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**Coatesvillain** · 10-31-2004, 12:43 AM

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With training camp and preseason games behind them, the 76ers began preparing yesterday for the games that really count. They open the NBA regular season Wednesday in Boston against the Celtics.

Throughout the preseason, there have been plenty of positive vibrations emanating from the Sixers, but that doesn't mean there aren't concerns. Or at least some leaks to fix.

Even though it is unwise to put too much stock in preseason records, the Sixers did finish 6-2 in their exhibition games. Coming off a season in which they finished 33-49, creating a winning atmosphere - even if it is the preseason - isn't a bad thing.

The consensus is that the Sixers should be an improved team this season. But they still have much work to do, and nobody realizes that more than first-year coach Jim O'Brien.

Yesterday, after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, O'Brien was asked what wasn't to like about the Sixers' preseason. He didn't hesitate with his response.

"Turnovers and our inability to keep certain teams off the glass," he said.

The Sixers averaged 18.5 turnovers per game in the preseason. Opponents averaged 43.8 rebounds per game; the Sixers had 40.1. The Sixers also were outrebounded on the offensive glass, 11.9 to 9.3.

Six of the 76ers' preseason games were decided by five points or fewer; four of them were decided by three points or fewer. That is why O'Brien continues to harp on taking care of the basketball.

"Fifty percent of our games in preseason were decided by three points or less, and that is one possession," O'Brien said. "You have to be able to value the basketball more than we have been valuing it."

One reason for the turnovers, according to O'Brien, is spotty decision-making, especially with players trying to take a defender off the dribble.

In their preseason finale on Thursday, a 96-94 loss to the Nets in New Jersey, the Sixers committed 19 turnovers. Allen Iverson, Willie Green and Aaron McKie, the three players chiefly responsible for handling the ball, totaled just four turnovers. The rest of the team had 15.

"I think sometimes we have people dribbling the basketball out of control that shouldn't be dribbling it - period," O'Brien said.

O'Brien said there also have been a number of positives. Among them are offense that is much more freewheeling - it emphasizes the transition game - than in previous years.

"We are turning the other team over at a very high rate and will continue to do so," O'Brien said. "We have a number of offensive weapons, and we were one of the higher teams in preseason in scoring. Our field-goal offense is up high."

Statistics support O'Brien. The Sixers forced 20.1 turnovers per game in the preseason, and their field-goal percentage was 44.5 percent. They entered last night's games third in the NBA in scoring, with 98 points per game.

The players have embraced O'Brien's new offense, which should allow the Sixers to generate more transition baskets. Last season the Sixers scored relatively few easy baskets; it showed in their field-goal percentage, 42.8 percent.

"I'm free on court and able to get up and down the court on made and missed baskets," Iverson said.

Iverson, who is making the adjustment to point guard, averaged 18.4 points in the preseason.

"I'm put in predicaments where I can help my teammates out and make things easier on myself," he said.

The Sixers have three more days of practice until the opener. They won't fix everything by opening day, but O'Brien and the team feel good about the preseason progress.

If they can reduce turnovers and improve their rebounding, the Sixers' record should improve, too. Young players like Green and rookie Andre Iguodala, both of whom are expected to play prominent roles, also have given the 76ers some needed youthful enthusiasm.

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