(Associated Press)

DALLAS – Jrue Holiday sat on the 76ers' bench Tuesday morning, following the team's shootaround. He had a bag of ice on his bum left foot, and struggled to remember the last time he had a foot injury.

Ultimately, the Sixers' point guard said he had a right foot stress fracture, affecting the fifth metatarsal. (Kudos to the kid for remembering the medical jargon.) That was his freshman year of high school, and it happened while playing football.

“I never played football again,” Holiday said.

Holiday felt good enough following the Sixers' shootaround Monday at PCOM to board a flight to Texas, for the first of two games in two days. He said he felt more pain than he had expected in that left foot of his, which he initially injured Dec. 12 against Chicago.

Because of the nagging pain, because of how valuable Holiday has been to the Sixers, and because of the cramped nature of their upcoming schedule of games … Holiday probably shouldn't consider playing Tuesday in Dallas, or even Wednesday in Houston.

The 22-year-old is turning heads in the league, and among voters for the All-Star Game, with his 18.4 points and 8.9 assists per-game averages. He's been a rock for the Sixers, who have yet to get Andrew Bynum on the floor.

So why risk further injury, right?

“What am I going to do – put him out there and have him tear up his knee because he's playing on one foot?” Sixers coach Doug Collins said Tuesday, at American Airlines Center. “That would be really silly (to do) to win a game in December. Do we want to win? Absolutely. But that's why you have 13 guys on your team. Now it's up to somebody else getting an opportunity. Evan (Turner's) got the ball. We've got Dorell (Wright) handling the ball a little bit. Now is not the time to panic. Can't do it.”

Holiday's a gamer. He's not averaging 38 minutes per game accidentally. He wants to win, and he wants to be there for his teammates. But even he understands why it'd be in the Sixers' best interests if he watched Tuesday's game from the bench, as opposed to from the hardwood.

“It is tricky. I feel like we can win a lot of games. I feel like I can help my team. That's a lot of pressure to put on me to come back,” Holiday said. “At the same time, your foot is probably one of the most important parts of just playing basketball, being able to walk, run, jump, all that stuff you have to do to be on your feet. I'm going to try to get back as soon as possible.”

Following these games in Texas, the Sixers host Atlanta Friday then head to Brooklyn for an afternoon tip Sunday. Then, after two days off, they don't play again until Dec. 26 in Memphis.

It's not ridiculous to think the Sixers are considering keeping Holiday on the shelf until then. Getting through six games without him is slightly more manageable than getting through 20.

“We can't make this a residual thing. We can't take an acute injury and make it chronic,” Collins said.

Which is probably why Holiday will be in a suit Tuesday instead of a uniform.

(Associated Press)

Sunday night, the Sixers blamed their 111-98 loss to the Lakers on 3-point shooting and their inability to defend the line. Nick Young said the Lakers made “unbelievable shots.” Evan Turner said they “hit crazy shots.”

No matter the adjective, the Lakers hit shots – 14 of them from 3-point range. That was far too many, and Doug Collins knew it.

“They spread you, they shoot the 3s. That's what (Lakers coach) Mike D'Antoni has always done,” the Sixers coach said Sunday. “Unfortunately, right now, we are struggling mightily to defend the 3.”

However, it wasn't the Lakers' on-the-mark shooting from beyond the arc that single-handedly sank the Sixers. Despite hitting 10 3-pointers against Los Angeles, the Sixers haven't been the most-adroit team in that category of late.

Consider this: The Sixers, in eight games this month, are shooting 27 percent (33-for-122) from 3-point range. Not coincidentally, the Sixers have a 2-6 record in December. They're also a 7-3 ballclub when they shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point distance.

It's not like one guy's production has tailed off, either. Like an epidemic, the Sixers collectively have been unable to dial in from long distance. Jason Richardson, the team leader in 3-pointers is shooting 26 percent (10-for-38) this month. Dorell Wright, a one-time season leader in 3-pointers made, is shooting 18.7 percent (3-for-16) in December. Turner, an on-the-rise perimeter shooter who's already made more 3-pointers this season than all of last, has only eight makes this month. And Jrue Holiday, who has missed the last two games, is hitting 16.7 percent (3-for-18) of his looks from 3-point range.

The Sixers (12-12), who begin a two-game Texas roadtrip Tuesday in Dallas, were supposed to be a 3-point-shooting team, especially in transition. At least that's how Collins envisioned them in the preseasons. Since then, they've had to rely on a shaky half-court offense that has left their 3-point shooters at a loss. The Sixers are in the middle or toward the back of the NBA stat pack when it comes to 3-pointers: 14th in percentage, 19th in makes, 22nd in attempts. The Mavericks, by the way, rank ninth in the NBA in defending the 3.

Following the loss to the Lakers, plenty of focus by the Sixers – and rightfully so – was placed on their need to defend the 3-point line. Perhaps just as much attention should be placed on scoring from there.

(US Presswire)

Elton Brand said his installment of the Sixers "reached our ceiling," believing the team was justified in its decision to break up a team that was one win away from the Eastern Conference finals.

“If we beat the Bulls with Derrick Rose, maybe," said Brand, a starter in Tuesday's meeting between Brand's Dallas Mavericks and his former club. "But I’m a realist. I kind of felt we had reached our ceiling. Maybe we didn’t. They swung for the fences, tried to get (Andrew) Bynum. I like the moves they made."

Brand said it was "hectic" last summer, when the Sixers amnestied the power forward. He cleared waivers and signed with the Mavericks, who are paying $2.1 million for his services. The Sixers are paying the remainder of his contract -- $16.1 million, which does not count against their cap.

“Any time you get a demotion or anything like that, I don’t know," he said. "The word ‘amnestied’ wasn’t ‘cut,’ so it sounded better than that. Any time you get a demotion, you’ve got a chip (on your shoulder). I’m just trying to help my team win ballgames. I’m not looking at stats. We need to win. Sometimes that takes away from the winning formula."

Brand has started 14 of the Mavericks' 15 games, averaging career-low totals of 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Sixers coach Doug Collins, who called Brand "a true professional," said the Sixers "miss his soul."