Haitian Dalembert plays inspired basketball despite tragedy in home country

Basketball has to be one of the furthest things from the mind of Sixer and native Haitian Samuel Dalembert. After a massive earthquake in his home country has taken the lives of tens of thousands, one wouldn't blame Dalembert if he took a few games off to deal with the devastation and contact family members still in the country. Instead, Dalembert played some of his most inspired basketball of the season, pulling down 21 boards and scoring 12 points on Wednesday night as the Sixers fell, 93-92, to the Knicks.

This one game isn't a fluke for Dalembert, who has been wildly inconsistent in his career but has been playing better of late. Dalembert has seen an uptick in his numbers recently, posting 15 rebounds per game and nearly 13 points per game in his last 5. Wednesday night was also the second 20 rebound performance in 5 games for Dalembert, who credits his resurgence to the return of Allen Iverson. Apparently, Iverson has inspired Dalembert to play with effort night in and night out, something he hasn't done for most of his career.

While the Sixers narrowly missed winning their 3rd straight game when they failed to d-up in the final seconds, they seem to be playing better basketball in their recent games. While they certainly won't be making the playoffs, a pathetic notion considering how weak the Eastern Conference is, the Sixers also don't look anything like the team that lost 12 straight games just a month ago.

Sam Dalembert deserves a ton of credit for putting forth maximum effort despite a heavy heart. Let's hope things get better not only for his family but for everyone dealing with tragedy in Haiti.