Sixers striving for consistency

If you looked at the Cleveland Cavaliers and the 76ers before the season began and you questioned which team would be battling an identity crisis early on, Cleveland would win hands down. Their home-grown star ripped the city's heart apart when he decided to join other superstars in a quest for a championship. Though it has been merely months since LeBron James decided to move south to Miami, the Cavaliers have certainly moved on.

They have won four of their first nine games. They are getting good play from young players J.J. Hickson and Ramon Sessions. Expectations this season were understandably low, but coach Byron Scott has his team playing hard.

Through 10 games, we are still trying to figure out so many things about the Sixers.

Jrue Holiday has shown flashes of being the point guard that prompted coach Doug Collins to say he'd be in the top five at that position, possibly as soon as next season. More often than not, though, he's been far from that.

Andre Iguodala, hampered by a sore Achilles' tendon and undoubtedly fatigued from playing for the U.S. National Team this summer, is averaging just 12.8 points and hasn't seemed to grasp the leadership role that Collins was hoping he would.

Evan Turner has cracked the starting lineup, but the rigors of NBA life seem to take their toll on the rookie now and then, and his play has been expectedly inconsistent.

Spencer Hawes hasn't lived up to what was expected from him at the center position, averaging just 16.1 minutes per game and 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Subs Marreese Speights and Thad Young have provided some spark, but not consistently enough for Collins to rely on night in and night out.

When added up, you see why the record is two wins in 10 games heading into tonight's contest in Cleveland.

"We are just looking for some form of consistency," Collins said. "And it can't just come from one or two players or a few players, it needs to come from everyone. But as I've said over and over, everything we do is a learning process. I am still trying to learn about this team. And I'm sure they are still learning about me. This will not be a quick fix. It is going to take time."

A brutal early-season schedule hasn't helped. Tonight's game will be the fifth straight on the road. The Sixers will host two this week, then hit the road for three more next week.

As the losses pile up, the confidence seems to go down for Collins' young team. But the NBA life doesn't have pity on anyone or any team. If the ship is to be righted, the players are going to have to play through hardship and make the transition of playing for a new coach.

They need to look no further than tonight's opponent to see how it's being done.

Cleveland defeated the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center, 123-116, earlier this season. In that game, Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao made all 10 of his field-goal attempts en route to 23 points . . . The Sixers host the Toronto Raptors tomorrow night and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday . . . Great stat of the season: In their 10 games, the Sixers have converted 24 more field goals than their opponents but have been outscored from the foul line by 78.

For more Sixers coverage, read the

Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville.

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