Sixers Desperately Need A Big Man

As a Pennsbury High School graduate, I was overjoyed when I found out that the Sixers had drafted Pennsbury and Temple alum Lavoy Allen.  I got to watch this guy through out his high school and collegiate career, and having him start his professional career with the Sixers was all anyone could ask for really.

So far Allen and fellow big man Nikola Vucevic have been very impressive in their rookie campaigns.  Both Allen and Vucevic have seen increased minutes in the wake of Spencer Hawes' many injuries.  But the fact of the matter is that both Vucevic and Allen are both still young and developing players, and last night they were exposed going up against Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Love finished with 15 rebounds and 20 points, while Pekovic nearly had a double ripping down 9 boards to go along with 17 points.  But here's the real kicker: both Love and Pekovic had 5 offensive rebounds each.  On the other end Allen finished with 8 boards and 6 points while Vucevic finished with just 4 boards and 8 points.  Statistically the Wolves didn't dominate the Sixers on the boards, but overall Pekovic and Love basically dominated the paint and scored at will to the dismay of the Sixers.  

After a crazy hot start to the season, the Sixers have lost 5 of their last 7.  I think a lot of the Sixers' recent struggles have to do with the absence of Spencer Hawes.  After Hawes played in the Sixers win over the Los Angeles Lakers back on February 6th, Hawes has since been sidelined with a left achilles strain.  Thus Allen, Vucevic, and Elton Brand have all seen increased minutes, and the three of them just can't handle the scoring and rebounding burden left by Hawes.

At this point it looks as if Hawes won't be back until after the All-Star break.  This means that the Sixers have 2-4 more games that they have to play without Hawes.  While Hawes may not be a potent scorer, he definitely changes how the Sixers operate on offense when he is in the game.  This is most clearly seen by the Sixers "settling" for poor jump shots during their past few games.  Instead of trying to work the ball in down low, they are instead relying too much on their outside game to score.

Overall Allen, Vucevic, and Brand will have to make up for Hawes as he continues to nurse his injury.  Even if the Sixers don't win their upcoming games, at least Allen and Vucevic will be gaining valuable playing time as they continue to grow and develop into dominant forces in the paint.