PHIL JASNER

Sixers' record: 38-44.

Andre Iguodala’s scoring: 22.3.

Lou Williams’ assists: 5.7.

East final four: Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta.

West final four: L.A. Lakers, San Antonio, Portland, Utah.

NBA Finals: Lakers over Cavaliers.

Coach of the Year: Mike Woodson.

MVP: LeBron James.

Rookie of the Year: Jonny Flynn.

BOB COONEY

Sixers' record: 42-40

Igoudala’s scoring avg.: 17.7

Lou Williams’ assists avg.: 4.3
 

East final four: Orlando, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago

West final four: LA Lakers, San Antonio, Denver, Dallas

NBA Finals: Lakers over Cleveland

League MVP: LeBron James

Coach of the Year: George Karl

Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin

DICK JERARDI

Sixers' record 41-41

Igoudala's scoring avg. 17

Williams' assists avg. 5

East final four Magic, Celtics, Cavs, Bulls

West final four Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Blazers

NBA Finals: Winner over loser Magic over Lakers

League MVP: Dwight Howard

Coach of the Year Stan Van Gundy

Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin

The Sixers finished the preseason with a 5-3 record, and, according to new coach Eddie Jordan, have been able to grasp his new offensive and defensive styles at a very good pace.

The team and the coach both know that the process is a long one, but are very happy with the results thus far. The first test will come Wednesday night in the season opener at Orlando.

Jordan will trot out a starting lineup of Williams and Iguodala at guards, Sam Dalembert at center and Thaddeus Young and Brand at the forwards. His rotation off the bench will consist of Marreese Speights, Jason Kapono, Willie Green, Jason Smith, Royal Ivey and Carney, with Holiday and Brezec fighting for time.

“It was a successful preseason because we came out healthy, we won, and we improved tremendously,” said Jordan. “When you look at the way we played in the preseason, I want to be a lot more consistent. Number one, I want to cut our turnovers down. Mostly that was fastbreaks. We could have converted a lot more fastbreaks. And then I wanted our defense to be solid and turn people over.”
 

NBA coaches and general managers are fond of talking about the importance of protecting their assets. That's why invoking a third-year option on Marreese Speights and fourth-year options on Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith for 2010-11 were basically no-brainers.

Still, the one who should be the most grateful is Smith, the backup forward-center who missed all of last season after undergoing knee surgery.

''He's been with us through his whole rehab and was cleared to play in July,'' Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski said. ''He's played through the preseason and his level of energy has been off the charts. We've been told by the doctors that he'll get stronger as the season goes on. And he has a nice skill, in that he's a 'big' who can come in and make shots.''

Before Smith got hurt two summers ago, part of the plan was to use him as a change-up center because of his ability to score from the perimeter. We'll find out what new coach Eddie Jordan's plan is as we go along.

By the way, about the money . . .

Charts obtained by the Daily News show these numbers for 2010-11: Speights, $1,773,960; Young, $2,901,241; Smith, $2,187,913

There was a theory circulating that, if the 76ers were going to carry a 14th man, Dionte Christmas might fit the bill.

The theory suggested that a 14th guy should have a special skill, and Chrstmas is a good shooter, something the Sixers have lacked in recent seasons.

Nice theory. Didn't work. The Sixers waived Christmas, the undrafted rookie from Temple, and forward Brandon Bowman, leaving them with 13 players. Teams can carry as many as 15 players, with 12 eligible to play in any given game. And the Sixers had already improved their shooting by trading for Jason Kapono and, to some degree, by trading for Rodney Carney.

But if Chrstmas was crushed by the news, he hasn't shown that to Andre Buck, his agent.

''I told his father that Dionte's the best I've ever seen at handling a situation like this, in terms of the process,'' Buck said. "It's tough, because it's not a friendly process; there are always guys out there that teams are looking at. And there are guys who were in the NBA last season that are looking around.

''We're not sure yet about what we're going to do. The 'D' League is an option, and if the right offer were to come from Europe, that would be an option, too. We plan to be patient, to take a few days.

''All the feedback I've gotten says Dionte is more than good enough, but more teams are carrying fewer players, and teams don't always want to carry an (extra) rookie who might not contribute right away. All of those factors come in to play.

''But as I said, he's really handling this well. In that respect, he makes my job easy.''

In case you're looking for something to watch between the end of the Eagles-Oakland Raiders game (no disrespect to the Eagles' post-game show on Comcast SportsNet) and the start of Game 3 between the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers . . .

There's always the 76ers. Their preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at 7 from Monterey, Mexico is being broadcast by NBA-TV, albeit in Spanish.

The Sixers are 4-1 in the preseason after Friday night's 115-113 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. Tonight's game will feature Spanish-speaking announcers and graphis in Spanish, part of an NBA marketing initiative to personalize the game for Hispanic fans.

The Sixers, who won their first four preseason games for just the fifth time since 1963, came from 18 points down in the fourth quarter Friday to challenge the Suns. They were undone, in part, by Suns guard Dan Dickau going 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final five minutes.

The good news was, Marreese Speights scored 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting, swept 12 rebounds and blocked two shots, and rookie guard Jrue Holiday had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 30 minutes before fouling out. The bad news was, Elton Brand (1-for-7), Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala combined to shoot 1-for-15.

The 76ers have won their first four preseason games for the fifth time since 1963. As they prepare for a pair of weekend games against the Phoenix Suns, is that enough for you to begin to hope and dream about the coming season? Is it even enough to get a feel for what the season might be like?

Don't go off the deep end yet with Eddie Jordan and his Princeton offense, but here's what history says about the Sixers winning at least their first four preseason games--

1967-68: They swept their first six in a 7-2 preseason. Powered by Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham, they went 62-20.

1968-69: They took their first five in a 12-game preaseason (7-5), then went 55-27 behind Cunningham, Greer and Chet Walker.

1975-76: They won their first four in the preseason, finishing 6-2. With George McGinnis, Doug Collins, Fred Carter and Steve Mix (not to mention young Lloyd Free and Joe Bryant), they were 46-36.

1978-79: They won their first four in a 7-1 preseason. Led by Julius Erving, Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Henry Bibby and Maurice Cheeks, they went 47-35.

What, if anything, does that mean in reference to this season?

Not a clue.

Just offering a dollop of Sixerville in the midst of the Phillies' run.

The Sixers have waived guard Sean Singletary and forward/center Stromile Swift, trimming the roster to 15.

Singletary, the Penn Charter product. appeared in one game for a total of 10 minutes this preseason for the Sixers.

Swift was seemingly destined to be cut when he was injured in virtually his first workout with the team. He missed the Sixers first three preseason games with a strained left hamstring.