The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a bad loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday when they could not find the basket in the second half. They scored 32 points in the final 24 minutes and could not find a rhythm at all.
There was one bright spot in the loss: the play of rookie Isaiah Joe. He did not light up the scoreboard like fellow rookie Tyrese Maxey normally does, but he delivered on the defensive end. He shot 2-for-2 in the second half, however, to help his cause.
Joe did a solid job of moving his feet and being tough and physical on the defensive end, which is something that caught the eye of his coach and his teammates.
“Isaiah, I thought in the second half, got a little more comfortable and made a couple shots,” said coach Doc Rivers. “The one thing I love about Isaiah is his defense. I think overall, for a rookie, he’s a really solid defensive player.”
Joe helped the Sixers retain control for a while in the third quarter, and it was in part due to his defensive play. He did a really good job of keeping up with Indiana’s Doug McDermott and Caris LeVert and making life tough on them.
“He was really good,” said Ben Simmons. “I was actually surprised how well he was able to guard out there. He did a really good job of taking on that assignment, and he was a big part of that run we made in the third.”
Joe needs to continue to develop as a player and he has the opportunity to be a real 3-and-D player in this league. He has skills that can be offered to the Sixers in the future.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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