There is no Raptors there is only KJ MCDANIELS.
Did you see that? Do yourself a favor and watch that again. In fact, watch it for 48 minutes straight and pretend that the actual game never happened. Because if you are a Sixers fan (which presumably you, reader of Sixerdelphia, are), this was the only enjoyable moment in the Sixers demoralizing 120-88 loss to Toronto Raptors. And honestly, as absurd as it sounds, it wasn't even that close.
The Sixers at one point found themselves down 41 points to the Raps, who now sit alone atop the Eastern Conference at 6-1. The Raps are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the team’s inception this year, and are celebrating with a franchise best start to the season. Make no mistake: the Raps are a good team. They finished last season as the 3rd seed, only to succumb in the first round of the playoffs to the far more experienced Brooklyn Nets. This year they haven't skipped a beat, and while the schedule they've played so far this year hasn't been the toughest, this team is playing great on both ends of the court and will surely run away with a weak Atlantic Division for the second year in a row.
The Sixers? They are bad. But we knew this. The 76ers slipped into some lazy offense very early in the game, settling for contested 3s on a concerning amount of possessions and ultimately shooting 10-34 from downtown. They rank dead last in the NBA in offensive efficiency (pts per 100 possessions), so you know some stinky offense is in store for you every night.
The Sixers are, however, middle of the pack in defensive efficiency, making it somewhat surprising that the Raps managed to shoot 56% on the evening and go to the line 30 times, dropping 27 of them, on the way to 120 points. One of the pleasant surprises of this season so far is how competitive the Sixers have played despite seeming so overmatched on a nightly basis. That was not true tonight, and Coach Brown touched on this first in his halftime interview when he criticized the team for playing with no spirit, and then after the game when he said this was the first time all year he felt the team was demoralized. As many have stated, one of the biggest challenges for this team this year is going to be staying together as the losses mount and the embarrassments build.
Staying close and upbeat during trying times requires some good leadership, and while Brett is clearly coaching his butt off, the Sixers would be well served getting some of their better players back. And indeed it sounds like MCW and Nerlens will be back on the court for their next game against the Mavs this Thursday in Dallas. Those two will clearly raise the talent level of the team on the floor, but perhaps even more importantly an emotional lift, and both should help the team avoid losses like this in the future.
There were perhaps a few silver linings beyond KJ breaking out the one-man volleyball game. Tony Wroten continued to lead the team in scoring with 18 on the night, although only shooting 6-16. Chris Johnson seemed to find his range as well, hitting 4-9 on 3s after starting the season 2-16. With so few shooters on the team, the Sixers need to find spacing from somewhere, and this is no doubt the reason why Johnson has been in the starting lineup (except for tonight, ironically). I continue to be impressed with Henry Sims, who in 29 physical minutes damn near outplayed Jonas Valanciunas on his way to 12 points and 8 boards, 5 of which were offensive. Brown recently said he loves Sims "grumpiness," and I have to agree, dude is pure hustle. If he develops a 12 foot baseline jumper he'll be Tyrone Hill reincarnate.
Oh and speaking of bright spots … go watch that block again. KJ is just a freak out on the court, finishing with 4 blocks, all of which were fairly impressive. He really is the most exciting Sixer right now, and it'd be great to see him on the court more. I assume Jakarr Sampson (4 pts and 5 fouls in 20 minutes tonight) got the starting nod because of matchups, but hard to imaging Brett can keep KJ on the bench much longer, regardless of whatever mental errors he's making (something he keeps alluding to when asked why KJ isn't seeing more minutes.)
The worst part about the game tonight is it's a reminder that more games like this are coming our way this season. And unfortunately for the Sixers, the only way out is through. One can only hope games like this help lay the mental foundation for future greatness.
In the meantime … did you se that KJ block??
