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The 2023 offseason continues for the Philadelphia 76ers as they also readied themselves for another Summer League contest. It was reported that the Sixers are signing Mo Bamba to a one-year deal less than an hour before they tipped off against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
After losing their Summer League opener to the Memphis Grizzlies despite some impressive moments from their starting guards, the Sixers beat the Jazz by a score of 104-94. A 13-3 run in the fourth quarter put Philly well ahead in the fourth quarter, giving them their first Summer League victory of 2023.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Sixers' win over the Jazz.
5. Nick Nurse will have the Sixers playing aggressively
It's hard —nearly impossible, perhaps — to gain significant insight into how Nurse will coach the Sixers when the regular season begins by going off what he does in July with this roster. But at least for the Summer League, Nurse has made the right calls: get out and run when you can, keep the ball moving and play hard on defense.
To start the game, the Sixers played small lineups that got punished inside against a bigger Jazz team. Utah got second-chance opportunities often and kept Philly at bay on numerous close shot attempts. In fairness, his options aren’t plentiful and he did go to bigger lineups later in the game, playing two of Filip Petrusev, Azuolas Tubelis and Greg Brown III together in the fourth quarter.
For two games now, Nurse has had his guards pressure the ball deep in the backcourt and tried a 2-3 zone defense to give the opponent a curveball. They doubled in the post, rotated around the perimeter and closed out to shooters. The times when they play like strangers in a pick-up game are not too frequent, though in a setting like this, those instances are bound to happen.
Offensively, the Sixers try to get their biggest threats into advantageous situations via the pick-and-roll and with proper spacing. They got out in transition off of live-ball turnovers, which fueled their run in the final frame that put them ahead. When October comes around, it can be safely assumed that, at least, Nurse will have the Sixers playing with a little more intensity and urgency.
4. Don’t forget about Javonte Smart
Filling the starting-lineup spot left by Louis King, who was inactive in this one, Smart followed a quietly solid performance with another impressive display. He recorded a team-high 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7-10 shooting.
Smart, who has 17 games of NBA experience but didn’t play in the big league last season, can shoot the ball really well. The 24-year-old plays much like a veteran in these scrimmages full of younger guys. He knows where to be, takes good shots and seems to be comfortable in knowing where to be to make the right play.
It's unclear how much the Sixers plan to keep Smart around but they really should. It would be…wise.
3. Terquavion Smith can do more than shoot
Against the Grizzlies, Smith stole Sixers fans' hearts with his confident shooting and bucket-getting instincts. His 18 points led the team and he hit a pair of clutch threes in the close loss. He definitely got back into his bag in this one but he dug deeper, past his scoring tricks and playing a solid all-around game.
Nick Nurse had Smith guard the Jazz's lead guard, rookie Keyonte George, while Springer guarded bigger players like Ochai Agbaji and Luka Samanic. Smith didn’t take the assignment lightly — he pressured the ball hard and scored some takeaways off the ball by staying alert.
Smith also led the Sixers in assists with five while only committing just two turnovers. He showcased some of these ulterior facets against Memphis and leaned more into them in this one. It's clear that Philly has someone good here.
2. Jaden Springer stays aggressive
Last game featured some good moments for Springer but also a lot of rough moments on offense as he shot the ball poorly from the field. He once again posted a brutal field-goal percentage (4-12, good for 33 percent), a worrying trend for a player entering their third season, but he didn’t shy away nor take a lot of bad shots.
Springer got downhill a bunch against the Jazz, showing no fear of getting fouled while not outright hunting them like some of his veteran teammates like doing. He shot 9-10 from the free-throw line. Getting chase-down blocked by Ochai Agbaji was tough but turning his drives into points in a different manner will go a long way to helping him get minutes when the regular season rolls along.
Excusing a player with years of experience for being a woeful shooter doesn’t suggest much confidence. Springer clearly has ways to go before proving he can shoot well at the NBA level. If there’s anything his detractors should note (beyond the fact that he's still very young) is that he doesn’t let his shooting deficiencies slow down his motor.
Defensively, Springer was once again great. He protected the rim, recorded a whopping SIX steals and guarded numerous players well. But, obviously, it's the other side of the game that stays under heavy scrutiny.
1. Ricky Council IV is gonna fly now
Council looked more confident after getting a game under his belt. Although he didn’t let it fly from deep more often, he did attack the basket with confidence, letting the Salt Lake City crowd see his unreal hops.
In the first half, Council threw down a few dunks that showcased his amazing athleticism. He followed up a double-clutch dunk in the first quarter with a throwdown on a lob from Smith in the second quarter. The rookie wasn’t too far away from hitting his head on the rim. He threw down a massive tomahawk dunk in the third quarter and swatted a few shots away. The Sixers don’t have a lot of guys who can get to the places he can.
Terquavion Smith to Ricky Council IV link up for a fantastic lob pic.twitter.com/m9OfIhPKD1
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) July 6, 2023
While he's also not afraid to put the ball on the deck and attack on his own, he's a bit too limited to be handling the ball often. Council will probably struggle to earn playing time right away as he grows into at least a decent shooter. In the meantime, though, he can serve as a lob threat/cutter that keeps the defense busy away from the ball.
The Sixers' final SLC Summer League game is on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:00 PM EST.
