Bynum, this team (and fan base) needs you, man.  Yet, I read last week that you got even more injections in those knees.  It’s getting harder and harder to justify that max contract you desperately seek.  Maybe we should spend our money on guys who have a proven history of durability.  Perhaps Greg Oden or Brandon Roy?

Doug decided to shake up the starting lineup, subbing in Nick Young and Spencer Hawes for Jason Richardson (left knee synovitis) and Lavoy Allen (lack of motoritis).  The results haven’t been half bad, albeit with a small sample size and playing against two crappy teams.  Swaggy P has thrived, as the offense looks a little more balanced given the added boost in scoring ability.  However, one must consider the defenses being played against here.  Turner had one of his best performances of the season against Memphis (27pts, 7 asts, 3 rbds on 12-18 shooting) followed up by two sub-par games including one horrific play where he turned a fast break into a shot clock violation.  Thaddeus Young continues his strong play with a career-high tying 15 rebounds against Sacramento to go with 23 points on 11-17 shooting.  Jrue looks more and more comfortable as this team’s leader, and has really taken on more of a commanding presence, but continues to struggle with turnovers (6 against Washington and 8 against Sacramento).

The Sixers have some more winnable games coming up this week with Orlando (Return of the Voose, and losers of 9 in a row), Indiana (Paul George was drafted after Evan Turner), and Charlotte rolling into town.  Boston needs to start sliding and the Sixers need to start climbing if we are going to start talking playoffs.

Jan 26, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday (11) shoots during the first quarter as New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton (2) defends at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Sixers had a troubling week. Sixers lost by 5 to the Spurs. That score would lead you to believe that the Sixers played a good game but the Spurs were better. But, then that would be a lie. Sixers controlled most of the game and had one of their famous 4th quarter collapses including a stretch where they had only 1 point in like 7 possessions. Now granted, I didn’t watch the game as I needed a break from the Sixers. It lasted for 10 days and that Spurs game was the last day.

The next night was a bad time to resume watching them though as it was an ugly game all around. They eventually got Buck’s in Milwaukee. They then blew out the Knicks on Saturday. I don’t know anymore. Part of the reason why the Sixers won that game without trailing was that other players besides Jrue was making plays. And also, they experimented with a new lineup. Nick Young and Spencer Hawes were in for Jason Richardson and Lavoy Allen. Is this the start of something new? Or are we still a bad team with a new look?

And Andrew Bynum seems to be getting closer to returning. In fact, the team thinks he could be in full practice by the end of the week. But then they want him on the court shortly after starting practice. A couple of games before all-star break. My thing is conditioning. Is he ready to make the jump again? The dude just started running a couple of weeks ago. Whatever. I’m not a doctor.

Also, in other news that I really don’t care about, Sixers gave Shelvin Mack another 10-day contract. I want a back-up PG for Jrue. Sixers need to make that happen and a priority. We keep seeing that nobody can run the offense when Jrue is out. Knicks made a serious push on the Sixers and Jrue had to come back in even when leaving the game while the Sixers were up around 30 points.

This is probably my last Weekly Review as the staff will resume taking over these posts. In all honesty, you probably won’t hear from me in a while except for the power rankings as I just don’t have much left to say about this team anymore. When/if Bynum comes back, best believe that team anylisis posts will be flying off the shelves.

So, Sensors, do you feel better about Bynum? Did Jrue truly deserve the call for the All-Star game? This week, the Sixers have the Grizzlies, new look Wizards, and Kings. Give me a record prediction for the week. I say 2-1.