How to fix Sixers' problems

DETROIT - After his team lost its fifth consecutive game and before they separated for the All-Star break, 76ers coach Doug Collins said: "Having 4 days off isn't going to cure everything for us."

No, it certainly is not going to be that simple. Nor, as many have suggested, is making a trade for either a formidable big man or a scoring shooting guard. With so many injuries occurring in this compressed season, teams are reluctant to part with any players with value. Plus, the Sixers seem reluctant to break up any major piece that has helped them get to this 20-14 start placing them atop the Atlantic Division.

Still, something has to change. Losses will come in clumps for almost every team this season. With the condensed schedule, a normal two- or three-game slump quickly turns into skid of five or more. But the way the Sixers have been piling up the losses has been quite concerning.

So how to fix it? We'll start with the offense.

After a two-game stint in which he shot 1-for-17 from the floor, point guard Jrue Holiday was told by Collins "to score the ball." Plain and simple. Holiday responded with 42 points over the next two games before being limited to six in the loss to Houston just before the break. Collins' instruction for Holiday was borne out of necessity, not because it is the best thing for the team.

The Sixers simply can't score right now, averaging just over 83 points a game in the last five. Since Holiday has the ball in his hands the most and because he is able to get to the basket and is one of the team's more consistent outside shooters, that is perhaps the easiest way to get points right now.

But this team isn't one that relies on isolation. The Sixers thrived early in the season with ball movement, which led to open shots and, more importantly, wore down defenses. One of the main cogs in that productive offense is missing, of course, as Spencer Hawes continues to be sidelined with an Achilles' injury. But even without Hawes, who has missed 17 of the last 19 games, there has to be a way to score more consistently. Or is there?

Collins ran his offense through Hawes, with high-post dribble-handoffs and backdoor cutting, but without him, the Sixers have transformed into a jump-shooting team. And that might be one of their worst offensive qualities.

If Holiday becomes the focal point of the offense, then other things might have to be tinkered with, also. Maybe it's time to throw Evan Turner into the offense more and command both he and Holiday to take the ball to the basket as much as possible, as Turner is capable of that also. Unless Jodie Meeks is knocking down shots consistently, which he hasn't done at all during this losing streak (3-for-19 from three-point range), it is really hard to find time for him on the floor. Maybe Turner will provide an offensive spark that Meeks hasn't been able to recently.

Lou Williams also has been struggling of late, but that's mainly because other teams are attacking him, forcing him to give up the ball, and thus forcing most of the jumpers he is launching. Thaddeus Young has given every ounce of energy he has in every game, but the wear and tear he faces while guarding much bigger power forwards each and every night certainly was taking its toll on him before the break. Plus, teams are no longer respecting his outside shot, so his main way of scoring is driving to the basket. If he doesn't beat his man with his first step and then a power move to the hoop, he's getting in trouble. Defenders know that he is always going to spin back to his left and are now quicker to help on him.

Can the team get some more offense from the likes of Elton Brand, who is still suffering from a sprained right thumb? Can rookies Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen, who have been handling the bulk of the minutes at the center position, keep up with the demanding schedule? They two of them seemed to be zombie-like on the floor many times just before the break.

But more than the Xs and Os, the team lately just seemed to be lacking same winning attitude it possessed earlier in the season. The feeling was more of a "how are we going to lose" as opposed to "what can we do to get the win?"

The defense, led by Andre Iguodala, will keep this team in games and perhaps even win a few for them in the final 32 games. But if the offense remains as anemic as it has been, the defense won't matter.

To make things worse, 18 of the final 32 games of the season are on the road, including six of the last seven. The second half is littered with Eastern Conference games (28) that certainly will go a long way in determining how the Sixers' seeding may rise or fall.

It will start tonight in Detroit against the Pistons (11-24), the seventh time in eight games the Sixers have played on the road. Will the break rejuvenate this team? As the coach said, it's going to take a lot more than that.

The team released a statement last night about Spencer Hawes, saying that Hawes was examined by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Ferkel recommended that Hawes no longer wear a protective boot, but the statement also said Hawes will not play in a game for at least 2 weeks from yesterday . . . Elton Brand practiced with the team last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills and was deemed ready to play. Brand missed the past two games due to a right thumb injury.