By Sean Kennedy
Hopefully that was a sign of things to come for the 76ers this season: a hard-fought, exciting game, some flashes of promise from some young players, and the all-important loss for the tanking campaign. The Sixers lost a tight contest down the stretch last night after going toe-to-toe with the powerful Thunder for most of the night in Manchester.
Behind some hot shooting from behind the arc (12-30, 40% 3PT for the game), the Sixers led by three at halftime. However, that was when Kevin Durant decided, preseason or not, he didn’t want to lose a game to a team projected to win less than 20 games this season. Durant (21 points, 12 assists) dropped 14 points in the third quarter alone, putting on a show of proficient outside shooting and powerful athleticism indicative of the best pure scorer in the league.
To Philadelphia’s credit, though, they went on a 11-2 run behind the efforts of Tony Wroten (team-high 20 points) to start the 4th quarter, tying the game at 85. Despite Durant sitting out the final frame, the Thunder ultimately prevailed due to great performances from Reggie Jackson (game-high 29 points) and Serge Ibaka (18 points, 11 rebounds). Still, it was an encouraging effort from the young 76ers, providing hope that while obviously not being a great team this season, they can be a competitive one.
Notable Observations:
– The Sixers went with the same starting five as against Bilbao Basket, as Michael Carter-Williams and James Anderson joined last year’s holdovers of Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes, and Evan Turner. Based on all indications, this will continue to be the initial group taking the floor for the foreseeable future. An interesting item on the Thunder side was Jeremy Lamb starting ahead of Thabo Sofolosha. It remains to be seen whether coach Scott Brooks just wanted a different look in a preseason game or if this something that will stick for them going forward.
– Three-point bonanza! After last season’s brick-laying contest, most fans expected more of the same from Philadelphia in terms of outside shooting. A 12-30 effort from downtown will be a welcome sight from this bunch if they can approximate that effort throughout the season. Thad Young (2-2 3PT) showed off his evolving game now that he’s out from Doug Collins’ ‘electric fence’. Perhaps most notably, Carter-Williams (3-5 3PT) and Tony Wroten (4-8 3PT) both had strong shooting performances for players where perimeter range is the major question mark for their games. Continued signs of improvement from them in this area is the best sign for the franchise long-term.
– Speaking of Tony Wroten, that man is a player. In addition to the outside shooting, Wroten again showed the tenacity in attacking the basket he displayed against Bilbao. Wroten is also very active on defense, getting his hands into a lot of passing lanes. He was again in the team’s crunch-time lineup, this time replacing Hawes as the team went with a small-ball group on the court. With Carter-Williams likely having a long leash at starter with the organization’s eye on long-term development, the former Memphis Grizzly will certainly be the main man for the Sixers ‘Night Shift’ this season.
– Two former Temple Owls, Lavoy Allen and Khalif Wyatt, saw their first action of the exhibition season. Allen provided the sort of nondescript performance we came to expect from him last season, while Wyatt also did not stand out much in his limited action.
– The next game for the Sixers will be against the Celtics in Delaware Friday. That contest should provide an excellent measuring stick for Philadelphia, facing another team expected to place toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Tank Watch: With some strong efforts from young players in Wroten and Carter-Williams, and a hard-fought defeat, this game had pretty much everything you want from a tanking perspective.
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