Game Recap: Utah Jazz Vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Game Recap: Summer League Utah Jazz Vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers faced off with the Utah Jazz in Utah, having played well so far in summer league but no wins to show for it. That would change, as the  76ers closed out the Utah chapter of the 2016 NBA Summer league with a victory 86-75.

The team announced the starters for the finale as point guard T.J. McConnell, shooting guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, small forward James Nunnally, point forward Ben Simmons, and center Richaun Holmes.

This was a nice win for the Sixers.  Although summer league is a warm up to the season, it takes all the pressure off the team as they travel to Las Vegas for the second chapter of their summer league schedule.

The team found its defense, and retained all of the magic of Ben Simmons “now you see it now you don’t” reputed passing ability in the win.  Simmons continued to amaze.

I truly cannot see any reason to trade Jahlil Okafor after seeing the play of Ben Simmons in his two summer league games. If Simmons can distribute the ball to Richaun Holmes and Christian Wood and bring them up to 17 points each, then setting up Jahlil Okafor at the post will generate 30 points out of the sophomore center in regular season games.

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The team was more effective on its shooting, averaging 45.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three point range, despite the stuggles of rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot from the perimeter on his 0-5 shooting treys.  Luwawu would contribute nine points for the night, chipping in 33 percent on field goals and 75 percent from the free throw line.

Utah’s Trey Lyles led all scorers with 22 points for the night, but came from just 23.5 percent shooting on field goals and 37.5 percent shooting on three-pointers.

The 76ers also improved on its defense dramatically, holding the Jazz to just 35.3 percent shooting from the floor, and to 38.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Players of the Game

Christian Wood played another solid game, this time scoring  17 points on 15 minutes of play, plus adding six rebounds and three blocks.  For the three games series completed, Wood came in at  sixth in scoring in the Utah summer league series with an average of 18.7 points per game on just  16.7 minutes per game.

Richaun Holmes stepped up to join Wood in the team lead in scoring, contributing 17 points and seven rebounds and two blocks himself on 20 minutes of play

Finally, Ben Simmons continues to demonstrate why his skill set is so unique.  He added six points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the game on 28 minutes on the court.  For the Utah summer league series, he is third leading rebounder on 7.5 rebounds per game, despite ending his first game prematurely with leg cramps.

Looking Ahead

The Philadelphia 76ers will face the Los Angeles Lakers  on Saturday, July 9th. to open the summer league series at Las Vegas, NV, while the Utah Jazz will go on to face the Washington Wizards in a Saturday matchup as well

Next: Joel Embiid Will Join Summer League Team to Workout

So far, each of the three summer league games have shown rapid improvement from the team, despite rotations of roster players into starting roles.   While Simmons has yet to deliver solid improvements in his shooting game, he’s demonstrating quite clearly why the Philadelphia 76ers were so excited by his play.

So far, the play of Christian Wood is impossible to ignore.  He has highlighted three consecutive summer league games and if his play remains strong in Las Vegas, the Philadelphia 76ers will be compelled to re-sign him to the team or risk losing him to another NBA team.