18-7(!)-13-19-14-10-9-8-76ers. Can you tell me what those numbers represent? Those are the fourth quarter scoring outputs of the Sixers through five games. They’ve hovered around contention in every game and have then hit a will come the final quarter. You’d… almost think they were trying to lose games or something.
Anyway, none of this matters, Howard Eskin. What we really want to see is promise, and last night, K.J. McDaniels showed just that:
That left Malik Rose speechless. Temporarily, at least.
McDaniels, First-Team All-ACC and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last year, has impressed early. He’s shown “incredible defensive potential” and is averaging 9.6 points per-game through his first five games. The only problem is that the second-round pick has a unique contract— a one-year, non-guaranteed deal that will allow him to become a restricted free agent next July. If he keeps playing like this, some team is going to offer him a real contract that the Sixers would have to match if they want to keep him around. And at this point, that’s looking like something they might want to consider.
The Sixers are 0-5.