PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers acquired athletic 3-and-D wing Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets in a four-team deal at the deadline. The idea for the Sixers was McDaniels will be a player they can count on in the playoffs.
In 15 games with the Sixers, he’s averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds as he continues to find his niche on the team. His role in Philadelphia is much different than in Charlotte, where the ball was in his hands more often than not.
He is dealing with a hip injury that has sidelined him for three of the past five games, but as the playoffs approach, he is embracing what comes with the postseason. It’s something he didn’t experience while with the Hornets.
“I’m just looking forward to it,” McDaniels said. “I really don’t feel any pressure. It’s just going out there and playing. I feel like we have a good enough team to win it all so as long as we’re out there having fun, playing the right way, it should be a good thing for us.”
At the moment, the Sixers are in a stretch of playing seven of eight games on the road. They are 49-23 and in third place in the Eastern Conference. When McDaniels has played, he has helped the team’s bench unit and showed he can fit into the team’s schemes rather quickly because he doesn’t need plays called for him.
With 10 games to go before the playoffs, he is ready to make an impact and give Philadelphia the boost it needs to reach the mountaintop.
“I feel like we’re all good,” he finished. “We’re taking it a game at a time. We’re not really worried about it right now I’d say.”
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