Doug Collins Wants Spencer Hawes to Play Like Pau Gasol

With the addition of center Andrew Bynum, Philadelphia 76ers big man Spencer Hawes will likely slide over to the power forward position next season. And Sixers coach Doug Collins, who is responsible for making the pieces effectively co-exist, wants Hawes to use his passing and midrange skills to compliment Bynum the same way Pau Gasol used to in Los Angeles. Via NBA.com: “Collins, though, wants Hawes and Bynum to emulate the play of a different towering tandem, one that was disbanded earlier this month—Pau Gasol and, you guessed it, Andrew Bynum. ‘I want (Hawes) to play the Pau Gasol role with Bynum,’ Collins said. ‘Both (Hawes and Gasol) like to play out on the perimeter because they can shoot the ball and are very good passers.’ The Spanish forward-center, Gasol, averaged 17.4 points, 10.4 boards, and 3.7 assists in 2011-12, working largely in the high post to create space for his 285-pound frontcourt-mate. If the Sixers can get near the kind of offensive output from Hawes and Bynum that Gasol and Bynum were able to produce in Los Angeles, the team will undoubtedly be thrilled.”