Steven Hunter

By the time he finished his busy first week with the 76ers, Steven Hunter found himself to be more elated than exhausted. The 7-foot center contributed 13 points and five blocked shots to the Sixers' surprising victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, their first win of the season. But the key to his performance was that he played a career-high 41 minutes, staying on the floor for all but 20 seconds of the second half. That's not bad for a player who did not average more than 13.8 minutes in his first four years in the NBA and had started only 52 of his 221 career games.

The 76ers added to their frontcourt defense by coming to terms last night with Steven Hunter, a 7-foot forward and center who was an unrestricted free agent. According to Mark Bartelstein, Hunter's agent, the deal is for five years and $16.5 million. Hunter is expected to sign his contract today. "He is a great athlete, and it's a great fit for what the 76ers do and the style they play," Bartelstein said last night. Hunter, who will be entering his fifth season in the NBA and will turn 24 in October, is expected to back up both Samuel Dalembert at center and Chris Webber at power forward.

The old backup center for the 76ers is the new one once again. After a week of discussions and haggling between doctors for both teams, the New Orleans Hornets yesterday rescinded the trade of 7-foot Steven Hunter from the Sixers because of an undisclosed medical condition. Hunter, 24, is expected to return to the Sixers in time for tomorrow's practice, said Billy King, the team's president and general manager. "There is disappointment because of the fact that Steven has not missed any practices or games for what [Hornets doctors]

When the 76ers traded Marc Jackson to the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday, president and general manager Billy King said the team would go after a frontcourt player and a perimeter player. One player the Sixers have apparently targeted is Phoenix unrestricted free-agent center Steven Hunter. Sixers coach Mo Cheeks and Hunter met yesterday in Chicago. "We've been having a lot of conversations with the Sixers," Hunter's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said last night. "We'll see what happens.

When 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks was handing out the defensive assignments before last night's game against Charlotte, he posed an important question to 7-foot power forward Steven Hunter. "He was asking me, 'Steven, can you guard Adam Morrison?' " Hunter recalled, referring to the Bobcats' 6-foot-8 rookie perimeter shooter. "I was like, 'Absolutely,' and he believed in me and it worked out. " Cheeks kept his big lineup on the floor even as the Bobcats went to a smaller lineup.

With the trade for power forward Reggie Evans and the signing of center Calvin Booth, the 76ers have gotten tougher and more mature. Booth is a former Penn State standout and free agent from the Washington Wizards. His signing became official yesterday. Terms were not released, but a source confirmed that it's a guaranteed two-year deal totaling $2.2 million, with a player option for the second year. The new Sixers met the media at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

All right, so the 76ers still have the third-worst record in the league. Still, the confidence that flows through their players and their locker room is a sure sign that they feel better days are coming. The Sixers, who haven't had a winning streak as long as three games since their first three games of the season, will go for three in a row tonight at the Wachovia Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Our confidence has grown," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said yesterday after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Samuel Dalembert hasn't had a single start at center for the 76ers since coming back from an injury five games ago. He probably won't start again today in Memphis, although coach Maurice Cheeks said his decision "could change by 3 o'clock," the local starting time of the game. Dalembert said that not starting is affecting him, but he is even more puzzled by the fact that he's playing limited minutes. He's particularly baffled and bothered at having sat while the Sixers coughed up each of their last three games in the final two minutes.

The 76ers made no surprise moves in getting down to the required 15-man limit by waiving center Steve Castleberry and guard Olu Famutimi yesterday. NBA teams have until 6 p.m. Monday to trim their rosters to 15. Whether the Sixers make any additional moves in the next few days might depend on the status of center Samuel Dalembert. During Thursday's final preseason game, a meeting with the Spurs in San Antonio, Dalembert aggravated his strained right quadriceps. He left the court at the SBC Center for good after only 2 minutes, 12 seconds.

The 76ers filled their biggest off-season need yesterday by acquiring power forward Reggie Evans in a four-player deal with the Denver Nuggets. Evans was acquired along with the rights to forward Ricky Sanchez for forward Bobby Jones and forward/center Steven Hunter. Billy King, the Sixers' president and general manager, said the team also would sign free-agent center Calvin Booth today. An eight-year veteran out of Penn State, Booth appeared in 44 games last season with the Washington Wizards.

With the trade for power forward Reggie Evans and the signing of center Calvin Booth, the 76ers have gotten tougher and more mature. Booth is a former Penn State standout and free agent from the Washington Wizards. His signing became official yesterday. Terms were not released, but a source confirmed that it's a guaranteed two-year deal totaling $2.2 million, with a player option for the second year. The new Sixers met the media at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The 76ers filled their biggest off-season need yesterday by acquiring power forward Reggie Evans in a four-player deal with the Denver Nuggets. Evans was acquired along with the rights to forward Ricky Sanchez for forward Bobby Jones and forward/center Steven Hunter. Billy King, the Sixers' president and general manager, said the team also would sign free-agent center Calvin Booth today. An eight-year veteran out of Penn State, Booth appeared in 44 games last season with the Washington Wizards.

The 76ers had to call on their young players again last night to fill in against the Boston Celtics, but at least they had players to call upon. For the second straight night, the Sixers were missing leading scorer Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver and Rodney Carney. But the Celtics were missing about half their roster, including Paul Pierce and Delonte West. Boston dressed eight players and finished with seven. The Sixers took advantage, surging in the second half behind Joe Smith and Andre Miller and defeating the Celtics, 102-94, at TD Banknorth Garden for their fourth win in their last five games.

After suffering through the embarrassment of two horrific defeats just days before, the 76ers spent the weekend trying to prove, maybe to themselves and their coaches more than their fans, that they still had a pulse. And judging from their back-to-back wins Friday and Saturday nights over Charlotte and Miami, the Sixers do have a pulse, even if they don't play pristine basketball most of the time. As they did in their 106-97 home win Friday over the Bobcats, the Sixers used one overpowering half to get the job done Saturday in Miami.

All right, so the 76ers still have the third-worst record in the league. Still, the confidence that flows through their players and their locker room is a sure sign that they feel better days are coming. The Sixers, who haven't had a winning streak as long as three games since their first three games of the season, will go for three in a row tonight at the Wachovia Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Our confidence has grown," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said yesterday after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

When 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks was handing out the defensive assignments before last night's game against Charlotte, he posed an important question to 7-foot power forward Steven Hunter. "He was asking me, 'Steven, can you guard Adam Morrison?' " Hunter recalled, referring to the Bobcats' 6-foot-8 rookie perimeter shooter. "I was like, 'Absolutely,' and he believed in me and it worked out. " Cheeks kept his big lineup on the floor even as the Bobcats went to a smaller lineup.

Steven Hunter is 7 feet tall, can run the floor as well or better than guys six inches shorter than him, and usually finishes around the basket when he gets a chance. But if there is one area where Hunter isn't all that consistent, it's under the boards, and he will have to improve in that area now that he is starting alongside Samuel Dalembert on the 76ers' taller front line. Hunter, who is expected to start his 10th consecutive game with Dalembert tonight when the Sixers take on the New Jersey Nets at the Wachovia Center, has had a pair of double-figure rebounding games during his stretch as a starter, including a career-high 15 boards on Jan. 21 against San Antonio.

Of the myriad reasons for the 76ers' stunning 3-0 start, one of the most interesting aspects is the ability of coach Maurice Cheeks to find someone on his bench to do something grand in the fourth quarter. On Friday night, it was rookie Rodney Carney, hitting a key three-point basket, hustling for loose balls and coming up with the decisive defensive stop on Orlando's Grant Hill just before the buzzer. In Sunday's win over Miami, it was 7-foot center Steven Hunter, patrolling the middle in the Sixers' otherwise small lineup while grabbing rebounds, blocking shots and coming up with a couple of dunks.

Samuel Dalembert hasn't had a single start at center for the 76ers since coming back from an injury five games ago. He probably won't start again today in Memphis, although coach Maurice Cheeks said his decision "could change by 3 o'clock," the local starting time of the game. Dalembert said that not starting is affecting him, but he is even more puzzled by the fact that he's playing limited minutes. He's particularly baffled and bothered at having sat while the Sixers coughed up each of their last three games in the final two minutes.

Steven Hunter looked comfortable on the court in his return to the 76ers yesterday. He appeared to fit right in with the guys who were his former teammates for most of this week. But once practice ended at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Hunter appeared confused and downright baffled as to why the New Orleans Hornets rescinded on Wednesday the Feb. 1 trade that sent him west for two second-round draft choices. Hunter said he still hasn't been told the reason why he's not a Hornet.