The Philadelphia 76ers lost again last night, and they’re struggling to get their first win. Injuries are prevalent. Players are struggling. But T.J. McConnell is taking the league by storm and surprising everyone. Also, Nerlens Noel is working on his jump shot, still.
Here’s all the Saturday news you need to know.
Sixers’ Okafor working to neutralize the double team — Keith Pompey, Philly.com
"“The more I play, the more teams see me play, the more they start scouting my tendencies,” said Okafor, following an early morning shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena for Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “So I’m just trying to take into account that I have gotten some pretty good games, but I know the scouting is going to get harder,” he added. “That’s why I’m trying to get sharper in practice and key in on certain things.” Okafor was double-teamed just about every time he touched the ball in Wednesday’s setback in Milwaukee. His main focus now is studying to find teammates on the floor when he’s being double-teamed."
Isaiah Canaan moved out of 76ers’ point guard rotation — Bob Cooney, Philly.com
"The steady play of T.J. McConnell has thrust him into the starting lineup and the signing of Phil Pressey means that he will back up McConnell. Canaan, the best shooter of the three, will get whatever minutes are available to him at the shooting guard spot, with perhaps a few scattered minutes at the point. “He will still have some point guard in him from time to time but right now I don’t see it immediately like that,” said coach Brett Brown at the team’s morning shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena where they’ll meet the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night. “We’ll probably go with Phillip and T.J. carrying that 48-minute load. Maybe Isaiah will come in if we really need to score."
Why the Philadelphia 76ers’ T.J. McConnell Deserves Your Attention — Jared Cohen, Numberfire.com
"While the season has just started, it is noteworthy that McConnell has been shooting well from the floor (52.9%), is wracking up assists (5th in the NBA at 8 per game), and has been among the top rebounding point guard producers despite a lower amount of playing time (10th in the NBA amongst guards at 4.8 per game). McConnell does it on both ends of the court, putting up an impressive 1.5 steals per game."
Noel Refines Jump Shot — Andy Jasner, Sixers.com
"“I’ve tried to shoot as many as I can to get comfortable with it,” Noel said. “I feel good. I even hit some threes. It’s just about getting more rhythm shots, and feeling things out to get as consistent as possible.” Noel has also worked on meshing with Jahlil Okafor, the Sixers’ No. 3 overall pick in the most recent draft. It won’t always be smooth, but Brown is excited to see how this scenario plays out over the course of 82 games. “I did a lot of studying over the summer revisiting those (San Antonio) Spur days with (Tim) Duncan and (David) Robinson,” Brown said. “We’ve studied a lot of people and different teams lately like Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. There are teams recently that played big ball. I still think it’s going to be a tremendous challenge. Nobody’s saying that we’re convinced that it’s going to be pretty right from the start. There will be times that you’re going to see Nerlens go straight back to that five spot when Jah goes off the floor.”"