Scene Setter:
Outfitted with new personnel on both their roster and the coaching staff, the 76ers (1-30) march into the heart of their season-high tying six-game road trip, facing the Phoenix Suns (12-19) at Talking Stick Resort Arena at 9:00 PM EST on Saturday. The Sixers will play an additional four road contests against Western Conference teams before returning to Philadelphia on Sunday, January 3rd. Phoenix, meanwhile, continues a three-game home stand. For the Sixers, two recent additions to the organization are expected to make their debuts on Saturday. Since formally hiring Associate Head Coach Mike D’Antoni a week ago, the Sixers have known for several days that his first game on the bench would come against the Suns. What wasn’t apparent until this past Thursday afternoon, however, was that the club would have the chance to obtain veteran Ish Smith. The Sixers were able to bring the point guard back for a second go-round with team by sending a pair of future second-round NBA Draft picks to New Orleans, where Smith began the season. Like the Sixers, the Suns have hopes of turning around recent results. Phoenix enjoyed a solid start to its third season under head coach Jeff Hornacek, winning seven times in its first 12 outings. Since then, the Suns have endured two four-game losing streaks, which have contributed to their present 5-14 rut. They’re currently in the midst of a three-game slide following a 104-96 defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Former Villanova Wildcat guard Randy Foye erupted for a season-best 33 points in the match-up. This off-season, Phoenix added 15-year veteran center Tyson Chandler through free agency. Chandler, whose deal pays him a reported $52 million over four years, is averaging 4.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game. Series:
The Sixers have dropped five straight games to Phoenix. This drought comes on the heels of a franchise-record tying four-game winning streak versus the Suns that spanned portions of the 2010 through 2012 seasons. Phoenix prevailed comfortably in both match-ups last season, winning by margins of 122-96 in Philadelphia, and 112-96 in the desert. Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington are the only Sixers still on the active roster who took part those contests. Against his hometown team, Suns forward Markieef Morris, out of Prep Charter and APEX Academy, put up solid numbers, averaging 19.5 points and shooting just under 60.0 percent in two tilts. Phoenix has taken 41 of the 59 all-time meetings the teams have played in Arizona. Subplots:
When the Sixers revealed on December 18th that they lured Mike D’Antoni out of a coaching hiatus, and inked him to serve as Brett Brown’s Associate Head Coach, two of the more immediate questions that came to mind were, when would the offensive innovator join the club, and what tactical factors made him such an appealing target for the Sixers?The day D’Antoni was hired, all parties involved agreed that it would be best for his start to coincide with the beginning of the Sixers’ five-game Western Conference road swing. In terms of his potential value to the coaching staff, Brown gave more insight into that matter on Wednesday, when the Sixers were in Milwaukee. He said he’s been communicating “lots” with D’Antoni in recent days. “We continue to play text tag and talk on the phone,” detailed Brown, who had the chance to meet with D’Antoni in person last week. “He’s come into our office, and we just sat down for many, many, many hours, me and my other two bench assistants [Billy Lange and Lloyd Pierce], and said this is what we do, put in some of his old tapes, and how can we connect the dots.”D’Antoni’s first head coaching stop was in Phoenix, where, from 2004 through 2008, he was able to dramatically advance his innovative offensive system, the principles of which have since become widespread throughout the NBA. Utilizing the talents of Shawn Marion, Steve Nash, and Amar’e Stoudemire, D’Antoni deployed a scheme that revolved around uptempo pace, precise floor spacing, and three-point shooting. His Suns teams produced either the highest or second-highest offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) in the NBA all four years he spent with the franchise. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, how lucky am I to come from an offensive system like the San Antonio Spurs that saw five NBA championships, and collide that with what [D’Antoni] did in Phoenix, with what he did with the Lakers and the Knicks,” said Brown. “Mike is offensive-minded, that’s what he is known for. So the combination of how do you post in pick-and-roll, and space, is an interesting one to have. And I enjoy just talking basketball with somebody of his background. He’s shared it all, and we look forward to welcoming him in Phoenix.”Following the end of his run with the Suns, D’Antoni went on to lead the Knicks from 2008 through 2012. He was Los Angeles’ head coach the following two seasons. D’Antoni’s career head coaching record is 455-426.
Brett Brown, from the start of training camp all the way up to his media availability before the Sixers’ previous game on Wednesday in Milwaukee, has made it clear that, for the point guards on this year’s team, he expects a pass-first mindset. Ish Smith, the 27-year old who was reacquired Thursday via trade, demonstrated last season in a 25-game stint with the Sixers that he’s capable of meeting such demands. He posted a 44.1 assist percentage (field goals assisted on while on the court) for the Sixers a year ago, and opened the current campaign with a 40.1 assist percentage for New Orleans.Ball security has proven to be an issue for the Sixers, especially over their past 11 outings, when they’ve yielded at least 20 turnovers six times. In their last two games alone, the Sixers have committed 26 and 22 cough-ups against the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. Each of those opponents wound up generating 36 points off the Sixers’ turnovers. “We cannot turn it over at the volume lately we have been and we continue to,” said Brown following Wednesday’s 113-100 defeat at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. In zeroing in on the point guard position, he continued, “That is the area we need tremendous leadership, and I think it can get us organized. I think the volume of turnovers can be reduced. We can run purposeful offense. We know where to go.”Smith has logged service with nine different NBA franchises during his six-year career. In the 2013-2014 season, he appeared in 70 games for the Suns, marking his longest tenure with any one organization.
This time last year, point guard T.J. McConnell was helping the University of Arizona gear-up for its annual Pac-12 conference slate, which was followed by a push to the NCAA Championship tournament. In charge of running a team that featured two first-round selections in the 2015 NBA Draft (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson), McConnell himself went undrafted. The development didn’t discourage the determined Pittsburgh native, who began his collegiate career at Duquesne University, before transferring to Arizona for his junior and senior seasons. He impressed the Sixers during the pre-season, landed a spot on their Opening Night roster, and currently ranks second among all rookies with 5.1 assists per game. This past Wednesday, McConnell looked ahead to his first professional appearance in Phoenix, located about 115 from his alma mater’s campus in Tucscon. “I don’t know what the fan base will have out there, but I know there will be a few people out there from Arizona, so it will be good to see them,” McConnell said. “I’m missing Arizona, miss the weather out there, even though this weather has been pretty good for the winter on the East Coast. But I just miss the people out there. It’ll be good to be out there in front of them.”When the Sixers’ plane touched down in Phoenix early Friday evening, the thermostat read 54 degrees. At the same time in Philadelphia, where temperatures have been unseasonably warm the past week, it was 63 degrees.
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