes immediately delivered a perfect pass to Vucevic for an easy basket before Bynum could react.
With Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in town Wednesday, Collins had to work with different ingredients. Hawes' Achilles tendon flared up, making him unavailable. During the shootaround, Brand's sprained thumb felt good enough for him to try to play. So it would be Brand, Vucevic, and Allen trying to cope with Duncan.
Somehow, it worked. The Spurs won the game - their sixth in a row - but the Sixers were never out of it. And it was veteran guard Tony Parker, not Duncan, who hurt them the most.
It screams louder than the Revolutionaries that these Sixers were disappointed to lose to a veteran team with championships on its resumé - on a night when the Spurs seemed to get every call from the officials.
"We kept fighting," Collins said, "giving ourselves a chance. This is a team, when you make a mistake, they will make you pay dearly for it."
