Lavoy Allen Playing With Confidence

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

When the Philadelphia 76ers visited the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday, Lavoy Allen just recorded two fouls in as many minutes. He found himself buried on the bench behind Spencer Hawes, Kwame Brown and even Dorell Wright who has been seeing an increased amount of time at the power forward spot now that Andrew Bynum has been declare out indefinitely.

But, ever since the Sixers’ sometimes-clueless coach, Doug Collins, gave his young Temple grad the green light and starting nod at Center, the second-year man has been playing with more confidence and the results are showing. Over the past three games, Allen has been averaging 8.3 points 5 rebounds and 2 assists in just 25 minutes per night.

While all of the hype for the Sixers that doesn't concern Bynum has been about Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, Allen has been a truly underrated contributor for this team in the past week. Something his stats don’t show is his timely rebounding and clutch defense. We saw Lavoy’s ability to defend in the playoffs last season when he shut down Kevin Garnett play after play. Last night, as the Sixers were struggling to close out the Mavericks, Allen denied Chris Kaman of any scoring in the last 2:38 seconds, the time he checked in to replace Brown. Prior to his defensive stand, Kaman had led the Mavs in scoring with 20 points and had just hit a layup 30 seconds earlier. You can’t use stats to show how his timely tip outs on offensive rebounds affect the pace of the game either. If you included the roughly two or three times Allen chases down a miss and tips it back out to a teammate as a rebound, he would be averaging nearly 16 rebounds per 48 minutes. That’s an incredible statistic.

Right now, the Sixers have a solid core of Jrue, Evan and Thad that can keep their team slightly above .500 without their nucleus in Bynum. But, in the big man’s absence, player’s like Lavoy have to step up to keep this team relevant. So for now, be very thankful for the effort that Lavoy Allen is playing with this holiday.

Road-trip Recap: The Progression of Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner

Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE
Jrue Holiday is becoming a top PG in the League

The Philadelphia 76ers return home to the Wells Fargo Center tomorrow night, Monday, November 12, for a five-game home stand after a very successful road trip. While playing in Boston and Toronto against the Celtics and Raptors, respectively, over the weekend, the Sixers came away with two victories led by some very important players.

Against Boston, Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner put on performances that Philly execs and fans alike have been dreaming about ever since Turner was selected with the No. 2 Overall pick in the 2010 Draft. Both young guards played just over 40 minutes in the game, as Holiday scored 21 points while dishing out 14 assists and Turner poured in 25 points and grabbed 11 boards. While Andrew Bynum remains sidelined, the Sixers must heavily rely on the play of their young backcourt in order to compete and win games. Currently on a three-game win streak, Holiday and Turner are doing just that. In fact, many are starting to imagine just how effective matching Bynum with such elusive guard play will be against the Sixers’ opponents.

On the season, Holiday, who recently signed a new 4 year, $41 million contract extension, is leading the team in scoring at 18.2 points per game and assists at 9.5. Turner is right behind him 12.3 points and leads the team in 9.5 boards a night as well.

Holiday is simply blossoming in front of our eyes. He’s toying with defenders like he’s a 99 rating in NBA 2K13, he’s carving up defenses with his suddenly deadly court vision and he’s lighting it up from beyond the arc at 44%. Call me crazy, but Jrue Holiday is playing at an All-Star level right now. It’s not unrealistic for him to be in the conversation for best point guard in the East with Derrick Rose out and Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo not playing at career best levels. No matter what, he’s been very fun to watch.

As we wait for Bynum to return, the progression of Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner that we’ve asked for is definitely enough to keep us sidetracked for the time being.