Doug Collins needed no reminder this morning of the Philadelphia 76ers’ last visit to Verizon Center. The game was three weeks ago, but the Sixers head coach reeled off every significant play and stat from the second half and overtime of the eventual home-opening win by the Wizards as if he was holding the box score in front of him. That photographic, super-accurate memory is one thing that has helped make Collins so compelling as an NBA personality over the years.
Close at half? Check. Ten turnovers in the third period? Check. A 40-point fourth quarter? Check. Up six with a minute to go in regulation? Check. Oh, just take it away, Doug:
“We let [John] Wall beat us with a drive, 3-point play, made all of our free throws, looked like we were still in command with 3 seconds to go, and [Cartier] Martin hit a big shot to send the game into OT. With that said, we still had a chance to win the game with the last possession so I think with a younger team, it’s learning how to finish games both on the offensive and defensive end. We hope we’re getting better, especially defensively but up six here with a minute to go, we let that one slip away. They did what they had to do to win so you have to give them credit.”
Collins expects to have Andre Iguodala back in the lineup for the first time in five games tonight, and he’s also aware that Wall seems to be ready to make his own return after a four-game absence. Collins was asked about the differences in the Wizards with and without Wall on the floor.
“When John is out there, your transition defense is really going to be critical,” he said. “You’ve got to get back and build a Wall against Wall because he is just so fast and so powerful. That’s one of the things that looks to me, with Hinrich and Arenas out there, Flip runs a few more sets and then Wall is out, they sort of give him the ball and look for him to be creative so they have two different looks and both of them are good.”
Collins also re-emphasized the difference between Wall and the player picked right after him in last June’s draft, Evan Turner, who was the beneficiary of more minutes while Iguodala was sidelined.
“John Wall makes jaw-dropping kinds of plays with his speed, the things he can do,” said Collins. “Evan, when he’s playing well, its 16 points, seven or eight rebounds, three or four assists, and does a nice job on the defensive end. He’s more that type of player, and we’re really happy with the way he’s growing and developing. “
Collins has also noticed the change in Arenas, who missed the teams’ first encounter on Nov. 2.
“Gilbert is a terrific player,” said Collins. “The one thing about Gilbert, I looked at his numbers, and half his shots are threes. One of the things when he was really throwing up huge numbers was you had to keep him off that foul line. He would get that foul line ten, 12, 13 times because he kept the pressure on your defense all the time. Just looking at his numbers now, and that’s not to say he’s not going to get to the line, but it looks to me like he’s depending more on his perimeter jump shot, especially from behind that three-point line.”
