Philadelphia 76ers rookie Isaiah Joe was known for his elite shooting while playing at Arkansas and that is the main skill he brings to the NBA level, but on Thursday, he showed off his defensive acumen in a win over the Miami Heat.
Joe was assigned to Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson who is one of the elite players at being able to create space and shoot it at a high level. That is a tough challenge for any rookie, but Joe stepped in and he made it tough on him denying the ball and helping Philadelphia get a win.
“He was great,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He was great the other night, too. That’s two games in a row that he has proven, we know he has an NBA shot, right? You can see that and he has deep range, you can see that. What we don’t know is if he can defend at the NBA level and he has shown that he can.”
Joe did knock down four triples showing off what he can do on the offensive end, but that is what everybody knew. Nobody knew whether he could play this type of defense, especially against a guy like Robinson. He also smothered Tyler Herro and rejected his shot on a layup attempt.
“I’m the type of player, everybody knows I can shoot, but I do take a lot of pride on the defensive end,” explained Joe. “I think somebody of my stature has to knuckle down on defense and lock in on guys like a Duncan Robinson who can get his shot off with a minimal amount of space. I really took on that challenge and he’s a great player. I learn from guarding players like him and I’m looking forward to future challenges.”
Isaiah Joe contains Tyler Herro's drive and blocks him pic.twitter.com/IRfjhwi41d
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) January 15, 2021
Of course, Joe’s NBA development has been sped up lately due to Philadelphia being so shorthanded, but that time has allowed him to learn and be able to make an impact on this team moving forward.
“His confidence is just getting better and better,” Simmons said of Joe. “He’s becoming more confident in taking certain shots. He’s figuring out the game, we’re helping him with certain things defensively and then offensively. He’s learning quick and when you have guys who want to learn and get better, it is a lot easier to coach them and talk to them about certain things. He’s made a huge jump within the past few games.”
What really is impressive is Joe is doing this against the Heat. They’re one of the better offensive teams in the league due to their ability to share the ball, move it, and get everyone involved. That is a challenge for anybody let alone a rookie.
“You’re not gonna get too many teams that are harder to defend than that team,” added Rivers. “You’re just not. They move the ball, they share the ball, and they compromise your defense quite a bit so I’m very happy for him.”
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