Royal Ivey

"DEFENSIVE identity" is what coach Doug Collins looks for from his 76ers, and the ones who appear to match his desire are Damien Wilkins and Royal Ivey. In Saturday's win over the Houston Rockets, which snapped a seasonlong five-game losing streak, both saw significant minutes off the bench, while regular sub Nick Young didn't see any action. During the losing streak, the Sixers gave up an average of 102.4 points a game. In giving up 100 to Houston on Saturday, they held the league's top-scoring team to close to six points below its average, 44 percent shooting and forced it into 17 turnovers.

Just how are those players that the 76ers brought in to replace Lou Williams faring as the season nears its midpoint? As we have heard from the Sixers ever since they traded for Dorell Wright and signed Nick Young, who are both in the final year of their contracts, the 76ers have in theory become a longer and better defensive team. As GM Tony DiLeo said Friday, it is difficult to evaluate them because they were also brought here to be spot-up shooters who would be more effective in their roles with Andrew Bynum in the lineup.

TORONTO - When you have been successful in only five out of 20 attempts, no matter what the sport, things aren't going well. Entering Wednesday's game against the Toronto Raptors, the 76ers had lost 15 of their previous 20 games, and the wear-and-tear of that stretch is as visible as their record in the standings every day. During his nine pro seasons, Royal Ivey has seen losing streaks linger and he knows getting out them can happen in many...

The 76ers released former Roman Catholic and Villanova star Maalik Wayns on Sunday. The team also recalled rookie forward Arnett Moultrie from its NBA Development League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The Sixers roster stands at 13 players. Wayns was signed as a free agent this summer after impressing the Sixers during the Orlando summer league, and his release was somewhat of a surprise. He was scheduled to be paid $473,604 this season and $762,195 next season. However, the full payout was contingent on his being on the roster.

PORTLAND - Over the last two games, 76ers coach Doug Collins has turned to veteran point guard Royal Ivey with more consistency. In the Sixers' win at Memphis the day after Christmas, Collins counted on Ivey to fill in for Jrue Holiday, and Ivey responded with six points, making both of his three-point shots in almost 11 minutes. In a 96-89 loss to Golden State on Friday, Ivey logged more than 25 minutes. And while he scored just five points, Collins said that foes are going to see more of Ivey as the coach tightens his rotation.

LOS ANGELES - The rotation is the biggest question that 76ers coach Doug Collins still has about his team. Before the Sixers' 89-85 loss at Portland on Saturday, Collins said that Royal Ivey will become a steady member in his rotation. He likes the toughness Ivey brings at the defensive end, particularly guarding the point guard the complete length of the floor. What that means is that someone in the trio of Jason Richardson, Dorell Wright and Nick Young probably is going to see a dip in playing time.

The 76ers' most effective player, point guard Jrue Holiday, has a sprained left foot and will be a game-time decision for Friday's matchup against the Pacers in Indiana. Holiday wore a boot on his left foot Thursday when he left the Sixers' practice facility. Holiday played 40 minutes and 16 seconds in Wednesday's 96-89 loss to the visiting Chicago Bulls. He scored 26 points. According to a team official, Holiday said he did not feel any pain after the game but woke up in pain Thursday.

WHILE IT would have been perfectly understandable if 76ers coach Doug Collins blamed Monday's 105-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on heavy legs, as his team was playing its sixth game in 9 days and first since a three-game road trip, he instead blamed "heavy minds. " "We have to have energy at the beginning of the game," said guard Jason Richardson, who made his first start in four games and contributed 20 points. "I just think we didn't have our focus. We have to be focused more, from coming into shootaround and know what we are doing with the game plans.

NEW YORK - Doug Collins often has bemoaned the presence of photographers along the baseline, and on Sunday, when he lost shooting guard Jason Richardson to a sprained left ankle in the first quarter against the New York Knicks, the 76ers coach had yet another reason to complain. However, it was Richardson, not Collins, who did the talking. "They really don't belong down there - you see what happens," said Richardson, who suffered the sprain when he stepped on a cameraman's foot at Madison Square Garden.