Early hype for Sixers' Hawes

HE HAS BEEN the main topic when fans and players talk about the 76ers so far this season.

Spencer Hawes, the source of boos and displeasure last season, is the brightest of bright spots now for the Sixers, who have split wins and losses in the first four games, with the fifth tomorrow night in New Orleans.

Hawes is averaging 12 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists and is shooting 67.6 percent from the floor. He is barely recognizable if you compare him to what he was last season.

But if there is a stat that truly stands out, that shows just how much different a player Hawes is, it's that he is averaging only 2.3 fouls a game - in 33.3 minutes of play. Last season, the 7-1 center was often in foul trouble, part of the reason he was on the floor for only 21.2 minutes a game.

There are many variables as to why Hawes has become such a good player in the middle for coach Doug Collins. His conditioning is so much better. He has a better frame of mind, has more confidence, and has a familiarity with his coach, all factors in his game that he has never had before.

"It's time. I'm in my fifth year and I'm 23 now and it's time to take that next step," Hawes said. "I think now that I'm a little bit older and I can take a step back. I think you try and overcompensate to get to where you think you should be, but sometimes you don't know why, you can't explain it. Time has to take its course and you have to mature in order to improve.

"It's nice for me, it's the first time that I've had a coach for more than a year. Three years in Sacramento I had three different coaches, coming here [2 years ago] I had a different coach. To come back to the same system I think that's big for me, too, with a level of comfort and not having to adjust to a new coach and a new philosophy and all that kind of stuff."

Last season, after an injury in the preseason limited him to very few practices, Hawes was far behind mentally and physically. Often in games he tried to do too much, as if to make up for the fact that he wasn't where he needed, or wanted, to be.

This year is different. Hawes is putting up the numbers, but they are coming in a way that shows his comfort on the court. He's grabbing rebounds because he's in the right spot. He is letting the offense come to him, not forcing anything. Last season, there were multiple possessions in a game in which he would dribble three or four times. Almost certainly he would then commit a turnover or take a bad shot.

This year, when he gets the ball, a good pass or a good shot usually follows. He has been automatic from 12 to 18 feet when left open, and if a defender does belly-up to him, he either makes a good pass to a cutting teammate or performs a handoff/screen that opens a play for someone else.

"Spencer has been great," Collins said. "We forget, too, that when you're traded and you come into a team and all of the sudden you're hurt and you can't compete in training camp and trying to get in the scheme of things, it takes a while. Spencer has earned not only the coaches' respect but his teammates' respect and you do that by the way you play.

"Also, too, we play a five-man system where we have multiple ballhandlers, our big guys handle the ball, they make plays. That plays into the way Spencer likes to play. He's very smart, he'll see things out on the floor. I couldn't be more happy. You've got to give the guy a lot of credit. He took the qualifying offer and he said, 'I'm going to come back and I'm going to be in great shape and I'm going to play my tail off and you're going to pay me a lot of money.' I love that. I love the fact that he's putting it out there. He's going to have a great year this year and he's going to make a lot of money."

And when he does, he'll have himself and Collins to thank for it. The offensive philosophy that Collins has implemented is perfect for Hawes' abilities.

"Just having that extra time off to sit back," Hawes said. "Normally you're so regimented and when it comes August I want to be doing this and when it gets to September I want to be doing this. This time you're sitting at home and there's a lot of different stuff running through your head and you have time to really take a look at the big picture and what you need to be doing.

"I think I played too fast and I tried to do too much sometimes. When I came into the league, I thought I had all these moves and I had to use a different one every time to prove it. Now, I think the biggest thing with big guys is that you have to be efficient. It doesn't take a whole trick bag to be able to do things. As long as you do a few things and you do them really well then you can make the game a lot easier on yourself and your teammates know how to play with you better than if you overcompensate stuff."

The improvement has been his, but he's doing it for the bigger cause. "Whatever I've got to do to help our team win, especially here early," he said. "I look forward to that challenge."

The team practiced hard for more than 2 hours yesterday after having Sunday off. There will be another practice this morning at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before flying to New Orleans for tomorrow's game against the Hornets. The Sixers will then play 18 of 22 games at home . . . The home opener is Friday against Detroit.