Collins sees crucial stretch week for Sixers

While some look at the 76ers' slate of home games this week and see a bunch of tomato cans with a combined record of 14-53, coach Doug Collins sees something altogether different.

"We've got, I think, the biggest week of our season coming up, and we've got to be healthy and ready to go," Collins said.

On Monday night, the Sixers (11-5) face Washington (2-14), a team they already have beaten twice. They face New Jersey (5-12) on Wednesday, then host Charlotte (3-14) and Detroit (4-13) in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. This will be the first time this season the Sixers play New Jersey and Charlotte. When they hosted Detroit at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 6, they held the Pistons to just 73 points in a 23-point victory.

"I think we can win all of these games," guard Jrue Holiday said. "We are playing Washington for, what, the fifth, sixth, 18th time? I don't know. There are a couple of teams that we've already played and another challenge in Charlotte."

It's easy to see where Collins is coming from. The Sixers need to stockpile victories now, while they are playing at home, because their schedule at the end of the season - when they will be jockeying for playoff position - is brutal.

It ends with five consecutive road games. Nine of their last 11 are on the road, and in that stretch they'll play their second string of back-to-back-to-back games.

Losers of two of their last three games, the Sixers hope that Monday will bring the return to the lineup of starting center Spencer Hawes. Out the last three games with a strained Achilles tendon, Hawes will be a game-time decision, according to the Sixers.

His backup, rookie center Nikola Vucevic, coming off his best game, is listed as doubtful. Vucevic was having the best game of his young career when he suffered a strained left knee/quadriceps in the third quarter of a 113-92 loss at Miami. Vucevic had to be helped from the court after suffering the injury while scrambling for a loose ball along the baseline. He finished with a career-high 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but did not play in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers don't see a decent team again until they host Orlando one week from Monday, a good thing considering how things went against defending Eastern Conference champion Miami on Saturday. The Heat's 113 points were the most by a Sixers opponent this season, and the 21-point defeat was also their largest of the season. They also allowed season highs in field-goal percentage (54.3) and made field goals (44). The 56 points they gave up in the first half were the most they have yielded in any half this season.

Evan Turner, who scored 14 points in the first half of that game but finished with just 16, welcomes the homestand.

"It's important because, obviously, anything can happen when you go out on the road," Turner said Saturday night. "At home, we've got our fans and can get some help battling through. When a team like this [Miami] gets on a run and the crowd gets into it and sometimes things just don't go your way like tonight, it gets rough. We've got to take advantage of the games at home."