Sixers Notes: Iguodala finishes eighth in defensive player of the year voting

MIAMI - 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala, who in this opening-round series against the Miami Heat has guarded both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, finished eighth in the NBA's defensive player of the year voting, the league announced on Monday.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard earned his third straight title as defensive player of the year, snagging 114 of the 120 first-place votes.

Iguodala received no first-place votes, five second-place votes, and 14 third-place votes from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters.

"To me, he's a top-five defender," Sixers coach Doug Collins said Monday night before Game 2. "But we don't do a lot of campaigning, I don't think. Probably not enough for our guys, but I think he's as good a perimeter defender as there is in the league."

Iguodala started Monday night's game guarding James, but the Sixers' game plan called for him to guard either James or Wade in the fourth quarter, depending on which star held possession most often.

Despite missing Sunday's practice with a migraine, Wade started Game 2 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

There was some concern that Wade - who couldn't eat and was light-sensitive on Sunday - would not recover in time for Game 2, but Wade was able to do some light shooting on Monday morning. By game time, he was ready to play without the use of shaded goggles.

After Monday's shootaround, Collins joked about how the team would deal with Wade.

"I have a set of cymbals, and every time he runs by the bench, I'm slashing them. And I went out and bought the brightest flashlight I could find," Collins said. "And every time we get eye contact, I'm shooting it at him."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade's headache came on before Saturday's game, possibly contributing to Wade's less-than-stellar opening-game performance of 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor.

On Saturday, Sixers forward Thaddeus Young torched Miami with his to-the-ball speed. Young scored 20 points, grabbed eight offensive rebounds, and snagged the Sixers some much-needed extra possessions.

Young said it's impossible to prevent him from continuing to do just that.

Does he believe anyone is faster?

"No, not at all," Young said, smiling. "Might be a guard that's faster than me, but as far as us chasing the ball down, I feel like each and every time I go for it, I'm going to get it. If it's a ball and it's not in anybody's hands, then it's my ball."

The Sixers' off-day adjustments included two main points: evening the free-throw shooting disparity and limiting Miami's offensive rebounds.

During a 97-89 win in Game 1, the Heat outshot the Sixers from the free-throw line, 39-15, and outrebounded them, 52-39, including 15 offensive rebounds.

In the locker room before Monday's game, the Sixers had pinpointed those two areas as paramount.

Iquodala finishes eighth in defensive player of the year voting. D5.

 Wade isn't himself, but still good enough. D5.