Three days before the Sixers begin their preseason slate, the team will tip-off tonight at the historic Palestra in an intra-squad Blue x White scrimmage. It’s an honor to play in one of the most hallowed basketball arenas in the country and Sixers coach Brett Brown recently expressed his appreciation for what this means for the fans and for the city.
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“I think for the city and for the players to go in and play at a place like the Palestra – ironically that was my last college game, at the Palestra – and you know, the history of that building, in this city … it matters,” Brown said after Monday’s practice. “It means something. To be able to give something back to our fans, at some place so iconic and so historic, I think it’s just a goodwill thing, a good basketball gesture all the way around.”
Aside from the obvious storylines to watch in this one – Markelle Fultz’s new and improved jumper, Ben Simmons’ free-throw shooting and the crazy chants from an energized fan base carrying the weight of heightened expectations – we’ll be keeping a keen eye on the following during tonight’s action:
- Two of a kind. Since this is an intra-squad scrimmage, we aren’t sure how the rosters will be divided. Hopefully, we get to see Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons on the floor together at some point. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how two highly-skilled point guards mesh and control the flow of the game. Simmons won Rookie of the Year last season serving as the Sixers’ main facilitator, but Fultz has excelled in that role for the majority of his life. Brown talked at length about Fultz learning to play off the ball when Simmons is in. Vice versa, Brown mentioned he may move Simmons to the 4 and put Fultz at the 1 when both are in the backcourt. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and what their chemistry looks like.
- Finding Mike Muscala. The Sixers are counting on Muscala to make up for the loss of Ersan Ilyasova and anchor that second unit. At 6-foot-11, he’ll be counted on for big minutes off the bench, probably at both power forward and center. He has quick feet and should have no problem running the up-tempo pace required of big men in Brown’s system. He’s also a capable three-point shooter – 37.8 percent for his career. One question: Can he grind it out on the defensive end? Muscala’s play may very well dictate how Brown constructs his rotation.
- Let’s get physical. If there was one knock on the Sixers, especially in that Boston series, it was a lack of aggressiveness on the defensive end. Newcomer Wilson Chandler was quick to point it out on Media Day, saying he hoped to bring more toughness and physicality. Chandler won’t be intimidated by anyone, not Aron Baynes and not his own teammates. He has set the tone with his body language in the first few practices, with Brown calling him “a man” and a “quiet achiever.”
- Get ready for Bully Ball. This will be our first real taste of the Sixers’ commitment to what they are calling “Bully Ball.” The concept is easy: feed Joel Embiid in the paint and have him attack the rim, ideally leading to easy buckets or trips to the free-throw line. It’s what Shaquille O’Neal did for 19 seasons. Embiid has the physical tools to excel at it, but can he master the mental side? He was in “beastmode” bullying his way by Muscala at the practices we watched.
Shake Milton may have been a draft-day steal for the Sixers at 56th overall.
- Shake it like a wing is supposed to. Opportunities abound for rookies to steal roster spots at the wing position. While we’ll be glued to guys like Furkan Korkmaz and Landry Shamet – two drool-worthy sharpshooters with good pedigrees – we can’t wait to see Shake Milton. Brown was gushing about the second-round pick’s unlimited upside as a 3-and-D wing, with the coach praising him as both a lights-out shooter and willing defender. As a two-way contract recipient, Milton can only play a max of 45 NBA games this season (unless the Sixers want to continue his services by upgrading his contract), but he’s a full-go for the Blue x White scrimmage. With Jerryd Bayless probably out the door – and Shamet and Korkmaz showing some deficiencies on defense – the ceiling is high for Milton.
