Minnesota Timberwolves

99

Final Recap | Box Score

109

Philadelphia 76ers

	Nerlens Noel, PF 31 MIN | 5-6 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | -3 +/-A near double-double for #4 who appears to have more energy and more passion since he returned to the first-five. On the defensive end he was a huge factor with 3 blocks and forcing a number of altered shots.
	Jerami Grant, SF 22 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 2 PTS | 0 +/-Foul trouble limited Grant’s ability to contribute last night, but when Grant was on the floor he did a nice job of guarding Wiggins.
	Jahlil Okafor, C 21 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-1 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 10 PTS | -2 +/-Obviously I would like to see Jah grab more boards, but I have to give hime credit for putting the Sixers on his back in the early 3rd Q with 6 straight points that helped propel this team to a win.
	Ish Smith, PG 30 MIN | 9-16 FG | 0-0 3FG | 3-3 FT | 4 REB | 11 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 21 PTS | 0 +/-21 pts. and 11 dimes against only 4 TOs…Now that’s a floor general. Ish simply took over this game during clutch time and scored 6 straight points for the 76ers. The Sixers are now 3-3 since Smith joined the squad on 12/26/15 which means I have a love-hate relationship with the new PG. I love Ish’s game and the way the team plays with him in the lineup, but I hate the fact that his play will likely blow the Sixers’ chances of landing the No.1 pick at Draft16.
	Nik Stauskas, SG 29 MIN | 2-6 FG | 1-2 3FG | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +6 +/-You had to know there was no way “Sauce Castillo” could string together back-to-back solid games. Stauskas wasn’t awful last night, but the Sixers need more from the SG spot. Somewhere Kendall Marshall’s dad is saying, “I told you so…”

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Los Angeles Lakers

91

FinalRecap | Box Score

103

Philadelphia 76ers

	Robert Covington, SF 34 MIN | 8-16 FG | 5-11 3FG | 2-4 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 23 PTS | +18 +/-Cov continues to play at a very high level (21 ppg. over his last 3 contests) and last night he was simply on fire. His 9 points in the 3rd quarter helped the 76ers grab the lead in this game. Then in the 4th Q Cov drained a huge 3-ball that pushed the Sixers to close out a game for once.
	Jerami Grant, SF 31 MIN | 6-7 FG | 0-1 3FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 4 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | +7 +/-I’m not sure what got into Grant coming out of the locker room after half time, but Brett Brown may want to bottle it up for future use. Grant scored 8 points in the 2nd half, but to me it seemed like he simply took over the game with his athletecism and energy.
	Jahlil Okafor, C 30 MIN | 6-14 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-1 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +13 +/-A solid night for Jah, especially considering this was his first home game since all of the off-the-court issues came to light. However it have become obvious to me that right now the rookie struggles when matched up against true centers such as Hibbert and D12.
	Isaiah Canaan, PG 30 MIN | 4-9 FG | 4-7 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | +13 +/-Canaan is a shoot first player and tonight because his shot was “on”, so mentality that worked for the Brown and the Sixers for three quarters. However, if you watched the 4th Q closely, you probably noticed that after a few ill-advised plays by Canaan, Brown replaced him with McConnell for clutch time.
	JaKarr Sampson, SG 19 MIN | 0-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-4 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 2 PTS | +10 +/-Between Stauskas and Sampson, it’s like nobody wants top grab the starting SG job and own it.

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This 2015-16 season opening edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” – Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews key upcoming 76ers games – features tonight’s opponent, the Boston Celtics a team many “experts” are predicting will be a playoff bound squad (AGAIN) at the end of the 2015-16 season.

After the jump, I’ll look a Fo’ key items for tonight’s game.  Additionally, we’ll get a little more insight into this Boston team the Sixers face tonight from our colleague Chuck McKenney at redsarmy.com, as Chuck will answer Fo’ questions on his Celtics squad from us here at Philadunkia.

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For the past two seasons the word that has consistently been associated with 76ers basketball is “rebuilding” (some may claim the word is “tanking”).  Now in year three of General Manager Sam Hinkie’s master rebuilding plan, the City of Brotherly Love is expecting to see some progress. After all, rebuilds can’t last forever and eventually an improving product needs to be seen night in and night out on the court at The Center.

To his credit, Hinkie sounds optimistic about year three of trusting the process.  And he should…I mean they can only get better right?  During a fourteen-minute media session last week Hinkie covered a range of questions and hinted that he believes the Sixers will improve on the court in 2015-16.   A coachable group of young, skilled players who are willing to put the work in seems to be main reason Hinkie acknowledged that we should expect a step forward from the Sixers this season.

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After a solid rookie campaign in which he was the only player in the League to finish with over 100 blocks and over 100 steals, Nerlens Noel has some high aspirations for his second season.  Among them, is to become an All-Star.  The Sixers have been without an All-Star since Jrue Holiday made the team back in 2013, and Noel wants to end that streak.

“Year two, I want to be an All-Star, clear as that,” he recently told SLAM magazine; a sentiment he has often echoed in the past.  “I know a lot of players say that,” Noel told me back in April, “but for me I feel as though that it the next step.”

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With last night’s 84-81 overtime loss to the Knicks summer squad, the Summer Sixers fell to 0-3 in Las Vegas and 1-5 in the month of July.

The highly anticipated match-up between Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis — the #3 and #4 picks in Draft15 — never developed last night as Okafor played solid (18 points on 8-18 shooting), but not spectacular ball and Porzingis was limited to just 9 points.  However, Florida product Scottie Wilbekin put on a show against the Summer Knicks that was something to witness.  His watery jumper produced a 26 point outburst that so far is the highlight of the month for the Summer Sixers.

After the jump, a few observations from last night.

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Jordan McRae scored 19 points, Furkan Aldemir was a beast on the glass, Jerami Grant posterized a defender and the Summer Sixers staged a gutsy comeback on Thursday night.  Still, what really stood out last night was just how sloppy and slow the summer squad played for a large majority of their 84-78 OT loss to the Summer Jazz.

The Summer Sixers turned the ball over 26 times, shot 23% from three, committed 31 fouls, played horrific transition defense and in general looked very tired.  In short, they were simply brutal for three quarters.  A miraculous 4th Q turn around allowed the Summer Sixers put on a 20-7 run and grab a 74-68 lead.  However, the Jazz refused to lose in front of the home crowd and outscored the Summer Sixers 18-4 over the final minutes of the game (regulation & OT) to post the win.

After the jump, a few observations from the final game of the Utah Jazz Summer League.

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Over the weekend Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports rocked Philadunkia nation and set Twitter on fire with the news that League sources had informed him that Joel Embiid had “suffered a setback in the healing process of his right foot”.  Needles to say Woj’s report casue a great deal of concern among the 76ers’ fan base.

Woj’s breaking news even forced the 76ers to issue a statement of their own on Embiid’s recovery.  Part of the press release read, “Recently, Joel and Sixers personnel traveled to Los Angeles for a series of routine exams with a number of physicians who have been actively involved throughout this process.  During his visit with Dr. Richard Ferkel, a standard CT scan on Joel’s right foot revealed less healing than anticipated at this point.”

Obviously there is significant reason for concern about the long term health of Embiid’s foot and the impact the lingering injury could have on his career here in Philadelphia.  However, the immediate concern for us here at Philadunkia is what kind of impact will the Embiid news have on Hinkie’s strategy for the 2015 NBA Draft.

After the jump C. Smith and Jeff McMenamin examine that specific angle of the Embiid news.

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If you read this site on a regular basis or for that matter have access to the  ol’ inter web, then you probably know that 76ers’ 2014 draft day acquisition Jordan McRae played excellent basketball on two different continents this past season.  First, McRae went “Down Under” and quickly became the best option on the Melbourne Tigers of Australia’s National Basketball League.  McRae was the NBL’s second-leading scorer as he averaged 19.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per night.

After his very successful run in Australia was up, McRae came back to the States and played for the 76ers D-League affiliate, the Delaware Sevens.  In 13 games with the Sevens, McRae posted 18.9 ppg. on 45% shooting from the field and 38% from deep. The highlight of McRae’s brief time with the Sevens was a 39-point, 13-rebound, and 6-assist night against the Oklahoma City Blue back on March 22nd.

There’s no doubt that this Sixers’ prospect turned some heads with his play overseas as well as in the D-League and that he will be under strong consideration for a roster spot at training camp this fall.  With McRae on the verge of becoming a key piece to the Sam Hinkie’s rebuilding process, I decided to check in with the shooting guard.

Q & A after the J…

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Last week Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Byron Scott made the following comment on the Jim Rome show,  “Obviously in this draft, you got two great bigs and you got a great point guard in Russell, as well. We got to wait and see what Minnesota does.  So we are going to do our due diligence to bring them in and work them out and go from there.”

That one little quote regarding our favorite 2015 Draft prospect nearly gave all of Philadunkia nation a heart attack and of course set the Internet on fire with ‘The Lakers like Russell’ rumors.  It also got the scribes at Philadunkia thinking, what if Lakers do in fact decide to solve their point guard issues through the Draft (Russell) instead of free agency?

What is the Sixers move if Russell is gone when Sam Hinkie is on the clock?

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