Week in Review: Not good

Dalembert was seen wearing this

The All-Star break can be a help or a hindrance. In this case, it was the latter.

The Sixers came out of the long weekend and now find themselves losers of three straight, and in each loss the team failed to score more than 91 points. So much for pushing the pace.

In the three games this past week, their shooting percentages have been downright awful, hitting 38.5, 32.6, and 37.1 against Indiana, Denver, and Miami. Their three-point shooting has been a major problem as well, going 2-13, 4-13, 4-18 over the same three games. The Sixers needed to upgrade at the deadline by adding a shooter, but they could not get a deal done and are paying the price. They continue to heave up three's that they have no business shooting. Their so-called outside shooters, Willie Green and Lou Williams, are struggling. Williams is hitting less than 29 percent of his three's while Green is knocking down only 30 percent. It's hard to win in this league when you can only shoot inside of 18 feet.

While the defense has been good, it's just not enough to offset the ugly perimeter game. The inside game hasnt been there much either, as Sam Dalembert, an avid complainer, is not getting it done. Dalembert continues to make excuses, but the fact of the matter is, his offense sucks. He is complaining about a lack of playing time, but does he really deserve to be on the court for more than 25 minutes?

At this point, the Sixers best bet would be to go small and run, run, run. The lack of an outside threat hurts that notion, but the slowdown half-court sets are getting uglier by the quarter. They have the speed and athleticism to run people out of the gym, but shy away from the up-tempo game unelss it is off of turnovers. Instead of Dalembert, try Speights in the starting lineup and keep running. The rookie mistakes will be there, and the interior D may take a hit, but the fast-paced game would proivde the team a spark it really needs.

Luckily, Andre Miller's calf injury was not as bad as it looked, or the Sixers would be in trouble. He was fine on Saturday, putting up a season-high 30 points. But when your starting point guard puts up 30 and you're team as a whole scores just 91, something is missing. The 32-year old PG can't do it all, so someone needs to step up.

Andre Iguodala is somehow shooting 46 percent on the year, because his three point percentage is an awful 26 percent. Since the break, Iggy is just 13-40 from the field, and has hit one triple. For a guy who supposedly worked on his outside shooting, whatever he did didn't work. The $80 million man has to step up IMMEDIATELY.

Another loss or two, and the Sixers could be on the outside looking in. Thankfully Detroit is playing sloppy too, or this team would be sinking deeper. The fourth seed seemed like a reality seven days ago. Now, it's a fantasy.

The Wrestler was a great movie...

The movie "The Wrestler" was nominated for several Academy Awards, and I can now see why. Mickey Rourke plays "The Ram" an over-the-hill professional wrestler who is still hanging on to the glory years, stuffing himself with steroids while battling a bad heart. This engaging piece was provocative (lookout, Marisa Tomei!) and an accurate portrayal of what life must be like for a down-and-out ex-star who has no family, no money, and no conscience in the real world.

It was a hell of a movie, and if you think I've gone Gene Shalit on you, you're damn right I have. After the Sixers entertained me for an entire half, the third quarter got ugly. As the Nuggets crept back from a 16-point deficit in the first half, it became quiet obvious what was happening.

The Sixers were basically battling themselves, just as Mickey Rourke had in the film. A cause for concern is Andre Miller's calf injury, which should put a damper on all the trade rumors surrounding him. But the bigger story here is the lack of offense by the Sixers for the final three quarters. As a team, the Sixers managed to shoot just over 32 percent from the field, and also missed 10 free throws en route to a 12-point loss.

Andre Iguodala, responsible for Carmelo Anthony on this night, didn't have a chance. He fouled out in just 27 minutes as the entire Nuggets offense used him like a rented mule. Miller had been a bright spot before leaving with the leg injury, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven boards in just 22 minutes. If this is what its like without Miller, then I retract my previous post. Keep him.

Without Miller, the Sixers managed just 40 points through the final 19 minutes of play, while on the other side, Denver pulled away during this final stretch.

Marreese Speights did bring some intensity off the bench and put up a double-double in only 22 minutes on the floor. He continues to put up stellar numbers with the second unit in short spurts. Tony DiLeo and the rest of the coaching staff is really bringing him along nicely. Credit Jeff Ruland for working with the big man and keeping him focused.

But focus was not a noun in the vocabulary of the Sixers last night, as they shot out to a hot start, then faded miserably and looking amateur for three quarters. The first two games post-break have been disheartening. Effort has been lacking and the offense stagnant in the 96 minutes of play since starting back up. With Miller going down, there is no one to run the team. And a team currently struggling to score can ill-afford to lose their most consistent offensive threat.

Not what we had in mind for a stretch run. As they continue to 'wrestle' with their offense, I will continue to turn off the game when a great movie is on. Sorry, selfish.