Nick Nurse Shares Thoughts on Debut of 76ers' New Additions
At the conclusion of Thursday's trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves with a pair of new additions. Early in the day, Buddy Hield was acquired from the Indiana Pacers. Then, in a move most considered shocking, Patrick Beverley was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks for Cam Payne.
In some cases, it takes a few days for new players to come in and make their debut with their new team. That was not the case here, as Hield and Payne were immediately thrown into the mix.
On Friday night, the Sixers faced off against the Atlanta Hawks on their home floor. Because the roster is dealing with so many injuries, Nurse had no choice but to roll out the new players. Not only did Hield and Payne play against the Hawks, but they were both in the starting lineup.
Hield and Payne managed to start their Sixers' tenures off on the right foot. The former Pacers sharpshooter notched 20 points and six assists, including four makes from beyond the arc. As for Payne, he also finished with 20 points to go along with three rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
After the game, Nurse was asked his thoughts about the debuts. He was pleased with what he saw from Hield and Payne while citing their strong shooting and basketball IQ.
"I think very good. I think the main thing was that they got eight threes between them and man we had to have a handful of them go in and out too. So, I think that’s always a sign of somebody that’s a good shooter when it's on line and most of them look like they are going to go in," Nurse said. "But I just like their overall feel of the game and I thought it looked like they understood a lot of basketball IQ on the offensive end for sure, we’ll look at the tape and check out the defensive end, and I thought they competed, so pretty good first night out considering."
The two guards once again have little time to prepare as the Sixers are back in action Saturday night against the Washington Wizards.
