No quick-fix for Philly

Maurice Cheeks has to be wondering where the last four days have gone.
Following an embarrassing offensive performance in Orlando last Thursday, the Sixers coach went back to basics to try and get his team on the same page with new acquisition Elton Brand. Despite all that instruction, the same team showed up against Utah Tuesday night, sputtering to 13 points in the fourth quarter of a 93-80 loss.
Brand finished with just 13 points and five rebounds and must point a finger at himself for not matching the energy Utah's post guys played with, including rookie Kosta Koufos, making his first professional start.
Not that the rest of the Sixers should hang this one on their new teammate. Thaddeus Young shot 3-for-15 and the bench combined for 4-for-16 as the team continued its collective freeze. They landed in Toronto following the disappointing home loss to face a Raptors team that shut them down in Philly in the opener, becoming the first of what is now a list of five opponents to hold them under 90 in a victory.
Eventually, Brand will get on the same page with fellow Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala. Whether Brand has to become more active in transition or Iguodala and Miller become more efficient in the halfcourt game, there will ultimately be harmony. Young is playing fearlessly and showing off his improvement, but there's no way he should be leading the team in scoring.
The starting lineup's pieces will fit once the kinks come loose, but one major issue that should be of even greater concern is how weak and inconsistent Philadelphia's bench has been. The Sixers are averaging 84.6 points in their five losses and 120.5 in their two wins, with the major discrepancy between success and failure being the play of the bench. Lou Williams is being counted on to be an x-factor and has been hit-or-miss. Willie Green was expected to be the stabilizer and has instead been two different players, phenomenal in the wins (17 ppg, 13-for-18 FG) and awful in the losses (3.5 ppg, 5-for-17).
Heading into Tuesday night's game against a major division rival, the 76ers have to be considered the Eastern Conference's biggest disappointment. It's not time to panic yet, but this isn't the start envisioned for a team that fancied itself a contender.

Tuesday's +/- report: Delonte West (+16, 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting) was very good as a glue guy in his 38 minutes of a 99-93 win over the Bucks, continuing to grow into one of Mike Brown's men of confidence... Milwaukee rode a strong third quarter from Luke Ridnour (-6, 6-for-16) to claw back in the game, but he couldn't generate any offense for his team when it truly mattered... Carmelo Anthony (+16, 25 points) got his hands dirty inside as the Nuggets transition into a more physical side, holding Charlotte to 40 percent shooting in an 88-80 win. Adam Morrison (+11, 16 points) was the Bobcats bright spot. Matt Carroll (-17 1-for-4) wasn't... Andrei Kirilenko (+24) and Paul Millsap (+20) each scored 16 on a combined 14-for-20 from the field in helping Utah's bench destroy Philadelphia's 38-12 in Deron Williams' return (-3, 1-for-8, 9 assists)... Rookie Marreese Speights (-20 in 10 minutes) and the aforementioned Green (-18 in 12:25) were the biggest culprits... Great friends Al Horford (+11, 27 points, 17 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (-13, 1-for-3) started against each other in Atlanta's 113-108 victory in Chicago. Horford was the late bloomer at Florida, and has just kept on blooming... Trevor Ariza (+16, 6-for-10) is making ESPN's J.A. Adande look good, while Jerry Stackhouse (-11) and Gerald Green (-10) couldn't replace Josh Howard on the wing, shooting a combined 11-for-27... Hard to find fault with Allen Iverson's effort (+7, 30 points, nine assists) in his first win with the Pistons, but backup Will Bynum (+10) deserves credit, too, helping make up for the absence of Rodney Stuckey by getting into the lane well and creating chances... Jason Thompson (-1, 15 points, 9 rebounds) defended everyone from Tayshaun Prince to Rasheed Wallace in his first start. He looks miles ahead of what was expected of him and is going to be a very good one.