Young 76ers club credits coach Doug Collins for turnaround

PHILADELPHIA  At this stage of his career, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins sees himself as the grandfatherly type.

Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday sees Collins as the dad harping on the son to mow the lawn, take out the garbage and do it his way. For Collins' Sixers, that means play defense, make the next pass, take a better shot.

"He yells at you, he disciplines you and, at the same time, he loves you," Holiday said. "There's times when he's going to get mad at you, but that's only to make you better. He's done that with the whole team."

With essentially the same team that went 27-55 last season, Collins has the Sixers at 33-31 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, six games ahead of the Indiana Pacers.

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"Doug has done a remarkable job in molding our players into a unit," Sixers President Rod Thorn said. "Just because you know the game doesn't mean you can teach the game. Obviously, he knows it, but he's also a very good teacher."

This is a shared success story — Collins, 60 in July, believing in players, them believing in him.

"After the game is over, we can always go in and put our hands together and say, 'You know what? No regrets. We did our best.' And those are the best teams to coach," said Collins, whose health is fine after a struggle with vertigo early on.

What has been accomplished:

•The Sixers are deep — 10 play at least 12 minutes a game, six average double figures in scoring, nine average at least 6.5 points. They have the No. 1 scoring bench in the league.

•Philadelphia is No. 3 in fast-break points.

•Using the Oklahoma City Thunder model, the Sixers are building with youth.

•The Sixers are No. 9 in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions).

Collins has brought "accountability," leading scorer and rebounder Elton Brand said. "You don't want to let your teammates down. You don't want to let your city down. You don't want to let your coaches down."

Written off after two undistinguished seasons, Brand is rejuvenated and productive.

"Last year they said I wasn't a 30-minute-a-game player, and here I am playing nearly (35)," said Brand, who is averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Guard Jodie Meeks shoots 40% on three-pointers. Holiday is a young point guard who can score and pass. Forward Andre Iguodala (consecutive triple-doubles this week) is a threat offensively and defensively. Guard Lou Williams and forward Thaddeus Young are double-digit scorers off the bench. Rookie swingman Evan Turner is improving.

Collins, who came to the Sixers as the overall No. 1 draft choice in 1973, had said the franchise had "fallen," and his job was to "dig ourselves out. … And that's what I've got to keep my focus on."

Which was difficult, in the face of Philadelphia magazine, for example, asking, "Who cares?"

Even before the Sixers' 3-13 start, which didn't help perception or reality, Collins said, "If we have adversity, we've got to show that we're resilient enough and we can fight through that.?

The Sixers are 30-18 since.

"We didn't want to fold this season which could have easily happened," Brand said.

After Thursday's disappointing, but not crushing 110-105 overtime loss to the Thunder, Young sat on a stool at his locker. It was a game the Sixers, at this point of the season, expected to win, not just to compete.

Collins poked his head into the locker room to see who was still around. It was mostly empty matching the feeling after the loss.

"I'm proud of you," Collins told Young.

Pro basketball is relevant again in Philadelphia.

"We're changing the culture around here," Young said, "and we definitely feel what we have here is something big."