(Associated Press)

While the NBA was on its All-Star break, 76ers coach Brett Brown went home. He said he attended three basketball games for his son, Sam. Then he went swimming with his daughter, Laura, and hung out with his other daughter, Julia.

With so much travel during the season, it’s possible his family – and maybe even his wife – forgot what Brown looked like.

“She may have hoped to,” Brown said, grinning. “I was glad to go home and just recharge and watch (my son’s) games, for sure, but I want to come back and finish strong the final third of the year.”

The Sixers (15-39) will have their hands full in fulfilling that task. They’ve lost 18 of their last 21 games, including eight in a row, heading into Tuesday’s game against visiting Cleveland. The final 28 games of their schedule, particularly if they’re to trade away Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes or Thaddeus Young at the deadline, could be tough to watch.

But maybe not as tough as their last three games prior to the break. Among them were back-to-back losses, at Los Angeles and at Golden State, by a combined 88 points, followed by a loss to fellow lottery team Utah. Brown said tired legs might have contributed to those defeats.

At Monday’s practice, Brown admired his players’ spirits, which “are good, despite our record.” When asked if their tepid defense would be something on which his players focus down the stretch, he said “you’d have to.”

“When you see them (rested) like this, you realize just how unrested they were when I left them,” Brown said. “When we had lost some games as we did, combined with just being down, it trickles into your mind as well as your body, and the accumulation of both made for some painful basketball. But we’re back, the guys are fantastic and we’re ready to finish the season with dignity, with our heads high and playing good basketball.”

(Associated Press)

The 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams will pair with Orlando’s Victor Oladipo in the NBA Skills Challenge, which will be contested Saturday, Feb. 15, as a part of All-Star weekend in New Orleans.

For the first time, the competition will feature teams of two in passing, shooting and dribbling stations. The format for the Skills Challenge is as follows: the fastest team from each conference in the first round advances to the championship round, where the same rules apply.

Carter-Williams and Oladipo have an interesting past. Carter-Williams’ Syracuse team ousted Oladipo’s Indiana in the Sweet 16 round of last spring’s NCAA Tournament. A few months later, Oladipo made a game-winning shot with Carter-Williams closely defending him in an Orlando Summer League game. And in December, Carter-Williams and Oladipo became the first rookies to post triple-doubles in the same game while directly competing against one another.

Should make for an interesting pairing in the Skills Challenge.

In related news, Carter-Williams was selected to Team Webber for the Rising Stars Challenge. Former All-Stars Chris Webber and Grant Hill served as general managers, picking teams for the rookie-sophomore game.

On Team Webber, Carter-Williams joins Kelly Olynyk (BOS), Jared Sullinger (BOS), Mason Plumlee (BRK), Tim Hardaway Jr. (NYK), Steven Adams (OKC), Victor Oladipo (ORL), and Trey Burke (UTA).

Here’s a run-down of the other All-Star-related events:

Read more »

(Associated Press)

BOSTON – Michael Carter-Williams can add another accomplishment to his ever-expanding resume. 

Wednesday, Carter-Williams was named to the roster for the league’s Rising Star Challenge, a rookie-sophomore showcase game that will be played Feb. 14 of All-Star weekend in New Orleans.

The 76ers’ point guard is one of nine rookies on the roster of first-year players. As for the nine second-year players chosen, Sixers guard did not make the cut.

Tony Wroten

Carter-Williams entered Wednesday averaging 17.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. If he maintains those numbers, he’d join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Steve Francis as the league’s fourth rookie to average those numbers.

“I think his numbers confirm he’s special,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.

Only 45 games into his pro career, Carter-Williams has achieved plenty. He was the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first week of the regular season. He was the East’s Rookie of the Month in November. And he’s leading all rookies in scoring, rebounds and assists.

Now comes the challenge of juggling a weekend of rest versus invaluable experience. Carter-Williams, who averages 35 minutes per game, would have had six days between games over All-Star break. Instead, he will be in New Orleans for a weekend of league-wide festivities.

“It’s a Mardi Gras. It’s a circus. It’s no time for rest,” Brown said, “and Michael won’t experience any rest. I wish he could. But on the flipside, I’m proud of him and I want him to enjoy this experience.”

Evan Turner played in the Rising Stars Challenge in 2012, though rest wasn’t a premium for him. Back then, he was averaging 26 minutes per game.

“You’ve got to think, man. I had nothing but rest. I was part-time,” Turner said. “I took full advantage of playing freely (in the Rising Stars game). I needed that. I would’ve played three more games if they would’ve let me.

“But you want to experience that. You’re young. It gets you excited and intrigued to experience something like that. Then you have a (Kevin Garnett) in that, and after the 13^th All-Star Game, it gets a little tiring. MCW will be fine. I’m sad Tony couldn’t make it, but (Carter-Williams) will represent well.”

Speaking of Wroten, the Sixers’ sixth man felt let out when he learned he didn’t make the cut.

“Politics. I know I should’ve made it. It is what it is, you know? Just adds fuel to the fire.”

Wroten is averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists through 38 games.

“Check the stats, man. I definitely should’ve played in it,” Wroten said. “Nothing against the people who made it. Congrats to everybody who did make it. I definitely got snubbed, but (it’s) just motivation.”