Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas, Richaun Holmes & Dario Saric
This week’s star(s) are comprised of four players whose effort far exceeds their talent. Nik “I’m not good enough to have a nickname” Stauskas, Richaun Holmes, Robert Covington and Dario Saric are this week’s winners. These four have played through everything from restricted minutes to playing out of position, and somehow managed to do it all while never complaining publicly.

The week opened up with a 105 – 99 win against the hated Boston Celtics, thanks to a strong effort from “the Process” poster child Robert Covington. The small forward registered a +18 performance as he tallied 16 points and seven rebounds. Covington would hit a huge three pointer with 3:41 left in the fourth quarter to put Philly ahead for good at 94 – 91.

Despite receiving double-doubles from athletic big man Richaun Holmes (24 points, 14 rebounds), the sporadic T.J. McConnell (16 points, 10 assists) and the aforementioned Covington (24 rebounds, 13 rebounds) Philly would lose on the road to the Orlando Magic (112 – 109). That “L” was followed up by another road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (122 – 97). In a losing effort it was guard Nik Stauskas time to shine with a team high 20 points.

The week ended with a rare 117 – 107 road win against the Chicago Bulls. With the Bulls’ All-Star Jimmy Butler on the floor it was Saric who stole the show. The EuroLeague star notched a team high 32 points to go with 10 rebounds.  
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Long-ing for an Opportunity
Shawn Long’s story is no different than the millions, or better yet scillions, of young ballers throughout the world who dream of hooping in the NBA. On a roster filled with a group playing for their collective NBA lives the newly acquired forward has found a way to appear hungrier.

Long seems to have nestled into his role well and even had an 18 point explosion in Chicago against the Bulls. Philadelphia is playing out the string of their remaining games, but the Louisana native’s hustle has not gone has not been for not. The reserves play and most certainly has secured him an invite to an NBA training camp next year.  
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King-ed  
This week witnessed the Sixers win two games by a total of five points, and lose two games by an average of 11 points. In a 121 – 119 road win it was Andrew Toney who picked up the slack, filling in for an injured Dr. J. The guard dropped 39 points as Philly escaped with a two point victory. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry over to the Big Apple.

The 76ers lost their first of two games this week to teams led by the Kings. The New York Knicks opened up the game with a 33 – 14 first quarter lead, then followed a scorching Bernard King to the win. King would shoot a blistering 16-for-18 on his way to 33 points. The 37 – 31 New York crew walked away with a convincing 89 – 76 victory.

The Sixers needed 25 points and 14 rebounds from center Moses Malone and overtime to defeat the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 104 – 101. Then the second King, this one being Albert, came to Philly and handed the 76ers their second loss of the week.

Playing without Bobby Jones and Julius Erving, the Sixers failed to have a player score 20 or more points for the second time this week (the first was in a loss against the Knicks). Philadelphia also saw their streak of 24 straight home wins snapped. The New Jersey Nets were paced by Buck Williams (24 point, 19 rebounds) and Albert King (22 points, nine rebounds) in the 101 – 92 win.   
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Jahlil Okafor & Dario Saric
This week’s star marks the return of Dario Saric and Jahlil Okafor. As the season winds down effort and energy are not always prevalent on teams under .500. However, this has not been the case with Philadelphia. Yes, the Sixers have experienced their fair share of double digit losses but more times than not the effort is there. This week that effort finally paid off as Philly went 2 – 1 during the seven day period.

In a 118 – 116 win, Philly snapped a five game road losing streak and received Herculean efforts from Okafor and Saric. Big Jah scored 23 points on just 12 shots, while Dario notched 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Just two nights later the effort was the same even if the results were not. In a 106 – 104 road loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Philly box score read almost like Deja Vu for both players. This time Okafor added four blocks to his 22 point performance, and not to be outdone Saric’s line would read 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

The effort, energy and production all came together at home in a 116 – 74 win against the Dallas Mavericks. In one of the few blowout wins this season, both players scored 10 points.  
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Dario’s Historic Second Half
Dario Saric was the forgotten selection of the Sam Hinkie era, but the forward’s Post All-Star performance shows he may wind up being the only selection worth remembering. What the former EuroLeague star has done since the All-Star break has been remarkable and historic.

In the last 25 years the only Sixers with a higher scoring average then Saric (19.6) post All-Star break are Allen Iverson (24.2 points per) and Jerry Stackhouse (19.7 points per). Okafor’s 20.3 points per last year in only six games are also worth mentioning, but such an output by Dario speaks volumes. Equally as impressive is the forward’s rebounding effort. The Croatian has the highest rebounding average (8.3) of any other Sixer in the last 25 years.

When you consider what the forward has accomplished in such combustible times, it is not unreasonable to expect better results when the storm passes.  
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Back on Track  
After a small blip on the radar the 76ers jumped right back on track with four wins this week. Beginning with a 97 – 93 victory at home versus the Washington Bullets, followed by an offensive explosion in Indiana. In a 132 – 128 win against the Pacers it was Philly guard Andrew Toney who stole the show. Toney scored a game high 42 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Moses Malone snatched a game high 22 rebounds as the 76ers grabbed the tough game.

Toney would again rescue the Sixers from defeat, this time at home and against a familiar foe. Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics were in town and Philadelphia was not at full strength, playing without an injured Dr. J and a sick Maurice Cheeks, Andrew was left to carry the load. The guard responded with a game high 33 points, including 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead Philly to victory.

The week would end in Milwaukee with Malone grabbing 15 rebounds and the Sixers grabbing a 105 – 97 victory.  
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Richaun Holmes, Robert Covington, Shawn Long
This week’s star goes to the trifecta of Richaun Holmes, Robert Covington and Shawn Long. The Sixers went 0 – 3 for the week, and it was extremely difficult to find just one player who had three consecutive strong outings. Nevertheless the show, or article in this case, must go on and adjustments were made.

The week opened up Monday with a 112 – 98 shellacking at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. The contest was never in doubt as the Bucks took a 60 – 43 halftime lead on their way to a 24 point victory. Newly acquired 76er Shawn Long stood out for all the right reasons and took advantage of his one shining moment. The 6’9 forward was making his NBA debut and finished up with 13 points and seven rebounds in only 15 minutes of action. The rookie also ended the game with a +11, which should make the Twitter world very happy.

Philadelphia returned to action three nights later in Portland, and this time played with much more fire. The Trail Blazers would get the victory 114 – 108, but not before a last second putback in regulation by Sixers’ small forward Robert Covington. The bucket would send the game into overtime. “RoCo” ended the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but Philly would lose its third straight game.

Saturday the Sixers were in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers. The game featured 21 lead changes, until the fourth quarter arrived. The Clippers used a 10 – 0 run to open up the fourth and outscore Philly 37 – 21 in the final period to secure a 112 – 100 win. 76er reserve Richaun Holmes was the star of the night with 24 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.  
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Road Woes  
14 seasons have passed since the 76ers last had a winning road record, and with another group of rookies on deck for next season there appears to be no relief in sight. The month of March and specifically the week that passed witnessed the Sixers lose back-to-back road contests, as they currently sit in the midst of a five game road losing streak.

However, things could be on the upswing with upcoming road games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets there is a chance things could get better for Philadelphia. 
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Jersey Blues  
This week marked the first time all year the 76ers lost back-to-back games. After a 115 – 110 loss to the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia took a second L this time to the New Jersey Nets 112 – 106. Maurice Cheeks was the only Sixer to score more than 15 points, as the point guard scored 17. Moses Malone, who had been a beast all season, could only grab two rebounds in the second half and eight for the game, far below his 15.7 per game rebound average. Jersey was led in scoring by Buck Williams and Albert “Yes Bernard is my brother” King as both players scored 22 points.

Philly returned to its winning ways the following night defeating the Detroit Pistons 123 – 114. The duo of Malone and Erving also returned to form, as the forward had a team high 35 points and the center had a team high 23 rebounds. After a four night breather the 76ers ended the week with a 95 – 86 win versus the Washington Bullets.  
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Dario Saric
This week’s star goes to Dario Saric, with honorable mention to the tanking poster child known as Robert Covington. “RoCo” started the week with a 15 point performance, peaked at 19 points and ended the seven day period with a dismal eight point game in a 136 – 106 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Which is what brought us back to the “last Hinkie draft pick left standing”.

Saric played in all four contests this week, which is a feat in itself these days. Now that the 76ers have reverted back to tanking mode, the forward’s performances have been all for not. Philadelphia would go 1 – 3 on the week, and even that record does not tell the whole story.

In a 119 – 108 loss at home to the Golden State Warriors the Croatian would drop 21 points on a paltry 6-for-15 shooting, but Saric’s never say die attitude was on display yet again. The Sixers would enter the fourth quarter trailing 93 – 80. The forward scored ten points in the final period in what would amount to a futile comeback attempt.

In the week’s lone 105 – 102 win, against the equally dysfunctional New York Knicks the probable rookie of the year scored the same 21 points, but also snagged 10 rebounds. This time he would shoot a more potent 7-for-14 and remained a force in the fourth quarter. Saric would lead all scorers with 12 and all rebounders with six on their way to the win. 
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Three Points
Philadelphia is one of the league’s worst three point shooting teams. The 76ers rank 11th in makes which is solid, but 23rd in percentage. The sheer volume of attempts per game (29.3 per clip, good for 7th in the league) is jaw dropping considering Philly does not have a player that ranks in the top 20 in makes or percentage.

No player gets those threes up more than Robert Covington. The small forward is 19th in the league in total three point attempts. This was never more evident than this week, as Covington totaled 24 threes for the week. This was good for an average of six a game. In all the 76er forward would go 9-for-24 for a modest 38 percent. 
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Boston Strong  
The week would see the Sixers 10 game winning streak come to an end, thanks to the hated Boston Celtics. Nevertheless, it began with the Sixers starting point guard, Maurice Cheeks, dropping 32 points at home against the Golden State Warriors in a 115 – 104 win.

Next up was division rival the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Bernard King and crew were no match for the combination Dr. J and Moses Malone. The two 76ers would combine for 41 points and 23 rebounds leading Philly to their 10th straight victory, 106 – 94.

Then disaster struck at the Boston Garden. The lead would change hands 12 times and see Larry Bird register a game high 32 points. The 115 – 110 Boston win would snap Philadelphia’s 10 game winning streak.  
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Dario Saric
This week’s star goes to Dario Saric……………..yup again and again! The forward started two games this week and responded with two double-doubles. Saric continues to improve with each game and has been a pleasant surprise for even his biggest fan.
In a 120 – 112 home win against the Washington Wizards the Croatian shot 10-for-19 on his way to a 20 point performance. Although the forward struggled from the three point line, shooting 0-for-4, his presence was still felt in the paint. Saric would tie for a team-high 11 rebounds, including a dominant first quarter that saw the forward grab six rebounds.  

That winning feeling did not last long as Philly would lose to the Knicks 110 – 109. The 76er rookie registered his second start, and in return notched his second double-double of the week. Shooting an unimpressive 7-for-17 it was Saric’s effort and energy that would keep Philly afloat. The forward grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, including nine in the second half, en route to a 19 point, 15 rebound game.

As the season winds down this is where most rookies hit the dreaded wall, however that has not been the case with Saric. The rookie forward’s play continues to improve and his confidence continues to grow. 
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Double Up………… Times Four  
The availability of Dario Saric has drastically helped the “Legend of Dario Saric” grow. As the excuses mounted as to why Nerlens Noel’s value was so low, Saric continued to produce. As Joel Embiid speaks more and plays less, Saric continues to produce. Finally, as Jahlil Okafor proves game in and game out that he simply does not want to be here, Saric continues to give maximum effort.

The result to such consistency was four straight games of 10 or more rebounds, which is something the three aforementioned players have yet to accomplish.

Effort and availability are afterthoughts when judging an NBA player. Some General Managers tend to lean heavily on athletic ability and natural talent, while others refer to the numbers and projections. What Dario has managed to illustrate is being healthy and giving everything a player has is just as important as any other measurable. The ability to care and the ability to play can be instrumental in a player’s development.

Hopefully his production and effort are rewarded with a Rookie of the Year award. 
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Moses versus Everybody  
This week was a microcosm of just how great of an addition Moses Malone was for the Sixers. Three games, three wins and most of all an MVP performance in all three from Malone.

The center grabbed 19 rebounds and scored 23 points in a 104 – 89 drubbing of the Knicks, and followed that game up with another 23 point output, this time with 10 rebounds as Philly rolled at home against the Dallas Mavericks 133 – 101.

​The week was highlighted by a 116 – 111 win against the Chicago Bulls. Malone scored 34 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in the win. The contest would mark the end of Dr. J’s streak (321 games) of scoring 10 or more points, Erving would leave the game with a scratched cornea after scoring eight points.

Moses led the Sixers to an undefeated week going 3 – 0 and extended their current winning streak to eight games. The center’s numbers for the week were 26.6 points and 17 rebounds on 64 percent shooting.
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