Philadelphia 76ers-Atlanta Hawks: Andre Iguodala Shines as 76ers Improve

Friday night the Philadelphia 76ers lost their second straight game to the Atlanta Hawks 104-101.

Although they have dropped the past two games, neither were expected wins. In fact, no one expected them to hang with either elite team in the Eastern Conference.

After entering the second half down by a deficit of 10 points, the Sixers turned on the afterburners and out-scored the Hawks by seven points.

This may not have been enough to pull off the big "W," but we witnessed a lot of improvement individually.

Andre Iguodala had a stellar performance by scoring 27 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds.

In order for our team to be successful, we need a scorer. If Iggy proves he can be that scorer, then we have a chance of being successful.

Elton Brand played a lot better, scoring 20 and getting eight boards. This is the production we need from him every game.

This is why we paid him the big bucks.

As for Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni, they played well.

Hawes didn't put up the best statistics, but he played on the floor defensively and just gave the offense more flow.

Nocioni played great off the bench.

Scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds, he set off the spark to the comeback in the second half.

Throughout the season, his tough, gritty way of playing will help the team.

On to Evan Turner. Let me be the first to tell you not to panic.

Although he didn't follow up the way he played against the Heat, he played well off the ball.

If Iguodala and Turner are playing at the same time, then they cannot both be productive.

Fans have to understand that some nights one is going to have to play off the other and most of time, it will be what we saw tonight: Turner playing off of Iguodala.

The other thing fans need to know is that this is not a bad thing.

This could be a great learning experience for the young player.

Overall, we played a good game.

The only thing left to improve on is fouling and contesting shots.

In the first two games of the season, they have allowed 31 foul shots each game. Do the math, folks.

That's 62 foul shot opportunities in just two games.

As a result, the Hawks took advantage and scored 26 points.

It's amazing how much a game relies on free throws.

Contesting shots is pretty self-explanatory.

The defense has just been watching the opposing team take jumpers from beyond the perimeter.

At one point, Hawes had to come out from the middle and contest a shot at the three-point line because no one else was doing it.

Other than that, things are for once looking good for the Sixers.

They have definitely showed some good signs in their first two games of the season.

If they keep it up, expect them to go far and possibly make a playoff run.