Wake Up With The Sixer Sense — Holmes Ready To Grind

The Philadelphia 76ers’ situations with big men have been a big topic this year, but Richaun Holmes has been consistently reliable, especially as of late. He has told Sixers.com reporter Brian Seltzer that he’s ready to keep grinding, among other big men, such as Noel (finally back at center) who have been able to push the team to more wins. And with a win over the Sixers, the talk of the draft lottery becomes even more interesting.

Here’s all the news you need to know.

Holmes, Amidst Progress, Ready to Keep Grinding — Sixers.com

"If Holmes continues to deliver performances like the one he did in that very same building the day before, odds are his name, and subsequenctly the correct way to say it, are going to become that much more commonplace.  Against the Utah Jazz, the 6’10” tall, 245-pound power forward muscled his way to a career-high 18 points, depositing eight of his 11 field goal attempts.  Ten of those points played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the Sixers in the third quarter, and sparked a 33-10 push that nudged the Sixers in front for the first time in the game.  “For me, it’s just about, when I’m out there, do what I can to help the team,” said Holmes. “Whether that’s five minutes or 20 minutes.  Just go out there and try to maximize the time I get, and try to help the team get a win.” Holmes logged 22 minutes versus Utah, his third-highest total of the year.  While the Sixers ultimately failed to fend off the Jazz, falling 95-91, Holmes made his presence felt.  Two of his buckets were dunks, bringing his season total to 24.  Holmes also converted five lay-ups. “Just go up strong,” Holmes said, describing the offensive approach.  “If you don’t go up strong in this league, it’s getting sent back.  Just try to go up as strong as possible, and just go up and try to get the finish.”"

Smith and Noel (at center) leading Sixers — Courier Times

"Noel averaged 16.8 points and shot 28-for-39 in his first four games with Smith, compared to 9.8 points and 15-for-25 in the four prior to Smith re-joining the Sixers. He had 6-plus made field goals in the four games for the first time with Smith after only getting that many once in his previous 14 outings. His 67 points with Smith were his most in a four-game span this year. Even with Friday night’s 93-84 setback to the Lakers, Smith also has the offense running much better than it had been, as evidenced by the Sixers averaging 96 points (104 in his first three games) and having 16 more assists than turnovers with Smith. They averaged 93.3 points and accumulated seven fewer assists than turnovers in the four pre-Smith games. In terms of the Sixers’ chances to wind up with the Lakers’ top-3 protected pick in June’s draft, Friday’s loss wasn’t terrible news because it gave Los Angeles its seventh victory of 2015-16. The Lakers still have the league’s second-worst record."

Assessing Lakers’ lottery odds following win against 76ers — ESPN

"Such an outcome would be nothing short of disastrous following what will almost certainly be the worst season in Lakers’ franchise history — or worse than last season’s 21-61 mark. At the moment, the Lakers have a 19.9 percent chance at landing the top pick, a 38.6 percent chance at landing a top-two pick, and a 55.6 percent chance at landing a top-three pick. So they have a little bit better than 50-50 odds right now to keep their pick; not too bad. Barring something drastic, such as an extended winning streak, the Lakers are likely to remain in that position, because the 76ers are that bad and the Brooklyn Nets, who have the third-worst record (9-23) aren’t bad enough."