Turner a go, Hawes iffy as Sixers host Denver tonight
Evan Turner announced after shootaround this morning that he is ready to return to action, while center Spencer Hawes is a game-time decision with strained Achilles'
Turner a go, Hawes iffy as Sixers host Denver tonight
Bob Cooney
As the Sixers finished their shootaround this morning at the Wells Fargo Center, most players made their way to the locker room, got dressed and headed home to prepare for tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets.
Evan Turner was not one of them, however. Turner, who missed Monday's win due to a bruised thigh, stayed on the court to get some extra work in, playing in a competitive two-on-two game with teammates Craig Brackins, Lavoy Allen and assistant coach Aaron McKie.
Afterwards, Turner said he is ready to roll.
"I'm good. I was just doing some two-on-two to get my wind back up, so I'm fine," he said. "It's a little sore but I'm all right. I can run on it, I can cut on it, I can pivot on it and everything. I'm fine.
"Every time I tried to stretch out the past couple of days it would get tight and I couldn't really cut or jump off of it. Yesterday it felt a lot better and today it feels great."
Hawes didn't talk to the media after the shootaround and coach Doug Collins said that he is a game-time decision. Hawes was dealing with a strained back recently but said on Monday that it was not a concern anymore. Then on Tuesday at practice he was hobbling around due to a strained Achilles'.
In the Nuggets the Sixers face a formidable opponent who can score (104.1 points a game, second in the league) and have won three of their last four. The Nuggets handed the Milwaukee Bucks their first home loss of the season, 105-95, Tuesday night. They will be playing their second of a five-game road trip tonight.
They are led by Danilo Gallinari's 16.8 points a game. Coach Doug Collins admitted his concern this morning about the big front line of Denver, featuring Gallinari, Nene and Timofey Mozgov. They also feature mercurial point guard Ty Lawson. Like the Sixers they have an explosive bench with former Sixer Andre Miller, Al Harrington and Corey Brewer leading the way.
"We're going to need a deep bench tonight, Denver has a very deep bench," said Collins. "They (the bench) had 51 points last night (against Milwaukee) so that's going to be important to us. And they have Mozgov, who is very big, they have Nene, they come in with Birdman (Chris Andersen) who's very, very active. Sometimes they'll play Gallinari at the four if they want to go to a smaller lineup. Al Harrington is very good off the bench."
Game time is 7 p.m. and it is dollar dog night.
More to come...
It appears Hawes and "iffy" may be matching words throughout this season...Compounding ailments, however minor, are never a good thing...Denver will run and they will fire up threes...then they will run some more...should be a great game.— bearsfriend- Nuggs 102 Sixers 99— guyguy4
- The injury news is quite informative, however, it is just sloppy, careless journalism to NOT lead the piece with "It is dollar dog night."— waldo08
- OOf. Hawes injury is very concerning, and even if he does play - it might not be a good idea.— phillyPeteZ
- See everyone in the midcourt area of the mezz tonight -- maybe section 201, maybe the other side, can't remember. Row 7, I think.— Leegles
!!!GO SIXERS!!!- Good thing Vuc will be nice and fresh. Might be a good time to give Hawes a week off if it would help. If he's not rebounding and making high-energy plays like he was in the first handful of games then he's kind of just a body out there
- @stikolaboloni: a HAWESOME body who spread the floor and hit two three-pointers last game
— Leegles - @Leegles. Right you are, but they need him on the blocks moreso than hitting threes. Just saying, I'd rather him take the time he needs to get healthy rather than be kept in suSPENCE about his status all year long. They're a better team when he can go HAWES to the wall... I could go all day
- stikaboloni- PLEASE STOP! Ya killing me man. alphamale- i keep going back and forth on sheed. he's definately a banger but he also loves taking the threes and isn't much of a team guy. He's the tough forward we need but i don't know he doesn't come in and kill the chemistry with his big mouth and technical fouls.— 76ers in 2076
- I love philly cats as much as the next guy but Sheed is not the way to go here. There are not many teams, especially in the east, where you need that many bigs so they can get by as long as none of the current injuries persist--not worth rockin the boat chemistry wise and pickin up T's. I would play Brand more at center--he already can't guard 4's so at least he might bring more offensively as a 5 since he is now relegated solely to fade away jumpers. His rebounding is atrocious. Tonight will be a real litmus test for this team--I am worried about the lawson/miller combo--Miller is one of my favorite players ever to watch--that guy is a genius. Guarantee he gets someone tonight with that vintage head fake--am still looking for a big Sixers win--they are catching them the night after a road game so I think it will be huge come 4th quarter, which is when the sixers succeed. Just keep it close 1st quarter and they should roll.— Dr.Jp
- Doug Collins should show Andy Reid how a real coach/teacher works.
Andy Reid has lost it, he no longer gets his message across.
Doug is a good coach and is much appreciated......— merchandiser 
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Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
