Wednesday Morning Links

As Doug Collins said on TNT, “… That Philadelphia team is much better playing one big guy and four smalls and running and getting in the open court. I just don’t think the pieces fit well and they really, really miss a point guard.”

The Sixers moved down a spot to # 22 in ESPN’s Power Rankings for week 14.  Marc Stein writes, “When he has every right to be distracted by the tragic events back home, Dalembert continues to be shopped and keeps trying his hardest to make himself tradeable.”

Meanwhile, they moved up two spots to # 24 in Fox Sports NBA Power Rankings.

Thaddeus Young said, “I’m just trying to get back to what I was doing last year.”  [Before this season, assistant coach Randy Ayers] “worked with me all the time. I told him I was fine the way I was shooting, but still he chose to work on it a little bit.”  Young is shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 66.9 percent from the line, both lows in his three-year career.

According to the Delaware County Daily Times, Young is shooting only 28 percent (21-for-75) from inside the arc to 12 feet.  Last year, he shot 47 percent (63-for-134) from that range.

Rodney Carney said the right thing as far as his role and how he’s used in the rotation.  “Our roles were defined in print in training camp. Now it’s just a matter of what matchups are out there and what coach feels. If it’s a big matchup, he’ll go big, a small matchup, he’ll go small. You’ve just got to keep your mind focused on the task at hand whether you’re playing or not. Keep professional. Some days I may play, some days I may not. I’m going to go out there and give my best effort no matter what happens – if I play 30 seconds or 10 minutes, 15 minutes. I’m going to go out there and give my best effort.”

Sharpshooter Jason Kapono hasn’t played in 10 of the past 13 games.

Coach Eddie Jordan said the Sixers would treat the final ten games before the All-Star break as a playoff series needing to win at least six of ten to win the series.  They are 2-3 with five games to go before the break and will face the Bulls and Timberwolves at home and the Hornets, Rockets and Raptors on the road.

Tonight the Sixers face Derrick Rose and the Bulls, who are 23-23 and currently eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.  And if they play like they did against the 4-42 Nets on Sunday, there’s little to no chance that they beat the Bulls.

Rose has been excused from the All-Star rookie game as he will attempt to defend his title in the skills challenge.

The Bulls have a five-game road winning streak.

Tags: Derrick Rose, Doug Collins, Eddie Jordan, Jason Kapono, Power Rankings, Randy Ayers, Rodney Carney, Thaddeus Young