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Hawes worries about playing well, not his critics

Forced to change his style of play in Andrew Bynum's absence, Sixers' young center knows his coach has his back.By Mike Kern

Forced to change his style of play in Andrew Bynum's absence, Sixers' young center knows his coach has his back.

When things aren't going, well, like most folks anticipated, the obligatory fallout has to get directed somewhere.

We'll never know what might have happened, had Andrew Bynum's knees just cooperated this season. Alas, they didn't. And the result is a 28-43 record for the Sixers as they head into Friday night's game at Cleveland, still barely mathematically in contention for a playoff berth, though reality strongly suggests otherwise.

So management gets blamed for pulling the trigger on such a risky trade, even though everybody seemed to be on board way back when. Evan Turner takes heat for not yet living up to what a No. 2 draft pick should be. Then coach Doug Collins lost his whatever in a postgame Q-and-A because he's human and frustrated beyond comprehension.

And Spencer Hawes, of course, gets whacked for not being the kind of big man people want or this team needs.

That's just the way it's going to be.

So it seemed almost fitting, after Hawes came up with a career-high 17 rebounds in Wednesday night's 100-92 home win over Milwaukee, that one of the first reference points tossed at Collins afterward involved Hawes' one board in 21 minutes in a Feb. 26 loss to visiting Orlando, one of the six teams somehow are still behind the Sixers in those Eastern Conference standings.

However intended, Collins didn't appreciate where the conversation was headed.

"Spencer Hawes is playing great basketball," he said. "He was our ace of spades tonight. I'm telling you, Spencer's a good player. A good player. He's smart, he passes the ball. Every night [lately], it's been 15, 16 points, double-digit rebounds, the assists. He's playing good defense and I couldn't be more proud. He's really, really grown."

Even if he isn't Bynum. But who is? Even though he's 7-1, his skills are European-like, more suited to work away from the basket. And if Bynum were a part of all this, that probably wouldn't be a problem. In fact, it might be exactly the right complementary ingredient. But now, out of necessity, the Sixers have been forced to use him differently. So you try to make the best of it, in a season that's gone nowhere but wrong.

"He's 24," Collins said. "I think we forget that sometimes. It would've been very easy for him to get down on himself. I really think it was a matter of him learning to channel his energy and creative spirit. You wanted to see a little bit of calm with him. Sometimes, I think he tried so hard he got upset and took a step the wrong way. That made it harder to get going. Now he's allowing it to happen.

"I think he took a look at himself, really examined what kind of a player he was going to be. What he did was go, 'What do I have to do to get better?' "

Hawes has scored from 14 to 18 in each of the last seven games. In the six games before Milwaukee, he had 13, 16, seven, 12, 10 and eight boards, respectively. In the last seven, he's shot 47-for-86. And he's been doing damage inside and out. His 16 double-doubles are one more than he had his first two seasons in Philly.

"I'm just trying to be more consistent," said Hawes, who's averaging 10.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in almost 27 minutes. "I think that's the hardest thing when you're a young guy in this league. You can show flashes, but what separates guys is the guys that are consistent. You know, coach talked to me about, 'We've got to know every night what you're bringing to the table, what we're going to get out of you.' So, I think making a more concerted effort towards that has helped me, and just slowing down. Really, I think that's the thing on both ends of the floor that's helped me pick up my play."

Forward Thaddeus Young, whose 15.1 points a game are second to Jrue Holiday's 18.4, called Hawes' recent play "ridiculous."

That's a word that's been associated with this group for other reasons. It's been that kind of odyssey. And there's not much they can do about it now. Except hope that this can get better, maybe even sooner than the alternative. Hawes can't be the main attraction. Yet if the right parts are ever put in place, he could be an impactful contributor. Even one whose skills, if they continue to improve, would be more appreciated.

"If you ask any athlete, the biggest complement you can get is from your peers," Hawes acknowledged. "The season's been tough, actually pretty [bleep] at times. But you don't want to lose your pride. It's not just about next season [yet]. You want to finish the right way.

"I'm probably harder on myself than anyone else. I go back over games that we win and the ones that we lose, trying to see what I could have done better. I probably need to relax more and not be so overly analytical or critical, I guess."

There are enough people out there more than willing to fill that role.

Iverson returns

Former Sixer Allen Iverson will be at Saturday's game, when all fans who attend will receive a bobblehead of the star guard, courtesy of Reebok. Iverson will be introduced before the game and salute the crowd on the court before the 8 p.m. tipoff.

"It's always good to come back to Philadelphia," Iverson said in a team statement. "I'm excited to be there for my bobblehead night, see the team and hear the roar of the fans I love."

Email: kernm@phillynews.com