Lavoy Allen

Jrue Holiday probably likes the 76ers locker room to be more like it was after a 92-84 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Holiday has established himself as an all-star in his fourth season, but when the team wins and reporters are clamoring for the opportunity to talk to ancillary players such as Nick Young, Lavoy Allen, and Spencer Hawes, that means that Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, and Holiday are getting more help. "It definitely makes it easier," said Holiday, who scored a game-high 21 points in more than 41 minutes.

THREE DOG NIGHT had a hit song that included the lyrics: "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. Two can be as bad as one. It's the loneliest number since the number one. " Two would look really good to the 76ers, as in two straight victories. They haven't been able to pull off that feat since Nov. 30, and though they came close to doing it Monday night, they went into offensive shutdown the last half of the final quarter and fell, 90-85, to the San Antonio Spurs. The loss dropped the Sixers to 17-24, denied them consecutive wins after a 19-point comeback against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, and gets them to the midway point of the season in far less than ideal positioning.

The more we see of the 76ers, the more evident it becomes that change is not always good. Nine new faces are on the roster, and many of the changes were intended to make the Sixers longer and more athletic, better defenders both on the wings and, to a degree, at the rim. But 39 games into the season there is no trace of those traits. In losing their 17th game in the last 23 on Tuesday, the Sixers allowed the lowly New Orleans Hornets to shoot better than 76 percent in the first quarter, build a 20-point lead early in the fourth, and ultimately wipe out the good feelings from a victory two days earlier over a good Houston team that ended a five-game losing streak.

NEW YORK - Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young were the only 76ers starters to attempt a free throw in Sunday's 95-92 loss at Brooklyn. That he didn't make at least one trip to the line, despite playing more than 30 minutes, left Lavoy Allen, who made his 18th start of the year, perplexed. "I don't know what I can do other than continue to stay aggressive," said Allen, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. "That's the mind-set of everyone in here. That's all we can do. "   Small ball The 76ers aren't the only team that is going to a smaller lineup.

THOUGH DOUG Collins' bench wasn't short of players Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, it was hurting. Starting shooting guard Jason Richardson was in the starting lineup despite missing the second half and overtime in Saturday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sore left ankle. Earlier in the season Richardson missed most of five games after he fell over a cameraman in Madison Square Garden in the opening minutes of a game against the New York Knicks and rolled the ankle.

It was a subtle prod at the end of a news conference that 76ers coach Doug Collins would like to deliver with the force of a jackhammer. Collins had just spent a moment Sunday after the Sixers' 104-101 win over the Phoenix Suns talking about wanting center Lavoy Allen to continue taking those 15- to 17-foot jump shots that Allen likes. "He's a very good shooter," Collins said when asked whether he was comfortable with Allen's taking that shot. "Our big guys - that's what they do. I'd like to say that we have guys who are going to pound it into the paint and stuff like that.

HERE'S WHAT we don't know: The type of team the 76ers would be with Andrew Bynum as its center. There is no evidence from which to draw a conclusion, as Bynum suffered a knee bone bruise before being able to work out with the team, let alone going through training camp or any of the seven preseason and seven regular-season games. Here's what we do know: Without Bynum, the Sixers have a bunch of nice pieces, a ton of explosive outside shooters and peripheral players who would seem to be a perfect mesh with Bynum.

LAVOY ALLEN reached out to actress Stacey Dash, a fellow Mitt Romney supporter, after their candidate lost Tuesday's election. The Sixers' forward sent the "Clueless" star a tweet that said, "don't worry we will get through this together, if you need a shoulder to cry on I'm only a phone call away" Dash, who is of African-American and Mexican descent, received a slew of racially charged tweets last month after she endorsed Romney.   No pot for players Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday.

When the 76ers began last season with a daunting, five-game Western Conference road trip, they turned it into a springboard to a hot start. The trip began in Portland with a loss and ended in New Orleans with a win. The 3-2 Sixers returned home to a schedule that was front-loaded with home games and made the most of it, stringing together a six-game winning streak on the way to a 10-3 start. On Wednesday night the Sixers will return to New Orleans, where they will play their third game in four days.