NBA Standings 2012: Philadelphia 76ers First Place In Atlantic Division; Tied For Third Overall In Eastern Conference

Saturday's 95-74 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons helped the Philadelphia 76ers keep the first-place spot in the NBA Standings. As of Sunday, the 76ers (14-6) have a four-game advantage over the Boston Celtics (9-9) in the East Conference's Atlantic Division, which features the New Jersey Nets (7-13) and New York Knicks (7-13) in third place and the Toronto Raptors (6-14) in last place.

Overall, the 76ers, who have won three of their last four games, are in third-place tie in the Eastern Conference standings with the Atlanta Hawks (14-6). Currently, the Chicago Bulls (17-4) are in first place, while the Miami Heat (14-5) are in second place.

For more Philadelphia 76ers coverage, visit our team page or our blog Liberty Ballers.

76ers Vs. Pistons: Andre Iguodala's Triple Double Leads Sixers In 95-74 Blowout

Andre Iguodala put up his 8th career triple double as the Sixers blew out the Pistons 95-74 to move to 14-6 on the season and 10-2 at the Wells Fargo Center. Iguodala’s triple double was the minimum as he recorded exactly 10 points, 10 assists & 10 rebounds.

This game ends the relatively easy part of the Sixers schedule with visits from the Orlando Magic on Monday, Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and Miami Heat on Friday on the horizon. One of the criticisms of this upstart Sixers squad has been that they’ve largely beat up on bad teams, and while that is true… they really have beaten them up. Tonight was no different as they took an 11 point lead into the half, extended it to 17 in the opening minutes of the third quarter and never allowed the Pistons within 9 the rest of the way.

The SIxers’ trademark stifling defense was on display as they held the Pistons to just 31 first half points, the teams’ second-fewest in any half this season. As Ruben Frank pointed out, the Sixers have held four teams below 75 points this month. That’s the same amount of time they’ve held an opponent under 75 in their previous six seasons.

Lou Williams led all scorers with 17. The Sixers will hope to get some of their depleted front line back by Monday, as Dwight Howard and the Magic come to town.

76ers Vs. Pistons Preview: Beware Of Greg Monroe

The Philadelphia 76ers will host the 4-16 Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.

76ers Vs. Bobcats: Sixers Defeat Bobcats 89-72

The Philadelphia 76ers bounced back from an overtime loss to the New Jersey Nets on Friday night when they defeated the Charlotte Bobcats at home by a score of 89-72. By doing so, the Sixers now have a record 13-6 which puts them in third place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bobcats now have a record of 3-17, which puts them in last place in the conference and in the Southeast Division.

The 76ers were led by guard Lou Williams, who came off the bench to score 17 points. Starters Jrue Holiday scored 15, Jodie Meeks scored 14, Andre Iguodala scored nine and both Elton Brand and Tony Battle scored four points. Thaddeus Young came off the bench to score 10 while Lavoy Allen added eight and Evan Turner and Andres Nocioni both scored four points.

The Bobcats were led by guard Kemba Walker, who scored 14 points in Philly. Boris Diaw scored 10, Tyrus Thomas scored nine, Gerald Henderson scored seven and DeSagana Diop added four. Both Matt Carroll and Derrick Brown came off the bench to add 11 points while Byron Mullens scored four and Bismack Biyombo added two.

The 76ers' next game is also at home against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ET) and the Bobcats, who have now lost seven games in a row, go home to host the Washington Wizards on the same day.

For more updates on the 76ers, head to Liberty Ballers, and on the Bobcats, go to Rufus On Fire.

Philadelphia 76ers Sign Francisco Elson

With injuries sidelining both their starting center, Spencer Hawes, and back up center, Nikola Vucevic, the Sixers have offiically announced the signing of veteran big man Francisco Elson, according to Public Relations Director, Michael Preston:

#Sixers announce signing of veteran center Francisco Elson. He will wear no. 16 and is at morning practice. The roster now stands at 14.

The 35 year old Elson was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft and debuted in 2003. He's from the Netherlands and went to school at the University of California. He's played for six different NBA teams, including the Sixers, of whom he played precisely four minutes for.

This time around Elson has changed his number from 8 to 16 and is likely to get more than four minutes. The Sixers front court lacks serious depth following injuries to Hawes and Vucevic, along with the early-season trade of Marreese Speights.

For more on the 76ers, check out Liberty Ballers and this fantastic open letter to Francisco Elson from two years ago.

76ers Schedule 2012: Bobcats And Pistons Come To Town

After dropping a game they shouldn't have against New Jersey Nets on Wednesday, the 12-6 Philadelphia 76ers will need to bounce back and take care of business against two interior opponents this weekend before the schedule toughens. Friday and Saturday the Sixers will host the Bobcats and Pistons whose combined record is 7-31. Losing one or both of these games will be crushing for the team's psyche with opponents like the Bulls, Heat and Lakers coming up on the schedule.

Up to this point the Sixers have enjoyed the second easiest schedule in the NBA, but following this weekend's games against the Pistons and Bobcats they face possibly their toughest six-game stretch of the season. Beginning January 30 and ending February 10, the Sixers will face the: Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers. All but the Hawks game will be played at the Wells Fargo Center, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the Sixers will be facing seven teams with a combined record of 87-42.

For more Philadelphia 76ers coverage, visit our team page or our blog Liberty Ballers.

76ers Vs. Bobcats Preview: Sixers Look To Bounce Back

The Philadelphia 76ers face off against the league-worst Charlotte Bobcats tonight.