Apter Hours: Sixers Spotlight Being Stolen?

Phillies get Cliff Lee, Eagles are 9-4 with Vick and the Flyers lead the NHL with 47 points. Are we forgetting something? Believe it or not, yes we are. The Sixers are a forgotten section of Philadelphia sports this season and have been over the past couple of years. Most of the attitude I hear is, "They need to lose to get a draft pick to make a difference," or "They need to get rid of Iggy and Elton Brand to rebuild." Fact is, as a Philadelphia sports fanatic, I cannot root for them to lose or trade away two of their best players.

At 10-15, the Sixers sit in ninth place in the East but deserve some of the spotlight. Winners of their last three and five of their last seven, they trail the Bucks by a half a game for the final playoff spot at this point in the season. They have played the elite teams very close, including a hearttbreaking 102-101 loss at the hands of the Celtics. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand are the two names that come to most people's minds when the Sixers are mentioned but it is another guy who was earned his spot. The emergence of Jodie Meeks has caught the attention of the Sixers fanbase. To start the year, Meeks barely saw any minutes and now he starts. To be exact, he rode the bench for the first six games of the season, including matchups against the Heat and Hawks. Jodie got his shot though and showed his worth coming off the bench. His most successful stint off the bench was during a 109-103 loss to Oklahoma City, where he scored 17 points, going 6-for-9 from the field. Averaging about 23.5 minutes a game, Meeks has started every game in December, three of which include games with 16 or more points. This guy is the total package. He can play defense and shoot the three ball. He is currently shooting 45% from beyond the arc and absolutely broke out against the Bobcats on December 4th, going 7-for-10. Meeks ended up with 26 points that night on 9-for-16 shooting. The emergence of his recent play has helped the Sixers to a 5-2 record during his seven starts, all in Devember.

While Meeks has become a steady starter for the team, Spencer Hawes has finally started playing to his potential. He started the season off extremely slow, scoring double digits for the first time in mid November. Recently Hawes has been a true center, tallying double-doubles in two of his last five games while scoring in double figures in four of them. The pairing of him and Elton Brand seem to be working well as Brand is experiencing success as well. Leading the team in scoring at 15.5 per game, Brand is showing Sixers fans that signing him to a big deal wasn't a complete waste. He has scored in double digits in the last eleven games, five of those also being double-double performances. Point guard Jrue Holiday has also been a bright spot for the young Sixers, averaging 14 points per game (Iguodala has 14.1) to go along with six assists. Holiday has set the table for the Sixers well all year, tallying 13 assists in games against the Mavericks and Nets this season. The young guard out of UCLA has a lot of polishing to do but has great potential to become one of the best.

Andre Iguodala has not WOWed fans by any means and is having yet another mediocre season. Currently second on the squad in scoring (14.1ppg), Iggy is still the talk of many trade rumors around the league. He has never become the reliable, consistent scorer that people had hoped. Thaddeus Young is usually hit or miss while the second pick in this years draft, Evan Turner, has hit a slump and is averaging a little over six points a contest.

The Sixers have a lot of work to do to get back to where they were in the Allen Iverson era but trust me, they are headed in the right direction. They are 5-2 this month with victories against the Bobcats, Cavaliers, Hornets, Nets and Clippers. They have fallen to the Hawks and Celtics but have kept close to the East powerhouses for the most part. The majority of their starters have become more consistent and the emergence of Jodie Meeks seems to add some excitement to the team. 10-15 is no record to rave about, but it certainly could be a lot worse. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers come to town on Friday as the Sixers hope to finally show that they can beat the best.