The Philadelphia 76ers held a scrimmage on Sunday, which gave us our first meaningful look at how players developed this offseason.
At the Blue x White scrimmage Sunday at the Palestra, some Philadelphia 76ers players really came to ball. Some didn’t quite as much, but everyone’s performance is still worth assessing.
Keep in mind that we’re working with a small sample size here, so any conclusions made are necessarily premature. There are also no official stats, so all analysis is based solely on the eye test.
*Note* – Joel Embiid and Timothe Luwawu-Caborrot did not play due to injury
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I’ll be honest: E. Okafor and Humphries played better than I thought they would. Granted, I didn’t expect much in the first place. The former hasn’t played since 2013, and the latter married a Kardashian. Enough said.
Regardless though, I was pleasantly surprised. E. Okafor took a couple wild turnarounds that had no business going in, but still did anyway. Humphries had at least two and-ones. Both of them screened hard, and hustled everywhere. Essentially, they were the perfect training camp players.
Johnson showed why he was a starter last year. He did everything Humphries and E. Okafor did, and he did it twice as well. He may have a bigger on-court impact than people are expecting this year.
Redick was not as impactful as I would’ve hoped. He just never really seemed to leave his mark on the game. I know he’s an off-ball player by design, but I still feel like he could’ve done more. He’ll have to take on a bigger role to justify his $23 million contract.
Bayless was similarly uninspiring, though not bad. He played smart basketball, but he definitely never took over the game. He was a functional veteran point guard, and not much more.
Young fringe players
Pullen and Blackmon Jr. were pretty anonymous out on the court. I’d like to say “one of them was aggressive and took a three as soon as they got subbed in,” because that’s true, but I honestly can’t even remember which one it was (although I think it was Pullen). I think that accurately describes how they played – never good or bad enough to be noticeable.
McAdoo’s athleticism really jumps off the screen at you, and he threw down a thunderous dunk. He also pump faked once or twice behind the three-point line, which makes me wonder if he can actually shoot. If so, he could be another Richaun Holmes – a type of guy you can never have too many of.
Korkmaz isn’t really a fringe player – he’s not in danger of not making the roster or anything – but I included him here so I could devote more page space to him. Because holy trailing threes Batman, was Korkmaz good today.
Sixers tweet: By my unofficial count, Furkan Korkmaz has shot 11 for 11 in this Blue-White scrimmage. That’s good, imo.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) October 1, 2017
J.J. Redick on his impressions of Furkan Korkmaz: "holy shit"
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 1, 2017
He hit every shot he took, and he took a lot of shots. He hit trailing threes, spot-up threes, gorgeous floaters in the lane, you name it. Korkmaz legitimately looked like one of the best players out there. Not bad for a guy who people expected to spend most of the season on the Philadelphia 76ers’ practice squad.
The role players
Holmes didn’t play much, but he made the most of his minutes. His shooting form looked a bit smoother than last year, but otherwise he was the same player. He fits his role well as is, so any improvement he makes is just gravy at this point.
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McConnell and Anderson were largely in the same boat. McConnell ran the offense well, and was a passing savant who couldn’t shoot. Not exactly front page news, there. Anderson was one of the starters, and he played active defense, but he didn’t showcase anything we didn’t already know about him.
Stauskas didn’t look great. His shots weren’t falling, and when that happens he tends to get in his own head. He drives less, and his whole game seems lackluster due to same sort of mental snowball effect. He really needs to be more consistent if he doesn’t want Korkmaz to steal his playing time.
J. Okafor was one of the big reveals of the night, as no one really knew how he’d play after losing 25 pounds. Much digital ink has been spilled poring over his upcoming season, and the early results are encouraging.
He’ll never be a high flier, but he did look a bit more engaged and quick than usual. He also seemed to still be strong around the basket, putting a nice post move on E. Okafor shortly after checking in. He didn’t positively contribute much on defense, but he also wasn’t actively exposed, so that’s better than nothing.
The young studs
Saric didn’t look all that different from last year, but he doesn’t have to. His jumper had a bit more arc and his post game looked slightly more polished. It was more of what we saw of him in EuroBasket, and it was good stuff.
Covington had a weak day. He didn’t shoot particularly well and also got crossed up pretty bad by Korkmaz on one play. RoCo even missed a dunk. Let’s hope it was just an off day for our starting wing.
Fultz, on one hand, looked incredible. He drove into the lane, bounced off rim protectors, and finished over them with impunity. He looked like a James Harden-lite out there.
Related Story: An update on our EuroBasket players
However, there was one thing that was worrying. Jerryd Bayless played about ten feet off of him and dared him to shoot. If this came in a regular game, you could convince me that maybe it was just a psychological ploy or that the veteran was going to make the rookie prove himself before Bayless would give him the respect of guarding him.
The problem is, Bayless has played Fultz many times in practice before, which leads me to believe he knows something we don’t. Brett Brown’s statements back up my fear.
Brett Brown reiterates he's not comfortable with where Markelle Fultz's jumper is, and that they're going to work to return to previous form
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 1, 2017
Fultz’s jumper is important not only to his game, but to the Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff hopes. Let’s keep an eye on this; it could be a crucial issue.
Simmons also had some ups and downs. He started as a legitimate point guard and tried to guard Fultz (he did okay covering Fultz, but not great). Simmons seemed to have a good command of the offense and looked to push the pace often.
He dished nice passes and finished well at the rim. However, he took a bunch of head-scratching deep fadeaways and pull-ups. I get that it’s just a scrimmage, but he should probably stick to the shots he can make.
Next: Joel Embiid's 5-on-5 participation is an excellent sign
The Philadelphia 76ers looked mostly improved in their first real action since last season. Tune into their preseason game against the Memphis Grizzlies Oct. 4 at 7:00 EST to get our next glimpse into the team’s future.