Sixers want more physical play from Lavoy Allen

It was a subtle prod at the end of a news conference that 76ers coach Doug Collins would like to deliver with the force of a jackhammer.

Collins had just spent a moment Sunday after the Sixers' 104-101 win over the Phoenix Suns talking about wanting center Lavoy Allen to continue taking those 15- to 17-foot jump shots that Allen likes.

"He's a very good shooter," Collins said when asked whether he was comfortable with Allen's taking that shot. "Our big guys - that's what they do. I'd like to say that we have guys who are going to pound it into the paint and stuff like that. But we just don't have that. We don't have those kinds of bigs. He's back there icing up."

That was a reference to Andrew Bynum, the big man whom Collins and all Sixers fans thought they would see a lot of this season.

But the Sixers (8-6) have long since put the Bynum situation out of their minds. On Tuesday night, they host Dallas (7-7), which hasn't played since it lost by 26 points at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

So the Sixers want to get Allen and their other big men more involved at both ends of the floor. In particular, they want to get more physical play out of them.

Though his team was able to hold off Phoenix down the stretch Sunday, Collins, who has been emphasizing better starts to games, was not happy that the Suns outrebounded the Sixers (26-16) in the first half, even though they rectified that by outrebounding the Suns (17-15) in the second.

Spencer Hawes managed just two rebounds and six points in 20 minutes, 25 seconds. And rookie Arnett Moultrie, who made his first appearance after playing just seven minutes in the eight previous games, played just eight minutes against the Suns but failed to score or grab a board.

"We've got to rebound that ball," Collins said.

"That's what they expect of me: to come in, rebound, and play defense," said the 6-foot-10 Moultrie, who led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding last season. "I've got to come in and play my role. That will give me opportunities at the offensive end."

The Sixers catch a bit of a break against the Mavericks, winners of 10 of the teams' last 12 meetings, because all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki is out after knee surgery in October.

Former Sixer Elton Brand, whom the Sixers waived via the NBA's amnesty provision this summer, has started in 12 of the Mavericks' 13 games. He is averaging 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. O.J. Mayo leads Dallas in scoring at 21.5 ppg.