Minnesota No Match for “Veteran” Sixers

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Philadelphia 109, Minnesota 99 – Box Score

You can keep your pair of first overall picks, Minnesota. Behind a complete team effort, the Philadelphia 76ers used a 16-5 fourth quarter run to top the Wolves and grab their fourth win of the season. As a team, the Sixers shot a season-high 55.2% from the field (despite only going 4-20 from three), out-rebounded the Wolves by 10, and displayed a fun factor exponentially higher than Minnesota. Unlike the previous game against the Clippers, this time it was Philadelphia throwing lobs, blocking shots, and getting out in transition for easy buckets (22-10 advantage in fast break points).

When Jerry Colangelo came on board as Chairman of Basketball Operations for the Sixers, he talked about the need for the team to have veteran leaders on the court. The first major move was bringing back Ish Smith. Monday night, Smith did a tremendous job orchestrating the offense, recording 21 points on 9-16 shooting and 11 assists; the Sixers are now 3-3 since bringing him back.

A guy that was already on the roster, but a veteran nonetheless, Carl Landry had his long-two/offensive rebound game working, dropping 16 points off the bench on 8-11 shooting. Finally, it was the beginning of the second Elton Brand era in Philadelphia, as the team released Christian Wood before the game to make room for the Old School Chevy. Brand was not yet eligible to play Monday night, but he certainly looked good in a suit and I’m sure had some sage words of wisdom for the young big men.

Speaking of the young big men, although the starting tandem of Nerlens Noel (10 points on 5-6 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Jahlil Okafor (10 points on 5-8 shooting) both played well enough, it was rookie Richaun Holmes who stole the show. Holmes finished with 17 points on 7-10 shooting, hitting the mid-range jumper, finishing inside, and working the pick-and-roll beautifully with both Smith and back-up point guard TJ McConnell. TJ had a nice game himself with 9 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals in just 17 minutes. Still, Holmes was easily the most impressive rookie on the night, which is quite the feat in a game that included Okafor and first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns (only 8 points and 6 rebounds amidst foul trouble).

With some stabilizing pieces in place, the Sixers have finally begun to look like a professional basketball team on most nights over the last couple weeks. We’ll see if they can play the part against a much better opponent (and grab their first Eastern Conference win) Thursday night against Atlanta.