76ers' Jaden Springer Embraced Battle Against Hawks' Trae Young
On Friday night, Philadelphia 76ers’ former first-round pick Jaden Springer collected the first start of his NBA career. During his rookie season last year, Springer appeared in just two games with the 76ers. This season, he picked up garbage time minutes in 14 outings.
Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks was a lot different. With seven players out for the night, the Sixers had the opportunity to shake up the starting five and offer notable roles to players who don’t see consistent minutes.
For Springer, he clocked in for a little under 35 minutes. Offensively, he had the best showing of his NBA career, knocking down eight of his 13 shots from the field, and scoring 19 points.
On the defensive end, Springer would draw a matchup against a tough offensive competitor in Atlanta’s Trae Young. While Young knocked down 50 percent of his shots from the field, he struggled on the perimeter, knocking down just one of his six shots from deep.
By no means did Springer shut down Young, as the star guard scored a game-high of 27 points and dished out 20 assists, but the sophomore guard certainly made his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor.
“Going into the game, I didn’t know what to expect,” Springer told reporters after the outing. “I just knew I was gonna try and go out there, go hard, and compete. The results came out well, like I wanted them to, and we got the dub. That’s all that really matters.”
The Sixers trailed the Hawks by 15 points on Friday night, but that didn’t cause them to give in. With a second-half comeback in store, the 76ers managed to put the Hawks away with a 136-131 win in overtime — and Springer’s offensive and defensive success against Trae Young was critical in getting the Sixers into overtime.
“It was fun. That was my first time really competing against one of the top guards in this league,” Springer finished. “I had fun doing that. Hopefully, I get more chances like that going forward.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
