31-year old power forward Elton Brand has been very solid so far in February.  Brand has played in 5 games so far this month for the Sixers and he is averaging 35.2 minutes, 21.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  He is shooting 58% from the floor and 86.2% from the free throw line so far this month as he has been an offensive force.  Brand has now played in 51 games (all starts) for the Sixers so far this year and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  The 76ers hope that Brand finishes the year strongly as the Sixers are fighting for a playoff spot…and that wasn’t expected this year.

22-year old small forward Thaddeus Young is getting hot!  In his last two games, Young is averaging 31.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He is shooting 70.8% (17 of 24) from the floor over his last two games.  Young has now played in 42 games (1 start) for the 76ers so far this year and he is averaging 25.7 minutes, 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game on 54.1% shooting from the floor.  Count me in as an observer who thinks that Young should be starting for the Sixers and playing 30+ minutes per night.

31-year old power forward Elton Brand had a dud of a year last season for the Sixers but he’s trying to rebound this year and he has been coming through.  Brand has played in 37 games (all starts) for the Sixers and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 15.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Brand is shooting 51.4% from the floor as he is taking high percentage shots while playing “team offense”.  Brand is playing hard at both ends of the court and he’s rubbing off on his teammates who are also working hard.

20-year old point guard Jrue Holiday has been on fire lately for the Sixers.  In his last three games, Holiday is averaging 36.7 minutes, 20.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He is shooting a red hot 56.4% from the floor over his last three games.  Holiday has now played in 31 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 34.2 minutes, 13.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He really has improved from his rookie year to this season and the Sixers hope that continues.

23-year old shooting guard Jodie Meeks is stepping up lately for the Sixers.  In his last 5 games, Meeks is averaging 18.8 minutes, 8.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He is shooting 51.9% from the floor in his last five games.  Overall this year, Meeks has played in 11 games (1 start) for the Sixers and he is averaging 17.5 minutes, 7.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Meeks needs to add more to his game to start getting consistent playing time as all he really seems to like to do is shoot.

The Sixers need to get 22-year old foward Thaddeus Young back into the starting lineup.  Young has played in 16 games (1 start) for the Sixers so far this year and he is averaging 24.4 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He is shooting a hot 59% from the floor so far this year.  The Sixers should be rebuilding with youth because they aren’t going anywhere this year.

20-year old point guard Jrue Holiday is stepping up big time for the Sixers so far this year. Holiday has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Sixers so far this year and he is averaging 34.7 minutes, 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. His shooting is also looking pretty good this year as he is hitting 44.6% from the floor, 42.9% from three point range and 74.2% from the free throw line so far. If Holiday keeps shooting like he is right now I look for the Sixers to start prodding him to shoot more.

24-year old SG/PG Louis Williams is playing solid basketball for the 76ers so far this year. Williams has played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this year and he is averaging 24.7 minutes, 16.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He is also shooting great from anywhere on the floor right now. He is making 50% of his shots from the floor, 55.6% from three point range and he is making 88.9% of his free throws so far this year. Second year point guard Jrue Holiday better get his act together because I’m sure Williams wants his starting job back.

21-year old small forward Thaddeus Young needs to take the next step for the 76ers to improve as a team. He played in 67 games (45 starts) for the Sixers last season and he averaged 32.0 minutes, 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Young has now played in 216 games (138 starts) in his three years with the Sixers and he has averaged 29.1 minutes, 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Young is a good player but the Sixers need him to step up a bit in 2010-11.

26-year old SG/SF Andre Iguodala is the most dependable player on the 76ers as he almost never misses a game. He started all 82 games for the Sixers last season and he averaged 38.9 minutes, 17.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. I can definitely see why teams like the Cavs were trying to trade for Iguodala near the deadline. He has now played in 486 games (all starts) in his six years with the Sixers and he has averaged 38.1 minutes, 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. So Iguodala has only missed six games in six years which makes him a player the Sixers will be building around.