The Philadelphia 76ers made a big move in February to acquire Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III from the Golden State Warriors in an effort to find a shot creator and more bench production.
Burks has done just that off the bench as he has done a terrific job of giving the team offense when they need it. He had 18 points and six rebounds and he got to the free-throw line seven times in their Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics. He is the one guy on this roster who can create his shot off the dribble and he has done an excellent job thus far.
“I think that he’s continued to improve, continued to show why he’s been in the league for as long as he has,” said coach Brett Brown. “We certainly need his ability to break people down off the dribble. He’s unique to our team with his offensive skillset especially.”
Burks’ ability to continue to go downhill will make a difference for Philadelphia on offense as this series with the Celtics. There’s a lot that he can do on offense and there were even some calls that the officials missed where he could have been at the line more than seven times. That type of aggressiveness will only help going forward.
“I thought he got fouled on several drives,” Brown added. “He has so much wiggle and ability to get into the paint and go at bigs. He had a big tip at the end, had a good play at the end where we got him to the free-throw line and he could’ve cut the game to three with 30 seconds.”
The Sixers will certainly need somebody to score the ball at an efficient level and get to the line as well. They will need to keep up with Boston’s offensive talent this entire series as they head into Game 2 on Wednesday night in Orlando. [lawrence-related id=36957,36954,36950]