Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia 76ers
Game Recap: Bucks 113, 76ers 100
Snapshot: For a second straight night, the 76ers (1-30) were done-in by turnovers. In their 113-100 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks (12-18) on Wednesday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Sixers surrendered nine give-aways in the opening quarter, which the opportunistic Bucks converted into 17 points. Milwaukee finished the night with 36 points off turnovers in all. The victory was the Bucks’ second straight, and eighth in a row over the Sixers.
As he did on Tuesday, in the front-end of the Sixers’ back-to-back, Jahlil Okafor again topped the team in scoring, generating 17 points on Wednesday. Most of the rookie’s points came from the free-throw line, where he hit seven of his eight foul shots. Carl Landry, the senior-most member of the Sixers’ roster, made his season debut, and pitched in with 10 points and five rebounds. Hollis Thompson netted 16 points for a second consecutive contest.
Relying on length and speed throughout the evening, Milwaukee opened the game on a 10-0 run, and never looked back. The Bucks’ starters combined for 88 points, with Giannis Antetokounmpo delivering a game-best 22 points. Khris Middleton was right behind him with 21 points, his second 20-point effort versus the Sixers this season. Michael Carter-Williams impacted the game in several areas, producing 18 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. The former Sixer also committed seven turnovers.
Top Moment:
With Carl Landry back in the mix at Milwaukee, Brett Brown had to free up space in the Sixers’ power forward rotation. He opted to move the versatile Jerami Grant to small forward, a spot that the second-year Syracuse product has occupied at various times through his career. In a nine-point, three-rebound effort, Grant was perfect from the field, sinking all four of his shots. Perhaps his most difficult attempt was the baseline jumper he buried over Rashad Vaughn in the second quarter.
http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/highlights-grant-…
Brett Brown Said – On Sixers sticking together, maintaining strong communication, and trying to resolve team’s issues despite recent losses:
“You got to talk about it on the bench. You don’t just dust it off. I think our guys are doing fantastically. You don’t see people unraveling. What’s going to give? Are they breaking up? And they’re not. We’re just not guarding.”
Of Note:
In recent days, Brett Brown had indicated Carl Landry was on track to make his season debut this Saturday, when the Sixers open the Western Conference portion of their current six-game road trip in Phoenix. As it turned out, Landry was ready earlier than expected, and received clearance to assume on a reserve role in Milwaukee, his home town.
“I knew it was probably soon, sometime at the end of this year,” Landry said of his impending return. He underwent surgery on his right wrist the first week of June.
As was the case when guards Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten were rehabbing their respective injuries, Landry was sent to the Sixers’ NBA Development League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, to work out with players there, and get reacclimated to game speed.
“Felt good, felt like I have my wind back for the most part, my timing, and just felt like [Wednesday] was the day, especially being at home,” said Landry, now beginning his ninth NBA season. He added that his wrist “definitely feels better now than it did September 28th, the first day of training camp.”
Landry was originally chosen by the Seattle Supersonics first overall in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft. He was then dealt to the Houston Rockets later that night. The Purdue product has also played for Sacramento, New Orleans, and Golden State. He came to the Sixers via a July trade with the Kings, which also fetched Nik Stauskas.
“He’s veteran enough, he’s disciplined enough, he’s professional enough for me to say to him, we’re good to go when you are,” Brett Brown said, adding that he only wanted Landry to come back if he felt physically prepared to do so. “I think now he’s got the confidence to go hit people and bang with people with his wrist, and he put his hand up and said, ‘I’ll be ready in Milwaukee.’ So we welcome him back with open arms to our young team.”
Entering Wednesday with 477 career NBA appearances, Landry had averaged 10.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. He’s converted nearly 53.5 percent of his total field goal attempts, and has shot just under 79.0 percent from the free throw line. Landry believes he can bring value to the Sixers.
“I just think my experience, being able to shoot the ball a little bit with Jahlil [Okafor] on the floor, space the floor better with Nerlens on the floor,” said Landry. “I think my experience will definitely help, because I am a little bit multi-dimensional at my position. And hopefully, if that’s not scoring, then hopefully playing defense, rebounding, taking charges, diving on the floor for 50-50 rebounds. Whatever the coaching staff here wants me to do, I’m all for it. I’m all for it.”
Landry, who attended Vincent High School, located about 15 miles north of downtown Milwaukee, said his mother, brothers, sisters, and nieces and nephews were among a group of 15 supporting him at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.. He was most looking forward to “just being out there with my teammates again, having a jersey on, representing my family, the last name of ‘Landry,’ the city of Philadelphia, the fans, and just my teammates.”
Being so close to home, Landry stayed back in Milwaukee to celebrate Christmas with his family, instead of accompanying the Sixers on their flight to Philadelphia. Landry notched 10 points (2-6 fg, 6-8 ft) and five rebounds, while logging 13 minutes of action.
T.J. McConnell fought through pain to give the Sixers needed backcourt depth on Wednesday. His right shoulder was sore following a collision with Memphis’ Vince Carter in Tuesday’s game at The Center. With half a minute remaining in the second quarter, McConnell, while in the halfcourt, ran into Carter at the top of the three-point arc. The impact knocked the undrafted rookie to the hardwood.
“I was trying to circle out, just turned my head. There he was just backing up,” said McConnell, who sported a shoulder wrap while sitting by his locker prior to Wednesday’s tip-off. “I guess it was an accident where I was circling out, and he was running, and his whole weight like went on my shoulder, but nothing to really worry about.”
McConnell still felt some tenderness in his shoulder Wednesday morning and throughout the afternoon. He tested it during his pre-game routine.
“In the beginning it was still tight and stiff, but I warmed it up, got it loose, and it was good to go,” McConnell said,
With Tony Wroten being held out of Wednesday’s match-up in order rest his repaired right ACL, and Kendall Marshall still playing on a 25-minute restriction, McConnell’s availability became that much more necessary for the Sixers. He didn’t take a shot in 15 minutes, but distributed three assists, and yanked down two rebounds.
Michael Carter-Williams’ surge through the end of December continued against the team that selected him 11th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. He generated 18 points and nine assists versus the Sixers, and is now averaging 19.2 points and 6.0 assists his past six games.
Milwaukee assistant coach Joe Prunty was filling in for an ailing Jason Kidd, who had surgery on his right hip Monday, and gave insight on the point of emphasis the Bucks’ staff has been driving home to Carter-Williams as of late.
““The biggest thing is be assertive, be aggressive,” Prunty said of Carter-Williams, who made a fourth consecutive start after coming off the bench for 10 games in a row. “It’s not an issue whether you’re starting or coming off the bench, we want you being an assertive, aggressive player. He’s got to make the right reads. We don’t want the ball to stick on the offensive end. Defensively, pick up, pressure. He has the ability to be very good on both sides of the ball. “
Carter-Williams appeared in 25 outings for Milwaukee last season, after the Sixers dealt him to the Bucks at the NBA’s February trading deadline.
Next Up:
The Sixers, after making a brief pit stop in Philadelphia to celebrate the Christmas holiday, head to Phoenix, where they go up against the Suns (12-19) on Saturday at 9:00 PM EST. The contest initiates the heart of the Sixers’ current six-game road trip, which sends them to five straight Western Conference venues. Third-year Phoenix head coach Jeff Hornacek, who had a brief stint with the Sixers via the 1992 Charles Barkley trade, is trying to get his group untracked amidst a slump in which its sustained losses in 14 of its previous 19 outings. The Suns began the year 7-5, following a 39-43 finish a season ago. The club compiled an encouraging 48-34 mark in its first campaign under Hornaceck, but, playing in the competitive Western Conference, missed out on a playoff berth. Despite overhauling its backcourt personnel the past three seasons, Phoenix’s corps of guards still remains a strong, as Eric Bledsoe averages 21.3 points per game, and Brandon Knight posts 19.7 points per game. Mike D’Antoni, the Sixers’ newly-appointed Associate Head Coach, is expected to make his sideline debut Saturday. He coached Phoenix for four campaigns, from 2004 through 2008.
