(Associated Press)

Before Tuesday's game, Sixers coach Doug Collins was asked what he'd alter about the team that had lost eight of nine. He said he'd want “a healthy team.”

Collins' comment seemed timely, considering as his players were suiting up for a game against visiting Boston, his all-star center was in New York City, getting yet-another opinion on his bad knees. Andrew Bynum was not at Wells Fargo Center. Instead, he was visiting personal physician David Altchek for a look-see at his bad appendages.

The Sixers have gone the entire season without Bynum, which is a different scenario than that which the Celtics have faced. They've been sans Rajon Rondo since January, with a torn ACL. The Celtics are entrenched in the playoff race, while the Sixers are – well – not.

“I think the big difference is their star player won a championship with them,” Collins said of Rondo. “Our star player has never played, so our guys have never been around him.”

It's looking more and more like Bynum may never play for the Sixers. (Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo said in pregame that surgery has not been taken off the table.) That's left a bitter taste in Collins' mouth, but it'll be a cold day in hell before Collins waves a white flag.

Collins hopes the feeling of missing the postseason resonates with his guys.

“Anytime you miss the playoffs, it should hurt. Anytime your season is over and you go home without playoff games and you're not a part of that, it should be very painful,” he said.

“The plans we had this year, for this season, we really haven't been able to see. There's no excuses. Nobody's going to make any excuses. We just haven't had a chance to see that. I think the guys have done a nice job fighting through it. I'm proud of them. They've given all they can give.”

(Associated Press)

Eastern Conference coaches have until noon Wednesday to cast their votes, determining whether 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday is deserving of his first all-star bid.

The number is his favor are that the Sixers were 0-4 without him in December, when he missed time with a left foot injury, and 17-19 with him -- right around where they expected to be. He's also the only player in the league averaging at least 19 points and 9 assists.

Not even stud point guards like Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Greivis Vasquez, Russell Westbrook or Deron Williams can say that.

What goes against Holiday, though, is the Sixers' record. It's something Sixers coach Doug Collins said he looks at when deciding who should represent a conference among the all-star reserves.

So what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, email me (cvito@delcotimes.com) or Tweet them to me (@ChrisVito) to start a dialogue.

(Associated Press)

Jrue Holiday had a career night, so did Maalik Wayns (if you can call it that), and the Sixers held off Phoenix, 104-101, Sunday night.

Here are some odds and ends from the game, which ended a two-game skid for the Sixers:

• Holiday had a career-best 33 points, along with 13 assists, in the win. Only one other Sixer in the last 25 years has had at least 30 points and 13 helpers -- some guy named Iverson.
• With five of them, Holiday has the second-most points-assists double-doubles in the NBA. He trails only Rajon Rondo in that department.
• Maalik Wayns, the rookie out of Villanova, was lauded in post-game by Sixers coach Doug Collins. What he didn't give them in defense, Wayns made up for in offense. He had a career-best seven points in seven minutes.
• Two guys Collins wasn't too pleased with? Rookie Arnett Moultrie and veteran Spencer Hawes, two bigs who combined for 22 first-half minutes...and zero boards. Oof.
• Holiday gets credit for scoring the final three points of the game, but the Sixers couldn't have won without Evan Turner. He was the one defending the Suns' Michael Beasley when he missed a tough shot under the rim in the closing seconds of regulation.
• QUOTABLE: “When he’s not in the game, you definitely can feel it,” Thad Young said of Holiday, who played 39 minutes. “The ball, it doesn’t move around a lot. Jrue is our distributor who’s going to get into the paint and make plays. Sometimes the offense gets stagnant without Jrue in there.”

The Sixers have off Monday and host Dallas Tuesday.

(Associated Press)

Sam Dalembert and Brandon Jennings are not Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. And Monta Ellis is nowhere near Rajon Rondo.

Still, the point to be made is this: No matter who’s on the floor, the 76ers aren’t going to be “intimidated.” Those are Evan Turner’s words, not mine.

The other day, after the win at Boston, Turner told reporters he and the Sixers from a season ago would’ve coughed up their 106-100 win over the Celtics. He intimated that they would’ve found a way to lose, especially when a veteran Boston team began to close in on their once-14-point lead, in a hostile environment like a near-capacity Boston Garden.

Plain and simple – whether it’s tonight at home against Ellis, Jennings and Milwaukee or Wednesday night against winless Detroit or even rematches with the Celtics or the New York Knicks, the Sixers won’t play scared.

“We’re not intimidated. We want more,” Turner said. “We keep progressing. Every single game is important. We don’t walk out onto the court and go, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Paul Pierce,’ or ‘Oh my gosh, it’s LeBron,’ or ‘It’s Carmelo.’ You expect to win. That’s progressing.”

Big words from the third-year swingman, who had a solid three-game stretch to help the Sixers sweep a roadtrip of three games or more for the first time since 2003. Let's see if he and the Sixers can use his words as a springboard to further successes.