High-flying Summer Sixers take down Jazz
That certainly looks like a Nick Nurse coached team.
The 76ers picked up their first summer league win, knocking off the Utah Jazz 104-94 Wednesday night. Philly turned the Jazz over 22 times as they erased a 14-point first quarter deficit.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
The key to a watchable Summer League team is plenty of athleticism and, for lack of a better word, bounciness. This year’s Sixers squad certainly has that. They blocked five shots in the first half, four of them by perimeter players.
Ricky Council IV picked up right where he left off Monday night in trying to bring down the backboard and rim. Six of his 14 points came from plays like this.
He has also made it his mission to turn every three-point opportunity into a pull-up two. Council IV took three extremely reluctant shots from beyond the arc. He’s struggled to find the net whenever he isn’t dunking the ball, but he still finished with five assists, a steal, and three blocks to go along with those 14 points.
It was a lot of the same for Jaden Springer, who finished with 18 points on 4 of 12 shooting, but a couple of highlight reel plays on the defensive end.
Jaden Springer blocks the shot at the rim and then hits the step-back 3 pic.twitter.com/zl3SurzfaC — Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) July 6, 2023
He got to the line quite often, 10 times to be exact, but he finished hardly any of his drives on the night. There’s plenty of room for pessimism on the development of his three-point jumper as well. He is also not the quickest to hoist them up, and his release point is still down by his chest.
Terq Smith had some more exciting flurries, he shot 6 of 16 on the night and assisted in Council’s fireworks with an alley oop, but the high man tonight was Javonte Smart with 19. Smart got moved into the starting lineup and responded with a 7-of-10 shooting performance. His three-point release is something, to be sure, but he has quite a few impressive finishes at the rim through two games.
The Sixers are back in action tomorrow night when they take on Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Source: Liberty Ballers
