ATLANTA — The Hawks’ all-time leader in assists was ready to chip in Friday night.
“I’m going to give it a go,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers joked before his extremely shorthanded team faced a full-strength opponent. “I’d get more shots now than I did with Dominique (Wilkins), I can guarantee you that.”
The 61-year-old Rivers wasn’t needed between the lines for the Sixers’ zero-stakes penultimate regular-season game, but he especially enjoyed an overtime win that featured 20-year-old Jaden Springer against Hawks star Trae Young. Every one of the Sixers’ top six players was out ahead of a first-round playoff series vs. the Nets.
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After securing the G League title and being named Finals MVP, Springer said he woke up at 4:50 a.m. to head to the airport and begin the trip from Texas to Georgia. He did sneak a nap in before a 19-point performance full of clutch plays, including a massive put-back slam and sturdy defense on Young as he tried to wriggle free for a game-winner at the tail end of the fourth quarter.
“Going into the game, I didn’t know what to expect,” Springer said. “I just knew that I was going to go hard and compete. The result came out like I wanted it to; we got the dub and that’s all that really matters.”
Following his steal on Young late in the fourth, Springer fed Danuel House Jr. (22 points) for a fast-break dunk. During the ensuing timeout, James Harden — hard to miss in an all-orange outfit slightly brighter than the basketball — shared a few playful words with House. Harden also got a major kick out of Georges Niang’s crunch-time sharpshooting and gleeful trash talk. Niang tied his career scoring high with 24 points.
Shake Milton smoked his previous career best in assists with 16. He kept plugging away after a woeful first half on close-range looks. Milton helped the Sixers improve to 10-5 this season without Joel Embiid. Regardless of how Sunday afternoon’s regular-season finale in Brooklyn goes, this year will be the Sixers’ best yet in Embiid-less games during the All-Star big man's career. Their only other season above .500 was 2017-18.
For the first time, Springer was a key part of the picture.
“He was great,” Rivers said. “Great defensively. He stayed within his role, right? … I love that he pulled up twice for the three with confidence, because that’s his next step. Defensively, I’m just going to keep saying it: He’s an NBA defender. He makes plays, he rebounds the ball, he does a lot of little things.”
Of course, shooting is a rather big thing in 2023 for most NBA guards, even those who don’t rely heavily on their jumpers. In his second G League season, Springer improved from 24.1 to 31.9 percent on three-point shots. The Tennessee product also raised his free-throw percentage to 77.5 from 65.1. His jumper isn’t anywhere near perfect and NBA teams will presumably not classify him as an outside shooting threat for a while, but Springer’s mechanics appear significantly better. Compared to his rookie year, he’s shooting a smoother, lower-effort ball and not depending on a deep dip before firing.
In addition to his work with Sixers assistant coach Sam Cassell and skill development coach Spencer Rivers — a duo that’s been central to Tyrese Maxey’s growth — Springer has been receptive to Sixers coaching consultant Phil Beckner’s instruction.
“Just a good shooting coach,” Rivers said of Beckner pregame. “I think he’s really helped him — all the skill development guys (have helped), though. Jaden really works with Sam and Spencer far more than Phil. But what we do with Phil is we send guys to him, and guys look at their shots.
“Some guys are very finicky; they don’t want anybody touching their shots. Some guys are not. Jaden was very open to it, and that was good. I think Phil has great knowledge, so I think it was good for him. And it’s good to see someone else other than the guys you see every day. I’ve always thought that.”
Springer and Jalen McDaniels each went 2 for 3 from three-point range. The Sixers won’t expect McDaniels to score 24 points every game in the playoffs, but he’s displayed the intuition to dart into open spaces and the athleticism to finish even when passes aren’t perfectly on target.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” McDaniels said when asked about how he's developed his cutting skill. “I don’t even ever work on it, to be honest with you. It’s just instinctual, I would say. I would say it’s just instincts with knowing where to be — like if my man’s head is turned, I’ve got to cut. That’s all it really is — just playing for a long time and knowing what to do now.”
Meanwhile, Springer knows almost nothing about the NBA through on-court experience.
NBA
One start in, he’s having a fantastic time.
“It was great,” Springer said. “It was fun. That was my first time really being able to compete against one of the top guards in this league. I had fun doing that and hopefully, I get more chances like that going forward.”