Brand in, Hawes out for Sixers
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Brand in, Hawes out for Sixers
The Sixers today announced MRIs were negative on the back and Achilles tendon of Sixers center Spencer Hawes, but he will still miss tonight's game against Tim Duncan and the Spurs.
The Achilles' issue has become chronic, and the Sixers worried that a disk problem in his back was the root of it, especially since Hawes battled back soreness earlier this season. The exams, performed Tuesday, showed neither a disk problem nor any tearing of the Achilles'. He is listed as day-to-day.
Forward Elton Brand will return to the starting lineup. Brand missed Monday's win over the Lakers with a sprained right thumb which needs more time to heal -- time the Sixers do not have.
"It's not close to 100 percent," said Brand, after he took part in a shootaround this morning at the Wells Fargo Center. "It's definitely painful. The swelling has gone down. With Spencer out, you've got to find a way. ... Especially against those big guys."
Without Brand, the Lakers out-rebounded the Sixers 55-30 on Monday.
Brand will start alongside first-round rookie Nik Vucevic. Second-rounder Lavoy Allen, the Temple product who has shined the past few games and started in the last two, will come off the bench, coach Doug Collins said.
This is were the coach competitiveness fire gets in the way of a player health. Tim is going to eat Brand alive.— cosmic- I was at the Lakers game, and there was a big, 7' tall white guy with a beard that wore number '00' who played about 32 minutes and had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Since according to the article it wasn't Spencer Hawes, they should use that guy instead...
- agreed i was also at that game and if spencer hawes missing his 2nd straight game who was the other guy!!! — popoff
- I was at the Lakers game, and there was a big, 7' tall white guy with a beard that wore number '00' who played about 32 minutes and had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Since according to the article it wasn't Spencer Hawes, they should use that guy instead...
cosmic- duncan is a third less than the player he was 3-4 years ago. he is just not that dominant any longer. who cares if Duncan eats up brand, all that matters is that the 76ers win— jamarder- Really @cosmic? Have you seen Tim lately? He's not exactly ripping the league up right now averaging a shade under 14 pts a game. besides if he's ineffective they'll go to the bench. Its not like its Brand or bust.— ericthered1
- Spencer Hawes played against the lakers. so he won't miss his second straight.— mundiff
- I guess in Cooney's eyes he never made it through that battle of nutrition
- Duncan will get his as usual...I'm more concerned about Parker slicing through the paint uncontested all game. Nic needs to knock that guy down once or thrice.— sedale
- agree w/ya sedale. send a message early and often that parkers only getting his points outside the paint. and i don't like brand playing if he's not 100%. just give battie some minutes tonight (something they should have done the other day too) and let Brand heal. this team has proven they can play with everyone but the heat. don't worry about the individual win and worry about being healthy when it's really winning time.— 76ers in 2076
- Note that Marcus Hayes is the one who made this sloppy, error-rife post (not Mr. Cooney).— Truth B. Told
- Wonder if Hawes is playing tonight?
— Copper34 - I'd bet Andy Reid's dinner on it. Sixers 99- Spurs, 71.— mrjetsondc410
- I posted earlier that I thought Brand would at least dress tonight...Whereas Hawes has this lingering Back/Achilles deal which probably will make him a question mark most of the season...Brand simply has a sprained thumb...The Sixers really do need his grith setting picks and blocking DuJuan Blair in the paint..If the thumb feels good and he can shoot comfortably...great. If not, they can still use 15-20 minutes from him...Spurs have won five in a row, like the Sixers, they don't beat themselves...No Gnobili tonight...Go Sixers.— bearsfriend
- agree Brand should just heal. After his finger injury last year (when he played with splint on pinky finger), his shooting percentage dropped more than 10 percent in the games that followed, but his number of shots taken didn't budge. Hopefully he has more faith in his teammates this year.— phils_tnj1
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
