In the grand scheme of things, Isaiah Joe is probably not going to play a particularly huge role for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2021-22 season when it comes to their championship hopes, but he could play a part in their future.
The second-year guard had another impressive game on Thursday in the team’s preseason win over the Toronto Raptors: 15 points off the bench. He shot 5-for-7 from the floor, and he knocked down three of his four attempts from deep in another positive effort.
This has been a culmination of hard work for the man out of Arkansas, and he is catching the attention of his teammates who are happy with what they have seen from the young guard.
“He’s doing a great job,” said veteran Tobias Harris. “He’s very humble with the way that he works. He comes in every day. He gets up probably the most shots of anybody on the team, but I think if you asked anybody about Isaiah, there aren’t enough positive things to say. He just goes out there and plays his game sound, solid as ever, offensively and defensively as you’re seeing.”
One can also see Joe growing as a basketball player on the offensive end. Everybody knows that he can shoot, so defenders will run at him. In one particular possession on Thursday, Joe caught the ball, pump-faked to let the defender go by, stepped in and knocked down a jumper.
“He wouldn’t have done that last year,” smiled coach Doc Rivers. “He probably would have tried to get the 3 off instead of sometimes driving it, shot, or making another play. We work on it every day with all our guards, because this league is so into running guys off the line. You can dribble back into the paint, and suck the defense in and get another 3. We just got to keep doing it.”
Then, there is Joe’s effort on the defensive end. The young guard has been playing very hard on that side of the floor, and he is making big plays all over the place. There were a few plays on Thursday that he harassed Toronto’s guards into turnovers or tough shots. That is the type of effort that will put him in the good graces of Rivers and his teammates.
“I always predicate my game on my defense because I’m already undersized,” Joe explained. “People think they can abuse me on the defensive end, so I really got to step up to the plate and really take pride in defense. Our team as a whole, really, we get our points from our defense, and I’m not going to come in the game and be a liability.”
Joe’s work ethic is going to put him in a good position going forward and now, he just needs to put it to good use out on the floor. This is a potentially big season for him in terms of his development going forward. He might not play a lot in 2021-22, but this is the season that could set him up for the future.
“As he continues to play and gain confidence, more things are going to come on the horizon,” Harris added. “He’s done a great job all throughout training camp and even in the two games that he’s played.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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