A Few Takeaways From Philadelphia 76ers’ Blue x White Scrimmage
The Philadelphia 76ers have four preseason games scheduled this offseason. On Monday, they paid a visit to the Brooklyn Nets and picked up a convincing win while shorthanded.
On Wednesday, the Sixers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers for their first home matchup since last year’s playoff run against the Miami Heat. With all of the starters in the mix for the first time, Philly engaged in a tight battle with the Cavs before pulling off a one-point victory.
Before the Sixers board a flight to Cleveland for a rematch, which is set to take place next Monday, the Sixers battled each other on Saturday afternoon.
After getting in a Saturday morning practice session, the 76ers opened up their doors for select fans to come in and watch the team split into two and battle it out for the annual Blue x White scrimmage at the Chase Fieldhouse, home of the Delaware Blue Coats.
The starting lineups consisted of the starters against the bench. While the rotation isn’t settled just yet, as the preseason is still in progress, it’s easy to assume which players will have a role at this time.
After two quick halves of action (no quarters and a running clock), the score was tied at the end. Both teams picked a player to engage in a three-point shootout to settle the score. Team White took home the winner's title thanks to Isaiah Joe’s shooting from beyond the arc.
The Takeaways
It’s Just a Scrimmage
Danuel House Jr. might’ve been diving for a ball that was going out of bounds and landing into players on the bench like the matchup counted for something, but most of his teammates were certainly treating the session like a scrimmage. The Sixers were going to win the meaningless game regardless because it was a team versus-team matchup, but they seriously won on Saturday by avoiding any injuries. The Sixers took it easy in Delaware and stayed healthy.
Speaking of Injuries…
Everybody but Trevelin Queen participated in the scrimmage on Saturday. The reigning NBA G League MVP was injured in Monday’s preseason game against the Nets after hitting his head on the court. Since Queen started showing concussion symptoms after the matchup, he was held out of Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers. Queen has returned to practice but is not considered a full participant. According to a team official, Queen could be cleared as a full participant as early as Sunday, which would deem him likely to be ready for Monday’s game.
The Starting Lineup
No surprises here. Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, and Joel Embiid all donned “white” uniforms as the starters.
The other team? Shake Milton, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr., Georges Niang, and Montrezl Harrell. Here’s where things get slightly interesting. Paul Reed was on Team Blue and did not get the nod to start against Joel Embiid.
Lately, a lot of factors have hinted that perhaps Reed is winning the backup center battle against Harrell, as Reed started in Monday’s game and was the first to check in when Embiid went to the bench on Wednesday. Saturday’s decision to start Harrell over Reed throws some more uncertainty into the mix.
Starters Called It a Day Early
Again, no surprises here. After one-half of action, the starting five rested on the bench for the remainder of the matchup. Although Team White led Team Blue at the half, the game was tied and required a three-point shootout to find a winner.
Georges Niang Ducked the Shootout?
“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Matisse Thybulle after the game when asked about the results. “Why do you gotta bring up old stuff?” Niang joked. “I don’t think that’s a fair way to end the game, but hey.”
“[It was a] sudden-death three-point shootout,” Thybulle continued. “Georges didn’t want to shoot, so we had Furkan (Korkmaz) do it.”
Unfortunately, Korkmaz’s scrimmage success didn’t translate to a shootout win. Therefore, Team White won, as Isaiah Joe finished the job.
“That’s not true,” Niang said, denying he avoided the shootout. “I’m about the team — I’m all about the team. Furk was catching fire out there, so I figured it was his time.”
Doc Talks Jaden Springer
Jaden Springer is still trying to find his identity in the NBA. He's had a quiet preseason, but Doc Rivers likes what he's seen out of the second-year guard lately.
“We’re still working on him, so we’ve allowed him to play a lot of point guard,” Rivers explained. “That’s something we didn’t see, obviously, when we drafted him, but we’re trying to find a position that he can play. I actually think he’s more comfortable. He’s not a point guard, but he’s way more comfortable there. He doesn’t try to force it as much because he has the ball in his hands. I thought in camp, he did a great job overall in that spot, and we’re gonna do a little bit in the G League as well. Jaden’s got a great body, he’s strong as heck. I was laughing; the Blue team decided they were going to try and ISO Jaden, and I was like, ‘That’s not gonna work for you guys very well.’ I think. . . He’s an NBA defender right now, and the next step is the rest of the stuff.”
The Sixers will continue their preseason with a matchup against the Cavaliers on Monday night in Cleveland.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
