Christian Wood Playing Like He Belongs

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

San Antonio 95, Philadelphia 91 – Box Score

After the huge anticipation for Monday night’s Utah Summer League opener, Tuesday’s contest was a bit of a letdown for Sixers fans with the news prior to the game that Ben Simmons, T.J. McConnell, Richaun Holmes, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and yes, even James Nunnally would all be sitting out. The absence of Monday’s starting 5 meant that in all likelihood, none of the guys taking the court for the Summer Sixers will be in an actual Sixers uniform when the regular season begins this fall.

The one guy hoping to be the exception to that perceived reality is Christian Wood. The second-year man impressed for the second consecutive day in Salt Lake City, once again leading the team in scoring with 19 points. His outside shot continues to look more consistent, having knocked down 2 of his 3 three-point attempts on the afternoon. Wood also looks aggressive on both ends of the court, getting to the foul line often (hitting 7-11 from the charity stripe), and grabbing 7 rebounds in his 19+ minutes of action. The proverbial “he added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason” is no joke with Wood, who definitely isn’t the rail-thin forward we saw last year.

Remember that the Sixers opted not to pick up the qualifying offer for Wood earlier this offseason, meaning he’s an unrestricted free agent. In a marketplace that just gave a broken-down Timofey Mozgov $64 million, it’s hard to believe there aren’t a few teams that would like to see what this improved version of Wood could do against NBA competition this upcoming season. Given the current realities of the Sixers roster, it’s unlikely that will happen in Philadelphia, but don’t be surprised when some team offers Wood an NBA contract within the next few months.

As for what actually happened in the game, it was very reminiscent of many Sixers contests over the past few years, as the team fell into a big deficit (trailing 85-65), only to furiously rally back but ultimately fall short. San Antonio’s Johnathan Simmons, who played 15 minutes per game in more than 50 appearances for the Spurs last season, dropped a Utah Summer League-record 35 points, although he did also commit 9 turnovers. Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes also tallied 23 points apiece.

The Sixers will look to secure their first win in what is their final game in Utah, Thursday evening against the Jazz. Ben Simmons and the rest of the starters are expected to be back in action.