Spencer Hawes

07-08 Sac    71 13.1 4.7 3.2 0.6 0.6 .459 .190 .655 08-09 Sac    77 29.3 11.4 7.1 1.9 1.2 .466 .348 .662 09-10 Sac    72 26.4 10.0 6.1 2.2 1.2 .468 .299 .689

As the curtain rose in the room some 30 feet above the 76ers' practice court at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, media members went to the window to get a glance of what Sixers fans have been waiting to see for more than a month. There on the court was center Spencer Hawes, planting hard on his left foot with no hesitancy or apprehension, and running through sets at the team's Tuesday practice as the Sixers (25-17) made ready for Wednesday's game at Indiana. Hawes, who has missed 27 of the last 28 games with a strained left Achilles' tendon, is expected to be in the starting lineup for the first time since he played on Feb. 6 in the Sixers' 95-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Coach Doug Collins said that the challenge in the early part of the 76ers season has been getting more production from more players. It's not an unusual challenge, Collins said, but better play must coaxed out of about three quarters of his team. Following Monday's practice, Collins said that the rest of the 10-7 Sixers have to produce as effectively as Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, and Evan Turner. They are combining to average more than 47 points per game. "I have three guys playing at an extremely high level - Jrue, Thad, and Evan," Collins said.

Although the 76ers have recently turned in some of their best performances of the season and ended a 15-game road losing streak, the bottom line is that just 11 games remain until the playoffs, and the Sixers are on the outside looking in. On the bright side, the Sixers' 100-92 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday prevented the Bucks from sweeping the season series from the Sixers. Also, the Sixers, who play at Cleveland on Friday night at 7:30, have gotten great play from center Spencer Hawes.

Of all the working parts that must come together if the 76ers are going to realize their potential, transitioning Spencer Hawes from center to power forward - a position he has never played - is low on the list. One week after the Sixers re-signed Hawes to a two-year, $13 million deal, they signed 6-foot-11, 270-pound Kwame Brown. Sixers coach Doug Collins anointed Brown the starter and immediately said Hawes would start at power forward. The blockbuster trade for center Andrew Bynum partially scuttled those plans, relegating Brown to the bench but not altering the plans for Hawes, who welcomes the opportunity to play power forward alongside the massive, 285-pound Bynum.

The 76ers said Monday that center Spencer Hawes was examined by Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute over the all-star break, and the doctor recommended that Hawes no longer wear a protective boot. He said that Hawes should not play in a game for at least two more weeks.   - Inquirer staff    

The 76ers reached agreement in principle on a two-year, $6 million contract extension with Lavoy Allen on Sunday, the first day of free agency, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The deal cannot be officially signed until the moratorium on signings is lifted on July 11. Allen, a 23-year-old forward-center from Temple, was the 50th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. After averaging 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 41 regular-season games, 15 of them as a starter, Allen was better in the playoffs, averaging 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds.

BEFORE LAST night's 76ers-Bulls game it was announced that Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau was named Eastern Conference coach of the month. No wonder, as his team went 15-4 in January, including a 9-1 mark at home. His team wins with defense, as do Doug Collins' Sixers. Last night, the home team did it a little bit better as the Sixers improved to 16-6 with a 98-82 win in which they pulled away in the second half by limiting the Bulls to 3-for-16 shooting and 11 points in the third quarter.

What: 76ers training camp Where: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) and St. Joseph's University, Hagan Arena Daily schedule: Friday (4-7 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.) at PCOM; Sunday (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.), Monday (4-7 p.m.), Tuesday (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.), Wednesday (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at St. Joseph's. Public sessions: To be determined. First exhibition game: At Washington, Dec. 16. First regular-season game: At Portland, Dec. 26. First home game: Vs. Detroit, Jan. 6. Length of season: 66 games (normally, NBA plays 82-game schedule)

THERE IS one thing 76ers coach Doug Collins has been searching for all season. It hasn't been the return of Andrew Bynum, nor any other form of help from an outside object. No, with the roster being littered with injuries throughout the season, Collins still sought just one thing from whoever was available from night to night: consistency. Saturday against the visiting Charlotte Bobcats and with former star Allen Iverson in the house (please no more emails about how they should try to get him to come back and play)

When things aren't going, well, like most folks anticipated, the obligatory fallout has to get directed somewhere. We'll never know what might have happened, had Andrew Bynum's knees just cooperated this season. Alas, they didn't. And the result is a 28-43 record for the Sixers as they head into Friday night's game at Cleveland, still barely mathematically in contention for a playoff berth, though reality strongly suggests otherwise. So management gets blamed for pulling the trigger on such a risky trade, even though everybody seemed to be on board way back when.

Although the 76ers have recently turned in some of their best performances of the season and ended a 15-game road losing streak, the bottom line is that just 11 games remain until the playoffs, and the Sixers are on the outside looking in. On the bright side, the Sixers' 100-92 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday prevented the Bucks from sweeping the season series from the Sixers. Also, the Sixers, who play at Cleveland on Friday night at 7:30, have gotten great play from center Spencer Hawes.

LOS ANGELES – During a four-game homestand that saw them play some of the better basketball of the season, the 76ers put together some impressive wins against teams like Indiana, Brooklyn and Portland, But the brutal reality of where they stand in the NBA pecking order reared its ugly face again as the Los Angeles Clippers completed a season sweep of them at the Staples Center on Wednesday, easily beating the Sixers 101-72. The Sixers loss extended their road losing streak to 14 games.

FROM 32,000 FEET, HEADING TO LA - The news that has dominated the happenings of the 76ers the past couple of days has revolved around center Andrew Bynum and the revelation he underwent season-ending surgery on both knees Tuesday in New York (more on that later). As has been the case for much of the season, the primary focus of the team hasn't been what's happening on the court, but rather what is going on with the balky knees of the prized offseason acquisition and when or whether he would ever make his debut for his new team.

THE NEWS couldn't have come at a worse time. The Sixers are in the midst of playing their best basketball of the season and led the Portland Trail Blazers by eight at halftime, another solid offensive performance. Then word was passed to press row that Andrew Bynum was going to have surgery Tuesday on both knees and the rest of his season was lost before it ever began. The announcement on Bynum wasn't unexpected, it was just that the timing was bad. Instead of the focus being put on the team's play, here it was, yet again, on the prized acquisition who never came to be. It is sort of a microcosm of the 76ers' season, the bad news seeming to override the good.

LOS ANGELES - Considering their remaining schedule, it would be easy for the 76ers to do what many of their fans already have done this season: give up. "We're going to keep playing hard, because that's what we get paid to do," Sixers center Spencer Hawes said. "And right now we're playing good basketball. The ball is moving, we're playing with high energy, and we're having fun no matter what the circumstances might be. " They are not great. The Sixers (26-40) are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but they are eight games behind Milwaukee for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The 76ers won two straight games for only the second time since the beginning of February, but the pertinent talk in the locker room Monday night was not about the 101-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was about what might have been - and what still might be. The win at the Wells Fargo Center gave the Sixers (26-40) their first winning streak since they won three straight from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4. The Sixers got 27 points from Jrue Holiday, 18 points and 13 rebounds from Spencer Hawes, 19 points from Thaddeus Young, and 16 points from reserve Dorell Wright.

The 76ers won two straight games for only the second time since the beginning of February, but the pertinent talk in the locker room Monday night was not about the 101-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was about what might have been - and what still might be. The win at the Wells Fargo Center gave the Sixers (26-40) their first winning streak since they won three straight from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4. The Sixers got 27 points from Jrue Holiday, 18 points and 13 rebounds from Spencer Hawes, 19 points from Thaddeus Young, and 16 points from reserve Dorell Wright.

The 2012-13 season has been hard on everyone involved in the 76ers organization, a fact that is not lost on center Spencer Hawes. Facing a team that has at times bullied them this year, the Sixers played a cathartic game, earning a 98-91 victory against the Central Division-leading Indiana Pacers in front of 18,587 at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. And no one enjoyed the night more than Hawes. The 7-footer, matched up against 7-2 Roy Hibbert (25 points, 10 rebounds), had perhaps the finest all-around game of his career.