Philly Sports Jabronis
By Doug Ammon, Sixers.com
At 8-5, the Phoenix Suns are quiet contenders in a tough Pacific Division, and their talent was evident on Friday against the Sixers as they notched a 122-96 win in Philadelphia.
The home team finished the first quarter up 27-26, winning the opening frame for the third time in four games. From that point forward, though, Phoenix put their foot on the gas pedal and never let up. The Sixers are still searching for their first win of the season as the NBA’s youngest team looks to gel under second-year head coach Brett Brown.
Wroten and Carter-Williams Start
Since Michael Carter-Williams’ return from offseason shoulder surgery, Coach Brown has hinted at the possibility of third-year guard Tony Wroten starting alongside him. Against the Suns and their formidable backcourt tandem of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, the pair started their first game together this season.
Carter-Williams finished with a team-high 18 points (6/18 FG) as well as six assists and six rebounds. Wroten added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
McDaniels Continues His Rise
Last year’s recipient of the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award and the 32nd-overall pick in June’s draft, K.J. McDaniels has been impressive through the first 12 games of his rookie season. Against the Suns, he finished with a career-high 17 points, good enough for second most on the squad.
NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper produces a weekly feature called the Rookie Ladder in which he features the top-performing rookies in the league. For two straight weeks, McDaniels has been in the top five, and he currently sits at the #4 spot. The 21-year-old will look to continue his ascension up the rookie ladder with continued productivity as well as gravity-defying highlights.
Next Up
It’s a quick turnaround for the Sixers, who travel a couple hours north to Madison Square Garden on Saturday to take on Carmelo Anthony and the division-rival Knicks at 7:30pm (EST). New York is 3-10 on the season and sits one spot ahead of Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division.
Quotables
Sixers head coach Brett Brown
Q: Are you happy with how aggressive with Michael Carter-Williams has been or would you rather have him try and move around alittle?
A: We talked about it at halftime. His heart is in the right place. He’s trying to just force the issue, too much to early. He’s not in NBA condition or shape, as we speak. At times he looks slow, but he trying, he’s pressing to get us on track.
Q: When it’s not competitive for long stretches, how much are you learning about what you have?
You always learn. I look at this game. The first period was good. We lost the third period by two, the fourth period by one, and we gotmanhandled in the second. You look at the second period, and that;s the game.
Sixers guard Tony Wroten
Q: That one got away…
A: It was like night and day. The first quarter, we were playing with some energy and we were playing together. We had a chip on ourshoulder. The second quarter went downhill. We stopped sharing the ball, stopped playing defense, and you see that in the result of the game.
Q: Does it happen in the blink of an eye?
A: It just happens. I’m not sure. It’s one thing after another, though. They made a lot of tough shots, gotta give it to them. But we weren’t playing defense like we’re capable of.
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek
Q: The switch went on in the second quarter when you built that lead. Can you talk about it?
A: Our bench came in. We got some great players coming off the bench for us, and sometimes they get hot.
Q: When you face a team that hasn’t won a game yet, does that factor in the equation coming into it?
A: There’s some of that. You want to go out there, and that’s always a tough thing. These guys are trying to battle and scratch and claw to get a win. They’ve had some close games.
Suns forward PJ Tucker
Q: You had a good start there…
A: You knew it might get started ugly at the beginning with all the stuff that was going on. I like how we responded. Our bench came in, got all fired up, they do what they do. It was pretty cool to see.
Q: You thought the Eric (Bledsoe) thing was going to give them life?
A: I thought they were going to come out fired up. They were losing. They need to get a win. You knew they were going to come out fired up. The little thing at the beginning, that got us going even more.
