25-year old guard Lou Williams has an Early Termination Option in his contract or he could play for the Sixers for $5.35 million bucks in 2012-13.  The Sixers hope that Williams will stay, as he was the leading scorer for them despite coming off the bench.  He could get a higher offer from another team and a chance to start, which would have to appeal to him.  Williams played in 64 games (0 starts) for the 76ers last year and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 14.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 455 games (38 starts) in his seven years with the Sixers and he is averaging 21.9 minutes, 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  Williams is #5 now in Sixers’ history with 373 three pointers made.

UPDATE:  (6/17/2012) – Lou Williams has opted out of his contract with the Sixers.  He wouldn’t mind re-signing with them, but not at a discount.

The 76ers took a team of good players without big time stars, and they played well as a team, getting them to the second round of the playoffs where they fell in seven hard fought games against the Boston Celtics.  The 76ers were 35-31 (53%) during the regular season and 7-6 (53.8%) during the playoffs.  Here is a look at the players that stood out the most to me on the Sixers in 2011-12:

Team MVP:  Andre Iguodala – 28-year old small forward Andre Iguodala played well on both ends of the court last year for the 76ers.  He played in 62 games (all starts) for the 76ers last year and he averaged 35.6 minutes, 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Biggest Surprise:  Spencer Hawes – 24-year old center Spencer Hawes was a lot tougher around the basket in 2011-12, when he was healthy.  Hawes played in 37 games (29 starts) for the Sixers this year and he averaged 24.9 minutes, 9.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.

Biggest Disappointment:  Sam Young – 26-year old SG/SF Sam Young came to the Sixers in a trade deadline deal with the Grizzlies, but he didn’t play well for them.  Young played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Sixers last year and he averaged 9.6 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Young only shot 29.5% from the floor for the Sixers.

Head coach Doug Collins got his Sixers to buy into playing as a team and the results were pretty good in 2011-12.  The 76ers finished with a 35-31 (53%) record during the regular season and they were 7-6 (53.8%) in the playoffs in 2011-12.  Collins is now 76-72 (51.4%) in his first two regular season as the 76ers’ head coach.  He is also 8-10 (44.4%) in the playoffs for the Sixers.  Collins has now been a head coach for 10 years in the NBA, and he has compiled a 408-359 (53.2%) record during the regular season and he is 23-33 (41.1%) in the playoffs.  Collins got the most he could out of his roster in 2011-12.

The Philadelphia 76ers got solid work out of their rookie class in 2011-12.  23-year old PF/C Lavoy Allen was quite a find for the Sixers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.  Allen played in 41 games (15 starts) for the Sixers last year and he averaged 15.2 minutes, 4.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He has a nice upside.  21-year old C Nikola Vucevic also had a decent rookie season.  Vucevic played in 51 games (15 starts) for the Sixers last year and he averaged 15.9 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He will be a starter in the near future for the 76ers.  24-year old shooting guard Xavier Silas joined the Sixers late in the season.  He only played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Sixers and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 5.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game on a paltry 26.7% shooting from the floor.

The 76ers only shot 35% from the floor last night but they were in the game until late in the 4th quarter.  Andre Iguodala led the way for the Sixers last night with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.  Elton Brand also had a decent game before fouling out as he finished up with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.  Jrue Holiday only shot 5 of 17 from the floor and he turned the ball over four times, but he still finished up with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals last night.  The Sixers’ season is over now after losing in 7 hard fought games to the Celtics.

The Sixers turned up the D last night as they held the Celtics to 33.3% shooting from the floor, and it was the big reason for the nice home win.  Jrue Holiday led the way for the Sixers with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.  Elton Brand also had a solid game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Andre Iguodala (12 points), Evan Turner (12 points) and Lou Williams (11 points) also pitched in for the Sixers last night.  The Sixers have forced a deciding Game #7 in Boston this Saturday afternoon.

The Sixers got thumped 54-35 in the second half last night and it cost them this game.  Elton Brand led the way for the Sixers last night with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Lavoy Allen (12 points and 2 rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor) and Evan Turner (11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists) also had decent games for the Sixers.  Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday pitched in with 10 points apiece in this game.  The Sixers are now down 3-2 in this series.

The Sixers outrebounded the Celtics 52-38 and they outscored them 33-20 in the 4th quarter to put them away for good.  Andre Iguodala (16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists) and Evan Turner (16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) led the way for the Sixers last night.  Lou Williams also had a solid game with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal last night.  Thaddeus Young (12 points) and Jrue Holiday (11 points) also pitched in for the Sixers last night.  The 76ers are tied with the Celtics at 2 wins apiece in this series.

The Sixers were down 89-66 after three quarters last night before the Celtics called off the dogs.  Thaddeus Young led the way for the Sixers with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 26 minutes off the bench.  Jrue Holiday had a solid offense game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Lou Williams (13 points), Jodie Meeks (13 points) and Andre Iguodala (10 points) also pitched in for the 76ers last night.  The Sixers are now down 2-1 to the Celtics.

The Sixers outrebounded the Celtics 47-36 last night and it was a huge factor in helping them nip them in Boston.  Jrue Holiday led the way for the Sixers with 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.  Andre Iguodala had another rock solid game with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal.  Lavoy Allen (10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots) and Evan Turner (10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also came up big for the Sixers last night.  The Sixers are now tied up at 1 game apiece with the Celtics as the series shifts to Philly.