The Sixers finally have a team president and general manager as they hired former Rockets front-office man Sam Hinkie earlier this week. Hinkie's hiring shows a shift from the traditional basketball talent evaluation to a more analytical approach that fits more in line with owner Joshua Harris' personality.

With Hinkie coming from the Rockets and the 76ers with an open head coaching position, it seems logical that the new team president will take a look at his old team to fill the vacancy.

According to John Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers have received permission to interview Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson for the open head coaching job.

Sampson has been with the Rockets for the past two seasons. Prior to joining Houston, Sampson was an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks from 2008-2011.

Sampson has never been a head coach in the professional ranks but has been the head coach at some big time college programs such as Indiana and Oklahoma.

The Sixers are reportedly not the only team interested in Sampson's services. The Charlotte Bobcats and Milwaukee Bucks are also looking at Sampson as a potential successor to their previous head coach.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

For the second time today, a Philadelphia athlete is being sued for assault and TMZ is the outlet to break the story.

76ers shooting guard Nick Young is being sued by an anonymous woman for allegedly raping her in 2011, according to TMZ.

The woman claims that Young slipped her a date rape drug at a West Hollywood club then raped her back at his home. According to the suit, tests run immediately at the UCLA Rape Treatment Center indicate she was slipped a date rape drug and her injuries were consistent with rape.

The report states that the woman is suing Young for "sexual battery, sexual assault, false imprisonment, and more - demanding unspecified damages." In addition to the suit against Young, the woman is also suing the club for negligence.

The 2012-13 season was Young's first with the Sixers. He averaged 10.6 points per game in 59 games for Philadelphia. He spent the 2011-12 season (when the incident allegedly occurred) split between the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The 76ers welcome Lob City to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night to wrap up their eight game homestand. The Clippers were coming off of a 102-88 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon. They picked up right where they left off on Sunday as they jumped out to a quick start outscoring the Sixers 30-22. A staggering 20 of the Clippers 30 first quarter points came from the paint. Entering tonight, the Clippers were 27-2 when leading after the first quarter. In the second quarter Los Angeles used stellar defense to essentially put the nail in the coffin early. They outscored Philadelphia 26-11 to take a 23 point halftime lead to the lockerroom. The third quarter was a lot like the first as the Clippers outscored the Sixers 32-26 and, once again, 20 of the Clippers 32 points came from the pain. The Sixers trailed by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter. They would eventually outscore the Clippers 31-19 in the final frame to get the final score to a somewhat respectable 107-90.

Quick Hits:

• The Clippers scored 48 points in the Paint
  
• Chris Paul had 21 points with 11 assists and was a game-high +27.
  
• Lavoy Allen was a game-low -30.
  
• Nick Young was the only 76er to score more than 10 points. He had 29 points and five assists.
  
• Newcomer Jeremy Pargo had another solid night with 10 points in 24 minutes of action.
  
• The Clippers shot 58.7% from the field to the Sixers 41.7%.
  
• Philadelphia was 9-for-18 (50%) from beyond the arc.
  
• Both teams committed 13 turnovers.
  
• The only healthy Sixer not to play was Kwame Brown.
  

The Sixers get back after it Wednesday in Milwaukee as they take on the Bucks at 8:00 pm.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Sixers are looking to get another huge win tonight as they welcome the Los Angeles Clippers to town. The Sixers are rolling having won four of their last five games, most recently over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday. The 76ers were paced by two names who are not usually stuffing the stat sheet: Lavoy Allen and Jeremy Pargo. Pargo recently signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers after Shelvin Mack played out his second 10-day contract with the team. Pargo played for the Cavaliers this year, starting 11 games for them, before the Sixers signed him to a deal. Pargo had a big night coming off the bench scoring 12 points, dishing out six assists, and grabbing four rebounds. Pargo’s production showed what kind of punch the Sixers could have off the bench behindJrue Holiday . Holiday had a solid game himself dropping 20 points and dishing out seven assists while limiting his turnovers to three points. The most glaring stat line of the night was Allen’s. The Temple product poured in 14 points while grabbing a career high 22 rebounds, 11 offensive and 11 defensive. The play of the three helped lead the Sixers to an 87-76 win over Charlotte.

Tonight marks the 76ers last game over their eight game homestand. They have been very successful so far going 5-2 at home over the span. Defense has been the key to their rest success as the Sixers have held their opponent to fewer than 90 points in each of their past five games. Tonight they welcome the Clippers to town with whom they have found a ton of success against over the years. The 76ers are 67-49 all time against Los Angeles and 42-15 against them in Philadelphia. The Sixers have only faced the Clippers once since they acquired Chris Paul . The Clippers won that game 78-77 almost a year ago to the day (2/10/12). The Sixers were only able to force seven turnovers in that game.

Who to Watch: Nick Young. Young has started seven straight games and appears to be the 76ers starting shooting guard for the rest of the season as it was announced last week that Jason Richardson  would miss the remainder of the season due to knee surgery. Young is averaging 14.6 points per game as a starter but has struggled recently. In his last two games, Young is only averaging 7.0 points per game while shooting 28.6% from the field. Over his last four games, he is just 2-for-19 from three-point range. His play must improve if the Sixers are going to be successful.

The Clippers are playing the best basketball the franchise has ever seen. Their 36-17 start is the best 53 game start in franchise history. One of the reasons Los Angeles is playing so well is that they are closing games out. They have held the lead after the first quarter 29 times this season and are an incredible 27-2 (.931) in those games. Jamal Crawford, who is a strong candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award, is third in the NBA in total points in the fourth quarter with 328. WHe trails only Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant in that category. Expect a lot of throw downs tonight as Blake Griffin (122) and DeAndre Jordan (113) lead the league in dunks this season.

Who to Watch: Blake Griffin. Griffin is coming off of a strong effort yesterday against the New York Knicks yesterday. Griffin had 17 points and 12 rebounds Sunday. It was his 21st double-double of the year. In his last 16 games he is 69-for-96 (71.9%) from the free throw line which makes him a dangerous player to foul in the low post. He was voted to his third straight All-Star team and it is his second time being named a starter.

Tipoff is slated for 7:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Center. Tickets are still available. The game can be seen on The Comcast Network and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The 76ers need help. Despite having won four of their last five games and going 5-2 on their most recent homestand, they need help. No one has any idea when Andrew Bynum is going to play his first game for the Sixers despite what the injured center says. They are without forward Thaddeus Young for three weeks with a hamstring strain. Another major blow to the team was the loss of shooting guard Jason Richardson for 9-12 months due to knee surgery. The 76ers have made the playoffs in each of their last two seasons but currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 22-27 record three games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

It would make sense that the team would be looking at any and all ways to improve the team. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Sixers are gauging interest and value for Evan Turner . This makes sense as the trade deadline is just 10 days away and most teams want to know how much their players are worth. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Mitchell writes that the 76ers will probably not trade Turner unless the right deal is proposed. Mitchell harps on the point that the Sixers are very committed to seeing what their team looks like with Bynum in the fold and in game action.

The 24 year old, former No. 2 overall draft pick is playing well in his third year in the league. He has started all 49 of the 76ers games this year. He is setting career highs in almost every statistical category. He is averaging 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, while shooting 39% from beyond the arc.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Sixers are coming to the end of their eight game homestand. Their seventh game on the homestand is tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats at 8:00 pm (just seven hours after the start of the Flyers game at the Wells Fargo Center). The 76ers welcomed the Indiana Pacers to the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday and, essentially, didn’t show up. Through the first three quarters, the Sixers managed to score more than 15 points in a quarter just once, when they scored 19 in the second quarter. The Pacers were led by Roy Hibbert’s 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Sixers struggled for the second consecutive game as they only mustered 69 points. They only got to the free throw line seven times on Monday night and five times last night. The Pacers would go on to win 88-69.

The 76ers will be looking to bounce back offensively against Charlotte. They have topped the 100 point mark in each of their last two meetings, most recently being the 104-98 in Charlotte on November 30th. Philadelphia has won their last four games against the Bobcats and their last three at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers have been borderline dominant against the Bobcats at the Wells Fargo Center as they are 11-3 all-time against the Bobcats in South Philadelphia. The Sixers have won four of their last six games after going 7-19 in their previous 26 games.

Who to Watch: Jrue Holiday. The Sixers are relying heavily on Holiday after the team announced yesterday that Jason Richardson  would miss the rest of the season due to knee surgery. Holiday has played 40 or more minutes in each of the last five games. He has been spectacular recently as he is averaging 22.1 points, 9.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds over the last 11 games. On the year he is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game.

The Bobcats come in struggling mightily this year. One player who is pulling his weight is guard Ramon Sessions. Sessions dropped 14 points on his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Wednesday night. He has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games entering the weekend. Of the six games, he has scored 20+ points four times. With Sessions playing well on the offensive end, they have Bismack Biyombo is swatting everything in sight on the defensive end. He has two or more blocks in 11 of his last 15 games. He set a career-high seven blocks on January 21st against the Rockets.

Who to Watch: Kemba Walker. Walker enters tonights matchup ranked fifth in the NBA in steals averaging 1.9 steals per game. In four games against the 76ers, he has 21 assists to just six turnovers. When it all comes down to it, Walker is a scorer in a point guard’s body. He leads the Bobcats averaging 17.5 points per game this season. The Sixers did a good job last time of keeping Walker in check offensively as he only scored 13 points but he dished out nine assists.

Tipoff is slated for 8:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Center. Tickets are still available. The game can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The 76ers looked like they had finally hit their stride over the last week. They were in the midst of a season-high three game winning streak before they fell to Pacers 88-69. Unfortunately on Monday, the team lost one of its stalwarts when forwardThaddeus Young went down with a hamstring injury. Young is now out for at least three weeks with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That is not good news for a Sixers team that was already without Andrew Bynum up front and Jason Richardson in the back court.

Richardson’s prognosis sounds even worse than Young’s. The Sixers denied a report from Y! Sports that said Richardson is going to have surgery to repair a “quarter size” cartilage tear in his left knee. Richardson has visited three different doctors and now will seek a fourth opinion before opting for surgery. Philadelphia Inquirer 76ers beat writer John Mitchell is reporting that Richardson was told by two of the three doctors he saw that it would be wise to go ahead with the surgery. The surgery and recovery will put the 32 year old shooting guard out of commission for six to nine months which means he is not guaranteed to be healthy by training camp next September/October if he goes ahead with the plan.

Richardson was acquired, along with Bynum, in a three team trade on August 10th that sent All-Star forward Andre Iguodala to Denver Nuggets and Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless to the Orlando Magic. In his first season in Philadelphia, Richardson started 33 games for the Sixers averaging 10.5 points per game. He was named one of the team’s three captains before the season along with Young and point guard Jrue Holiday .

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Sixers welcome the Indiana Pacers to the Wells Fargo Center tonight. They have won three straight games and are coming off of a stingy defensive night against the Wizards on Monday. The 76ers got out to a hot start as they jumped out 22-6 early in the first capitalizing on a number of first quarter Washington turnovers. They went ice cold after outscoring the Wizards 28-16. The 76ers would not score more than 18 points in any of the three remaining quarters. It was a rather boring game to watch as the 76ers only scored 14 points in the second quarter and the Wizards only scored 11 points in the third. The Sixers would cruise to a 78-61 victory but lost forward Thaddeus Young to a hamstring injury in the process. Young will be out three weeks with a grade 1 hamstring strain.

The 76ers have struggled against Indiana recently having lost three of the last four and eight of the last 12 matchups. The winning team has topped the 100 point mark in 10 of the last 13 games but not in the Pacers’ 95-85 win over the Sixers in December. This is the 76ers sixth straight home game and they won’t play on the road again for another week when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers three game winning streak is their longest since November. They are winners of four of their last five games and will look to win tonight to stretch their winning streak to a seaon-long four games.

Who to Watch: Spencer Hawes. Hawes has been in the starting lineup for the past five games after appearing exclusively off the bench in the team’s first 42 games. He has scored 10+ in each of the last three games. Since the turn of the New Year, he is averaging nearly two blocks per game (1.75).

Tipoff is slated for 7:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Center. The game can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Sixers cannot seem to catch a break… or get a straight answer. High profiled offseason acquisition Andrew Bynum  has yet to suit up for the 76ers and it is already February 5th. As of today, there is no set date for Bynum’s return. He has been sidelined with bone bruises and weak cartilage in both of his knees. Last Thursday Bynum went to New York to get injections of a lubricant into his knees to help his flexibility. This is nothing new for Bynum.

The pictures and videos have been out there of Bynum working out at the Sixers practice facility with coaches and trainers but Bynum has not gone up against his own teammates. He said that his right knee is not experiencing pain but that cannot be said for the other knee. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Mitchell is reporting that moving laterally is causing pain in the seven-footer’s left knee. He still expects to be back in February but still will not set a target date.

The 25 year old Bynum is coming off of a year in which he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game with the Lakers. The Plainsboro, N.J. native is slated to become a free agent at the end of the season.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The 76ers are in action tonight against the Sacramento Kings as they look to win back-to-back games for the first time since late November. The Sixers battled the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. They trailed early on to the Wizards as Washington held a 28-25 lead after the first quarter. Whatever was said in the huddle between the quarters clearly resonated with the 76ers as they came out and shut down the Wizards’ offense. The Sixers outscored Washington 23-11 with Emeka Okafor leading the way in the second quarter with two points. The two teams would play a back-and-forth second half but the 76ers would escape with a 92-84 victory. Jrue Holiday led all scorers with 21 points while the Wizards Okafor led the Wizards with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

The 76ers are welcoming an opponent to town which they have had tremendous success against. They have beaten the Kings in seven of their last eight meetings and have topped the 100 point mark in six of their last seven meetings. Of those six times, they have topped 110 points five times. They certainly have not lacked offense against Sacramento. They last met last year at the Wells Fargo Center with the Sixers winning 112-85. All time, the Sixers are 85-38 at home against the Kings. Tonight’s game is the fourth game of the Sixers eight game homestand. An interesting note is that the 76ers have hit 44 more shots than their opponents this season but have been outscored by 156 points.

Who to Watch: Evan Turner. Turner is coming off of a quiet game against the Wizards in which he only registered six points, four rebounds, and three assists in 37 minutes. He scored 20 or more points in each of the three games prior to Wednesday. He is 8-for-15 from 3-point range but has not hit a three pointer in two games. Turner is averaging 14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on the year.

The Kings are playing their fourth game on their six game road trip. They enter having lost five of their last six games and six of their last eight. The last time the Kings beat the 76ers was on March 27, 2011 when they won 114-111 in overtime at the Wells Fargo Center. The fact that the Sixers are outshooting opponents on the year does not bode well for the Kings who are 3-27 when being outshot by their opponent. They are 4-26 when trailing at halftime but are 13-4 when they have the lead heading into the locker room.

Who to Watch: DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is the Kings volatile center. He is averaging 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game on the year. He ranks first among centers in steals averaging 1.55 steals per game. His 17.3 points per game are second best among NBA centers and he also ranks second in the league among centers with 4.4 free throws per game. He has trouble control his temper as he leads the Kings with nine technical fouls and two flagrant (one of them was a flagrant-2) fouls so far this season.

Tipoff is slated for 7:30 pm at the Wells Fargo Center. Tickets are still available for the game. The game can be seen on The Comcast Network and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports