Some thoughts and observations left over from the 76ers’ most recent game, a 113-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at The Center.
On Tuesday, Ish Smith once again emerged as a calming, steadying presence for the Sixers, as the young team was attempting to seal another win. After the Sixers had widened their margin to 15 points with eight and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Phoenix charged back to score 13 of the game’s next 18 points, trimming the Sixers’ lead to 99-92. The Suns’ run only seemed to embolden Smith, who then proceeded to put together a critical crunch time sequence. He posted 10 of the last 14 points the Sixers scored in their 113-103 triumph. “Ish did, he walked it down,” said Brett Brown, referring to Smith’s close-out effort in the fourth quarter. In particular, he was successful in executing the Sixers’ pick-and-roll game. “You search sometimes too much, where you say, is this what we’re going to do? It’s kind of that simple in some ways, where you get the most creative guy on the team the ball. You space shooters around him. You have good rollers. And you just make unselfish plays and appropriate reads, and he did that. He walked down an NBA game, and NBA point guards do that.”Tuesday wasn’t the first instance in which Smith has come through in crunch time. He also picked up his late-game scoring earlier this month in victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. In January, Smith has generated some of the top “clutch stats” in the NBA, according to stats.nba.com. The point guard is averaging 6.0 points in the final five minutes of games played at a differential of five points or less. That figure is tied for second-best in the NBA. Smith has also produced 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in such scenarios.Brown believes Smith, whether scoring or distributing, has shown growth, especially in his mental approach.”It’s one of the things we’ve talked a lot about in our offensive flow rules, being decisive with whatever decision you’re going to make with the first big running,” Brown said. “And you can’t what we call being half-pregnant. You’re in the game, right? So make a decision, and it’s all good. Be strong and wrong. And so I thought the decisiveness, with that part of it, with that first big being decisive and Ish doing his thing and being unselfish was excellent.” “That’s something that Coach is constantly talking to me about, it’s constantly something I’m trying to get better at,” Smith said about making clutch decisions that have positive outcomes. “I think the great ones do. The Chris Pauls, the Tony Parkers, the Steph Currys, the great point guards, and that’s the level I want to be it. You just got to feel it out, when to push it and keep playing with pace, because sometimes you walk the game down that way. Then sometimes, you got a pretty good lead, slow walk the game down, execute down the stretch, make big plays, and I thought we did that [Tuesday].” Smith finished with 20 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and one turnover against the Suns.
Prior to the Sixers taking the floor Tuesday, Brett Brown alluded to the “resurrected” version of Nik Stauskas that he saw when the team faced Phoenix at Talking Stick Resort Arena back on December 26th. Stauskas entered that contest having gone scoreless in four straight appearances, but ended up playing a key role in the Sixers’ second win of the season. He went off for 17 points, which remains the second-highest total of his two-year career. The performance was on Brown’s mind because, as was the case the day after Christmas, the head coach was looking for members of his roster to step up in the absence of Jahlil Okafor, the Sixers’ leading scorer. A knee injury kept Okafor out of the Sixers’ first meeting with the Suns. He was sick on Tuesday. Stauskas was once again a factor. With 15 points, he reached double-digits for the 10th time this season. He converted four of his seven field goal attempts, six of seven free throw tries, and also accounted for four rebounds, four assists, plus a steal.Stauskas said afterwards he wasn’t “necessarily” thinking about the success he had in Phoenix. Instead, he was more focused on increasing his intensity level as Tuesday’s game progressed.”I think after the first quarter, I really felt that bounce in my step, and just made a mental note to myself that I wanted to be aggressive and attack the basket,” said Stauskas. “I’ve also been hurt for a little bit now, so my legs are a little more rested than some of the other guys. Maybe that gave me a little more endurance down the stretch.”Stauskas has now appeared in two straight games after being sidelined for three contests with a left shoulder problem. He logged a team-high 38 minutes versus the Suns.
Down Jahlil Okafor and JaKarr Sampson, and with Isaiah Canaan nursing sore wrists, the Sixers needed as many healthy bodies as possible at their disposal against Phoenix. Subsequently, Elton Brand was shifted from the inactive to active list. While the transaction technically meant that the 17-year veteran power forward had a chance to play, Brand, according to Brett Brown, still isn’t ready for live action just yet. “He’s still trying to get into a game shape that will let him compete,” Brown said on Monday. “What I do know is he is so great around the locker room and our guys. He most definitely has a fitness base in his mind that allows him to speak like he talks to everybody. On the court, his fitness base isn’t where he wants it to be yet. He’s doing a great job all over the place.”Brand’s last appearance in an NBA game was in May, when he checked in for Atlanta during the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
