Catching Up on the Sixers as They Head Back to College

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Well, I know the Sixers are young, but the NBA sending them back to college seems like a little bit much. Tonight, Brett Brown’s squad will do battle in the Carrier Dome of Syracuse University, where they’ll take on Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks. The game is the Knicks’ annual try to ensure their reach extends past the 5 boroughs of New York City and out to the upper part of the state.

Before we touch on that contest though, let’s round back to that untelevised game Friday night in Minnesota, a contest the Sixers were right in the entire way, eventually losing 116-110. Maybe it was for the best Sixers fans didn’t get to see it because it might have been too painful with what could have been in top overall pick Andrew Wiggins. The rookie finished with 11 points on 5-10, hitting his lone three-point attempt on the evening. However, he also flushed an alley-oop from Ricky Rubio off the break (expect that sequence to happen countless times this season), had a few nice finishes in the lane, and just generally oozed all that potential scouts have drooled over for the past year and half. As for the non-Wiggins T-wolves, playing against his old team, Thad Young’s outside shot was off the mark all night. He did still manage 12 points, and racked up 5 assists, including one nice find of Wiggins in the lane for an and-one, and picked off a lazy Alexey Shved pass for a breakaway dunk going the other way.

Most notably from the Sixers’ perspective, K.J. McDaniels came off the bench to hit 2-3 threes and record 12 points. If he can continue to provide any semblance of production on the offense end, he’ll be a lock in that wing rotation given his defensive prowess and versatility. Chris Johnson also had a nice outing, hitting 2-4 threes for 8 points in just 14 minutes, finishing with a team-high +17 plus-minus as he looks to secure a roster spot. Overall, not a bad effort to keep things close throughout the game considering the team was down three starters in Michael Carter-Williams, Hollis Thompson, and Nerlens Noel, who sat with a minor thigh injury.

Back to tonight’s game, I’m very curious to see how far along the Knicks are in installing the new triangle offense spearheaded by the executive-coach tandem of Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher. If that pair can finally get through to Anthony as far as not having the ball stick in his hands, I’d be excited to see how such a dominant scorer could operate in a free-flowing offense. Tonight’s game might not be the best indication of that progress, as I’m sure Anthony wants to put on a show on his old stomping grounds where he just about single-handedly carried the Orange to a national championship.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like the two Syracuse alumni on the Sixers roster will get a chance to suit up on their old college court, as Michael Carter-Williams remains out and Jerami Grant is battling an ankle injury. One good new for Sixers fans concerns Noel being expected to return to action, as the big man has been practicing the last two days. If the Knicks go with Carmelo at the 4 for any length of time, I’d be very intrigued to see Noel match up with him, as he showed a penchant for being able to handle quicker players on the perimeter during summer league, but obviously the Knicks star would be a whole different animal. Whatever the match-ups wind up being, the Sixers have shown great strides in a lot of areas in the two games since their opening stinker against Boston; hopefully, that progress continues tonight.