July 16, 2024
Kyle Ross/USA TODAY Sports
Ricky Council IV has led a Sixers Summer League squad that continues to draw fouls at a high clip.
The Sixers were back in action in the Las Vegas Summer League on Tuesday night, facing a Minnesota Timberwolves team featuring Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., a pair of exciting first-round picks from last month's NBA Draft. The Sixers nabbed their second win in Vegas, beating the Wolves 92-90 despite a shaky fourth quarter showing. Here is what stood out from this one:
After Monday night's game, I wrote extensively about Ricky Council IV's ability to draw fouls at will. Council racked up 14 free throws on Monday, and the next night followed it up by attempting six free throws... in the first seven minutes of the game.
Depending on who he shares the floor with once the regular season is underway, Council could see plenty of chances to thrive as a slasher with the Sixers. With the trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George constantly creating advantages and posing threats to opposing defenses at all three levels, Council can seize the opportunity to go downhill with power and use his impressive touch around the rim.
But it was not just Council drawing fouls early and often: in the entire first quarter, the Sixers shot just 4-15 from the field but went a perfect 16-16 from the free throw line. That included two pairs of free throws from Jared McCain, an encouraging sign amid a difficult Summer League for last month's No. 16 overall pick. McCain's foul-drawing was the most impressive aspect of his showing in this one.
Another player on this roster who is adept at getting to the line is Judah Mintz, who averaged more than eight attempts from the line per game last season at Syracuse. Mintz had his best performance of Summer League on Monday, and put together another solid two-way showing in this one.
The Sixers finished the game with 44 attempts from the charity stripe, a figure that is almost comical. Even more impressive: they made 40 of those attempts.
After Monday night's game, Sixers rookie Adem Bona -- a center out of UCLA who the team selected No. 41 overall and recently came to terms with on a four-year deal -- talked about his willingness to jump with any player trying to dunk over him. In today's day and age, rim protectors often duck rather than challenge offensive players when they go up strong at the basket.
Bona's quote about his mentality was outstanding. From Dan Olinger of The Rights to Ricky Sanchez:
“That doesn’t change anything for me. A shot blocker always gets dunked on because you’re gonna jump … I’m probably gonna get caught a couple more times, and I’m gonna keep jumping and try to block every shot.”
— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) July 16, 2024
Adem Bona on Donovan Clingan’s dunk over him: pic.twitter.com/XOkZaQZNxR
The 2024-25 Sixers are going to hang their collective hat on forcing turnovers on the defensive end of the floor. Head coach Nick Nurse often uses aggressive schemes, and his roster is now full of risk-taking defensive players; George and Kelly Oubre Jr. in particular like to gamble in pursuit of steals and deflections.
In this one, the Summer Sixers had a mentality that reflects what many expect from the organization's main club come the fall. Every single starter for the Sixers had at least one steal on Tuesday night, with Council leading the way in terms of wreaking havoc on the defensive end of the floor.
The best and most successful NBA organizations are the ones with cohesion from top to bottom, and that does not just mean that the team's front office, coaching staff and ownership are all on the same page. The Sixers have often made sure to use similar schemes, terminology and philosophies across the organization, whether it is with the main roster, the Summer League team or the Delaware Blue Coats. Instilling the right habits across the organization is essential to developing depth, and that is what the Sixers seem focused on.
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