Sixers Start Preseason With a Bang, Then A Whimper

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Celtics 98, Sixers 78 – Box Score

First off, Boston is going to be bad this season, especially a Boston team without Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green on the floor. So everything about the Sixers’ performance Monday night should be viewed through that sort of curve. Still, the Sixers looked ‘not terrible’ for a good portion of their preseason opener, as they led for the majority of the first half and went into the locker room at halftime leading 48-44.

The Celtics broke the game open in the second half when the Sixers went with lineups that included the likes of Brandon Davies, JaKarr Sampson, Casper Ware, and Chris Johnson. Depth is again going to be a problem for the Sixers, since their main guys are players who would at best be considered depth for better teams. Still, just don’t check the score and think this was another typical Sixers blow-out. Although I’m sure Evan Turner feels amazing today about racking up 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists against his old club, and will conveniently ignore that most of those stats came again our deep bench guys who may not be on an NBA roster in a couple weeks.

Results notwithstanding, it’s the preseason and player growth is really what we’re watching for here. Let’s take a look at some of the important observations from the preseason opener:

• Tony Wroten is still not a point guard. He received the start for the rehabbing Michael Carter-Williams, and ostensibly will do the same whenever a fill-in is required during the regular season. The lack of a true back-up point guard will cost the Sixers a game or two (not that the front office minds). Wroten is a natural scorer and does a number of nice things on the court, but orchestrating an offense is not one of them. He committed 6 turnovers, many of which were of the unforced variety, as he barreled into stationary defenders in the lane, dribbled too much and lost the handle, or made just a plain ill-advised pass. Brett Brown talked throughout training camp about how he wanted to see Wroten play with more poise; I didn’t see it in this first outing.
• Nerlens Noel is very much a work-in-progress offensively. The not-really-a-rookie missed his first 6 shots and finished 2-9 from the field with 4 turnovers before fouling out in the fourth quarter. More importantly was how he missed those shots. Noel had a ugly post move against Kelly Olynyk (of all people) that looked as herky jerky as when you’re messing with the right joystick in the post during a game of NBA2k. He also attempted an 18-footer that looked awful when it left his hand and barely drew iron. Add in the fact that Jared Sullinger bullied Noel down low on at least one occasion that I saw and it wasn’t a great opener for the Sixers big man.
• On the bright side, Hollis Thompson did his best Dylan impersonation, spitting hot fire on his way to 15 points in just 22 minutes on perfect 5-5 shooting from the field. Thompson made all three of his three-point attempts, confidently putting them up with a very quick release. It’s important that Thompson has worked on getting his shot off right away, as teams are going to key on him much more this season given his rookie season success and his role as the Sixers’ most dangerous outside shooter. He also made a nice cut to the basket for a hoop and through the first test of the season, has dispelled any thoughts of a sophomore slump.
• Finally, Arnett Moultrie looked noticeably slimmer, and seemed to get up and down the floor much better than a season ago. His game hasn’t really changed, as he relied almost exclusively on a mid-range jumper, hitting 6-10 shots for 12 points. Still, Moultrie actually has good size for a power forward and would make a better option at the back-up 4 than a lot of the undersized tweeners I expected the Sixers to throw out there. I guess the threat of never again receiving an NBA contract was enough motivation for Moultrie to put down the joints and finally work himself into shape.