Samuel Dalembert was admittedly frustrated at his limited playing time earlier this month. The Sixers' starting center had a tendency to find himself on the bench in the fourth quarter of games, with veteran Theo Ratliff and/or rookie Marreese Speights handling the bulk of the crunch-time minutes.
While Dalembert's minutes aren't back to what they were last season, he has been able to make more happen on the court since the Sixers returned from their six-game road trip, which has resulted in some more playing time for him. "I just realized what was going on," Dalembert said. "My time got limited, so I tried to find a way that I could contribute and do things I usually do in a longer period of time in a shorter period of time. I didn't want to point fingers or say anything. I just found a way. If I'm going to be on the floor for 15 or 20 minutes, this is what I'm going to have to do to have an impact quickly before I'm back on the bench."
In the last five games, all of which the Sixers have won, Dalembert is averaging 3.0 blocks after averaging 1.4 in the previous five games.
"Usually when he's on the floor, he rebounds and blocks shots," said Sixers head coach Tony DiLeo. "Sam's been very good."
While there have been a few trade rumors about Dalembert, he could be difficult to trade because his contract contains a 15 percent trade kicker that'd require the team acquiring him to pay an additional $4.5 million. In the meantime, he'll continue to try to guard guys like Greg Oden one-on-one to give the Sixers a better chance at preventing open perimeter shots because they don't have to double-team the opposing big man.
"I'm a defender and I'm proud of that," Dalembert said. "When I've got a guy who's going to be touching the ball a lot in the post, I want to make my job easier. I don't want to go out there and let the guy get too comfortable (because) before you know it you'll be in for a long, long night."
SIXERS 109, SPURS 87: The Sixers extended their win streak to six by dismantling San Antonio. They enjoyed a 51-40 rebounding advantage, shot .500 from the field to the Spurs' .365 and .571 from 3-point land to .333, and rang up 30 fast-break points to San Antonio's six in handing the Spurs their most one-sided loss of the season. Philly converted buzzer-beating 3-pointers at the end of each of the first three quarters, with Andre Iguodala hitting the first two and Lou Williams nailing one in the third.
Thaddeus Young tallied a career-high 27 points on 11 of 15 shooting. Iguodala added 21 points and eight assists for the Sixers (19-20), who also benefited from eight points and 12 rebounds from Samuel Dalembert.
