Samuel Dalembert

Samuel Dalembert undoubtedly was the tallest soccer player in his neighborhood in Haiti as a young teenager. Then he saw a film clip from an old NBA game that turned him on to basketball. "When I saw Dr. J dunk for the first time, I got excited," Dalembert said, referring to Julius Erving, the former 76ers great. "I started falling in love with basketball. That's when I started to try to play. But I wasn't good at it. The guys wouldn't pick me because I didn't know how to play.

The 76ers are catching something. No, it's not playoff fever. Not yet, anyway. They still have an uphill climb in the Eastern Conference if they want to reach the postseason, and the number of games is dwindling. But the Sixers seem to have figured out what it means to fight for their playoff lives, and that came through loud and clear last night after they fell behind by 12 points early in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns. Getting a career game from Samuel Dalembert, terrific floor leadership from Eric Snow, and nerveless play from rookies Willie Green and Kyle Korver, the Sixers rallied with the help of a 19-4 run and defeated the Suns, 99-94, before an exhilarated crowd of 17,947 at the Wachovia Center.

Billy King hasn't wavered in his stance throughout the 76ers' negotiations with Samuel Dalembert, Kyle Korver and Willie Green. "These guys will be 76ers, whether it's at our price or another team's price," the Sixers president and general manager said yesterday. The Sixers have the right to match any offer for the three because they are restricted free agents. NBA rules allow free agents to sign contracts beginning on Friday, although they have been allowed to negotiate with teams since July 1. King said that the negotiations are continuing, and that even if the players aren't signed by Friday, it shouldn't be a cause for alarm.

Break out the chains. Larry Brown is going to need them. When the 76ers play their first exhibition game tomorrow against San Antonio, Brown swears he will play second-year center Samuel Dalembert, no matter how much angst the coach has about it. "I've got to tie myself down during exhibitions and let him go and not get too upset if he's not quite ready," Brown said. "When I see it, I'll believe it," Dalembert said. Dalembert has a basketball body that kills. He's long, all of 6-foot-11, meaning the 21-year-old from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has been blessed with great shot-blocking ability.

Proving the adage "The players that matter to each other, splatter each other," or something like that, the 76ers gathered their weapons and assembled for their second annual paintball outing on their day off. But it seemed to be a different atmosphere this time around. Unlike last year, when the players felt as if they needed something to ease an uptight mood around the team, Monday's excursion appeared more to be a bunch of close friends wishing to spend time together. That's how it goes when there are good vibes going around the locker room, and you've won four straight games, to boot.

Until the 76ers can figure out a way to keep the opposition from manhandling them on the boards, they are headed for one long, tough and unsuccessful season. The Sixers are 7-7 heading into another run of four games in five days - the third time this season they have endured a stretch like this - and they are going nowhere fast as long as they continue to get outrebounded badly. The New York Knicks used a dominating stretch on the boards to rally from a 16-point deficit and defeat the Sixers, 105-102, in overtime on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Even though the best-of-seven playoff series is tied at two games apiece, the perception is that the Detroit Pistons have regained their edge after Sunday's 93-84 win over the 76ers. Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Detroit showed the heart and fire that made the second-seeded Pistons such prohibitive favorites at the beginning of the series. Detroit has regained at least the psychological control as the teams gear up for tonight's 7 o'clock matchup at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but the Sixers have shown resilience this season and in this series.

The 76ers had hoped to carry the momentum from their victory against Sacramento over the state line to the Arizona desert, but it somehow got lost in a hail of missed shots and Phoenix three-point bombs. The much-anticipated matchup between the two highest-scoring teams in the NBA last night became a rather one-sided affair. The Phoenix Suns, coming off a five-game road trip capped by a wearying three-overtime game in New York, found some fresh legs and routed the Sixers, 105-85, at the America West Arena.

For the 76ers, it's two down and one to go in the restricted-free-agent field. The team last night reached oral agreements with swingman Kyle Korver and combination guard Willie Green, both of whom agreed to six-year deals. Green's pact is worth $20 million, according to his agent, Noah Groom. According to a source, Korver's deal is for at least $24 million. "I love my teammates, and this is where I want to be," Green said in a phone interview. Korver could not be reached for comment.

It was like housecleaning. The 76ers yesterday signed their three draft picks - first-rounder Samuel Dalembert and second-rounders Damone Brown and Alvin Jones - so general manager Billy King can check one more thing off his summer to-do list. "They were still sort of out there, but now they're signed and you pretty much have your group," King said. "There's no loose ends out there. " Dalembert, Brown and Jones were in Philadelphia yesterday, getting instructions from Sixers assistants Randy Ayers and John Kuester.

Duke assistant coach Chris Collins, the son of 76ers coach Doug Collins, was named the head coach at Northwestern on Wednesday. Before the Sixers game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Collins said he hoped his son would get the job. "Chris had a very good interview there the other day, and obviously [Northwestern] fits the profile of what he's been looking for in his career," he said. Chris Collins replaces Bill Carmody, who was fired March 16 after his Wildcats went 13 years without an NCAA berth.

Lower Merion's Yohanny Dalembert has made considerable strides in basketball, a sport he began playing only three years ago. Before that, while he was living in Haiti, soccer was his passion. Dalembert showed his improvement on the hardwood in Tuesday night's PIAA District 1 Class AAAA semifinal against Great Valley, contributing 16 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks to a 61-35 triumph for the Aces at Temple's Liacouras Center. "He's playing with a lot of confidence," Aces coach Gregg Downer said.

MILWAUKEE - The 76ers had to play 48 minutes of basketball before they were allowed to embark on their much-anticipated All-Star break. They played 24 really good ones to begin the game, then 24 oh-so-average ones to end the game and their unofficial first half of the season with a 94-92 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the team they are directly chasing for a playoff spot. Milwaukee (26-25) improved to four games over the Sixers (22-29) for the eighth and final playoff spot and is now 3-0 against the Sixers this season with one more game remaining between the two. The Bucks' guard duo of Monta Ellis (27 points)

The wiggle room the 76ers had last year heading into the all-star break is nonexistent this time around. A 20-9 start last season helped the Sixers survive a 15-22 finish that began with a momentum-killing five-game losing streak right before the break. They led the Atlantic Division at the all-star break last year. Before they reach the break this season, the fourth-place Sixers know the importance of games against the Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) and the Milwaukee Bucks (25-24)

Former 76ers center Samuel Dalembert, now a Milwaukee reserve, got on a roll for the best game of his 10-year career on Tuesday night, turning in a 35-point performance for the Bucks against Denver. But the Nuggets found an answer, getting 22 points each from Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson as they rallied past the Bucks, 112-104, for a home win and their seventh straight victory. "Of course, we were shocked," Lawson said of Dalembert's game. "You don't see many players in the NBA get 35 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

At this stage, the Sixers have little choice but to wait on center Andrew Bynum. Their best bet is to hope his aching knees get better so they can make a semi-informed decision as to what to do moving forward. It seems that hope has been the Sixers' modus operandi in their search for a dominant big man who could take them a NBA championship. In the 50 years since the franchise moved to Philadelphia from Syracuse, two Hall of Fame centers have played for the Sixers. Wilt Chamberlain and Moses Malone both helped the Sixers win NBA titles and then, not long after, left when management made ill-fated decisions to trade them.

The Milwaukee Bucks are getting a much-needed big man and the Houston Rockets are positioning themselves to make a big move. The Bucks acquired former Sixers center Samuel Dalembert from the Rockets in a trade Wednesday. The Bucks said they got Dalembert, the 14th overall pick in Thursday's draft, a future second-round pick, and cash from Houston in exchange for forwards Jon Brockman and Jon Leuer, guard Shaun Livingston, and the 12th pick. Dalembert has career averages of 8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocked shots per game.

SIXERS CEO Adam Aron, who has interacted with fans all season on Twitter, has been silent since the season ended with Saturday night's loss in Game 7 to Boston. He returned Thursday with a message to Sixers fans about the season and the future. "Sixers fans, a few days after season end, I wanted to reach out and THANK YOU once more for your embracing new owners and team this year. Another thank you to all our sixers players this year. Some incredible highs, and lows, in a roller coaster but fun exciting season.

The New York Knicks have experienced a minor resurgence since the 76ers handed them loss No. 5 in a six-game losing stretch on March 11. After the Sixers beat them by 12 at Madison Square Garden, Chicago beat them the next day and Mike D'Antoni, who couldn't coax the Knicks into playing any defense, resigned. D'Antoni was replaced in an interim role by assistant coach Mike Woodson, and he has led the Knicks to four consecutive wins. The Sixers host the Knicks on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Two years after Haiti was devastated by a powerful earthquake, Samuel Dalembert, the NBA's only Haitian-born player, prays for progress, while tempering his frustration that more hasn't been done to rebuild his crippled country. Recently signed by the Houston Rockets, the 6-foot-11 Dalembert is on a mission to help, donating about $650,000 and establishing a foundation for relief efforts and putting down $1 million out of his own pocket to break ground on a sports academy for Haitian children.