STAR OF THE WEEK: 3/05 – 3/11

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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STAT OF THE WEEK:

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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THIS WEEK IN 1982 – 83 (THE CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR):

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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TWEET OF THE WEEK: 

Keep playing hard #Sixers. When we get 2 of these top 5 draft picks , Ben and Jo,the talent will be there to blow these middling teams out.

— David J Daniels (@ddaniels2d) March 10, 2017