Tag: Raul Neto

Raul Neto says he is ready to play more should any Sixers get COVID-19

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Raul Neto is prepared to play more should anything happen to the main players.

The Philadelphia 76ers are getting set to go to Orlando and resume the 2019-20 season that has been suspended since March 11 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The threat of COVID-19 is still out there and that is a real concern for teams as they get set to resume this season. Even though no Sixers have tested positive for it at the moment, the threat is still there so that means other guys will have to be ready.

For Raul Neto, who did not play much before the suspension after the Sixers made a couple of acquisitions at the trade deadline, he may be needed to step in and play some serious minutes should anything happen to one of the team’s main players. He is a guy who has played a variety of roles in his career, including starting 53 games as a rookie with the Utah Jazz, and he is ready for any role thrown his way as the season resumes.

“I know it’s a different situation than just a regular season,” Neto explained Sunday via Zoom. “It’s not only the virus, but people coming back from three months out, unfortunately, injuries can happen so I think my mindset is just the same as always, but I think even more being ready for that.”

Philadelphia has already clinched a playoff berth as the season resumes, but the Sixers will play eight games before the playoffs do begin so a lot of that will be getting ready for those games. To Neto’s point, even though a guy like Ben Simmons says he’s 100% ready to go, there’s a chance that he could re-aggravate his injury due to back issues being so touchy.

“Being ready in case I need to start in the playoffs so I think it’s just being mentally prepared for whatever the team needs from me is something that I’ve been working the last couple of weeks,” Neto added. “Just getting ready for this training camp and these last eight games and the playoffs. There’s a lot of things that can happen like the virus, injuries, that can give me more opportunity than I had until now.”

Neto has averaged 11.5 minutes in his first season with the Sixers after signing a 1-year deal in the offseason and he is shooting 39.4% from deep. He is not a guy who will be counted on for much, but should anything happen to the team in terms of injuries and the virus, then he is solid enough to fill a role for this team. [lawrence-related id=34053,34038,34039]

Former Utah Jazz point guard Raul Neto pays tribute to Jerry Sloan

Philadelphia 76ers guard Raul Neto pays tribute to Jerry Sloan on social media.

Before he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, Raul Neto was playing point guard for the Utah Jazz and he got to be around one of the more legendary coaches in NBA history in Jerry Sloan.

On Friday morning, the Jazz organization announced that Sloan had passed away due to Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 78. Sloan was one of the most innovative basketball minds ever and he had a lot of love and passion for the game of basketball.

Neto never had a chance to play for Sloan as he entered the league in 2015 and Sloan was done coaching in 2011, but Neto still had his experiences with the coach. He went to Instagram to tell a story of Sloan sitting down with him in the Summer League and talk about basketball constantly.

The loss of an NBA legend is never easy and on top of that, he was an even better person. We have his family in our thoughts during this time. [lawrence-related id=31389,31376,31372]

Stay or go? Predicting the 5 Philadelphia 76ers free agents for 2020

The Philadelphia 76ers have 5 free agents for 2020 and we are predicting whether they stay or go.

While there appears to be a real chance that the NBA will resume the 2019-20 season as commissioner Adam Silver has laid out the plan for what the league will do to resume play from their hiatus, it is still worth looking ahead to the offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers won’t have too much money to play with this summer due to the massive contracts given out in the summer of 2019 so they will have decisions to make in the offseason of 2020–whenever that will be–to try and help the team.

According to Sportrac, the Sixers have five players heading into unrestricted free agency once the offseason does begin. We are going to look at each one and predict whether they stay or go.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

Raul Neto, Sixers post how much they miss basketball on social media

Raul Neto and the Philadelphia 76ers are all missing basketball right now.

The NBA has been suspended since March 11 due to the global pandemic that has everybody quarantined and protecting themselves and their family. This has affected everybody in different ways and for a tightly knit group like the Philadelphia 76ers, it is killing them right now.

Backup point guard Raul Neto posted a picture on his Instagram of himself and the team in a huddle with the caption that he misses the game and his teammates a lot. Even though he has been in and out of the team’s rotation backing up Ben Simmons, he still has a big part on this team.

View this post on Instagram

Missing the game and my brothas a lot 🏀😢

A post shared by Raul Neto 🏀 (@raulneto08) on

There were then a few comments on the post by teammates such as Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz expressing their desire to get back out on the floor. Josh Richardson then shared Neto’s post to his Instagram story.

There is hope on the horizon as the NBA is looking at possibly resuming the season at Disney World in Orlando, but that will depend on everybody being able to stay safe throughout the entirety of the rest of the season. [lawrence-related id=30325,30318,30310]

Sixers heap praise upon Alec Burks, Raul Neto after win over Kings

The Philadelphia 76ers heap a lot of praise upon Alec Burks and Raul Neto after a win over the Sacramento Kings.

The Philadelphia 76ers got some big contributions from their big-money guys like Tobias Harris and Al Horford, but they don’t get out of Sacramento with a win over the Kings without a little help from the bench.

Alec Burks had 17 points off the bench and he knocked down three of his six attempts from deep to make the expected big impact off the bench. Raul Neto, who had been pushed out of the rotation a bit, had 16 points with 14 coming in the third quarter. They both filled in big roles to help the Sixers hold off the feisty Kings 125-108 for their first road win since January 20.

“Huge,” acknowledged Horford. “Alec when he turns it up like that, you just feel like everything he shoots he’ll make. That’s what I’ve quickly learned with him. With Raul, it’s just good to see him get an opportunity, take advantage of it and really show what he can do. He can shoot the ball, he can create. I just love the way that he played and the way that we were playing when he was out there.”

The 17 points and 3-for-6 shooting from deep is exactly the type of production the Sixers expected from Burks. He is a guy who can bring that instant offense off the bench and it gives coach Brett Brown options–Burks, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, etc.–in his lineup. He was averaging a career-high 16.1 points with the Golden State Warriors so he has that type of ability to put the ball in the basket.

“That’s what you’re always hoping,” said Brown. “To think that’s what you do every single night is ambitious. We want to get that more than we do. It’s easy for me to say that. I have to help him sometimes – put him in situations, make sure I get him on the court, time and the minutes. It’s a judgment thing. Sometimes when people aren’t going, you’re going to go to Furk or you’re going to let Matisse fly up and down and tap into Matisse’s defense. Therefore, there are options we have, but by and large, that’s what Alec does. That’s why he was brought in and tonight, we saw why.”

Neto was a big surprise. The veteran point guard was essentially pushed out of the rotation with the acquisition of Burks, the presence of Josh Richardson, and the emergence of Shake Milton. However, injuries can change a lot of things and Brown called upon Neto and he gave a huge spark in the third when the Kings made a push.

“I thought that Raul came in the game and had some big moments in the third period. I think he had 14 points in the third period,” Brown added. “I thought he played really well.”

Neto also caught the eye of Harris who said he was not surprised at all by what he did.

“He gave us a huge spark,” said Harris. “In the third quarter, they kind of cut it to eight points. He was out there – made two big threes, got to the mid-range, got to the basket. He was big for us. He’s a great player. That’s no surprise to any of us in here. He was just another guy who stepped up for us and was just steady through the whole game.”

The Sixers will need more of this when they head to The Bay on Saturday to face Stephen Curry and the Warriors looking for a 2-2 road trip. [lawrence-related id=27213,27184,27176]

Sixers to turn to Raul Neto, Glenn Robinson III to start vs. Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers will start Raul Neto and Glenn Robinson III against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Philadelphia 76ers get back to work on Thursday night against the Brooklyn Nets at home where they are 25-2 and they will have to do so a little short-handed.

The team already made a big change to the starting lineup as they moved Al Horford to a bench role as they will start Glenn Robinson III in his place. The team will also be without Ben Simmons as he is out due to lower back tightness and the team will turn to Raul Neto to start.

The Sixers have not played Neto as much recently due to the new acquisitions, but as the team is looking for a spot start, they will turn to the Brazilian.

Neto hasn’t played at all over the previous two games and he only played three minutes of garbage time in the game before those. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the starting role in this one.

Philadelphia and Brooklyn will tipoff at 8:00 p.m. EST from the Wells Fargo Center. [lawrence-related id=26138,26131,26119]

Sixers All-Star break report: Raul Neto is now pushed out of rotation

We now check out Raul Neto’s season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

This is the beginning of a new series by Sixers Wire to pass the time for everybody for the All-Star break. We’re going to take a look back at the 3 goals series from the offseason and see how each player has done in achieving those goals as well as give them a rating on how their season has gone. The rating will be based on a scale of 10 with 10 being how their season has gone based on the goals.

Friday midday’s edition is focusing on Raul Neto who was brought in to help run the offense off the bench in the offseason on a veteran’s minimum deal. Neto has had his moments, but at this current point in time, he has been pushed to the far end of the bench with the emergence of Shake Milton and the new additions.

We now review Neto’s season based on the goals we laid out for him in the offseason:

Leading the second unit

Neto is the prototypical Brown point guard in the sense that he is a pass-first type of guard with an outside shot. He is not the most athletic nor is he the best defender or anything and that has hurt him with the recent roster changes. Guys like Milton, Josh Richardson, and now Alec Burks can handle the ball and they are also helpful on the other end of the floor so Neto no longer really has a role.

In terms of what he has done on the season, he’s averaging 3.9 points and 1.5 assists while shooting 38.1% from deep on the season. His highlight of the year was scoring 19 points in the first half of a win over the Golden State Warriors and he had some solid run for a bit off the bench after that.

Holding off Trey Burke

The Sixers also brought in Burke in the offseason to compete for backup point guard minutes. Clearly, Neto has won the “tournament” as Burke is now no longer with the team in order to create space for the new additions. In this case, Neto has achieved that goal in a big way. He just no longer is really playing any minutes.

Bringing spacing

This is another area where Neto has succeeded with this group. His 38.1% shooting from deep has been very helpful, especially for this team. He only attempts 1.4 3-pointers per game, but when he does get an open look, he normally knocks them down. It’s on the other end of the floor where he has his issues and that’s why he has not played much recently after averaging 14.3 minutes in games from January 17 through February 3.

Overall, this has been a season you’d expect from Neto. He will hit free agency at the end of the season and will most likely not be coming back to the Sixers considering they now have other options.

Rating: 5/10 [lawrence-related id=25760,25742,25754]

Brett Brown explains why Raul Neto has played over Trey Burke

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown explains why Raul Neto has played over Trey Burke.

The Philadelphia 76ers have always had a decision to make with their backup point guards behind Ben Simmons. They have two capable options in Raul Neto and Trey Burke and coach Brett Brown has to decide on a nightly basis who to roll with.

He explained recently his decision on the backup point guard rotation and why he makes the decisions he does. After rolling with Burke for a little while, he switched up and went back to Neto and Burke has not played much recently.

“It’s really the same conversation,” said Brown Monday morning. “We go Raul, Trey, what does Raul have to do? We all remember four days ago, Raul had 19 points in the first half. You’re not going to play those two guys together. It’s one or the other and it’s true that Trey has value. It’s always that type of decision.”

However, since the 19 points against the Golden State Warriors, Neto has scored one point on 0-for-14 shooting in three games. So it would make sense that Brown would eventually shift back to Burke who has not played any real minutes since January 9. He did not play until the fourth quarter in Monday’s loss to the Miami Heat and by then, the game was already decided.

Eventually, something has to give. Neto is the prototypical Brown point guard who focuses on passing first before looking for his own offense. However, his ineffectiveness on both ends of the floor really begs the question of why Burke has not received a call to play. He can give the team a spark on offense and he brings a different aspect to the floor.

The Sixers will look to get a win on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks to avoid a winless road trip. [lawrence-related id=24935,24922,24912]

Brett Brown, Raul Neto react to big bench performance vs. Warriors

The Philadelphia 76ers react to a big night from Raul Neto in a win over the Golden State Warriors.

On an emotional night that caused the Philadelphia 76ers to get off to a sluggish start, they needed some type of spark. That spark came in the form of Raul Neto who played the final 15 minutes of the first half to give the Sixers some life in a 115-104 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Neto scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and he made three shots from deep on a big night for him. His performance in the first half helped the Sixers take a 59-54 lead into halftime.

“It felt great, to be honest,” he said afterward. “I was just trying to be aggressive, staying confident, I think I put a lot of work on those kinds of shots so when I saw that those shots were open, I was kind of happy. I made them, they kept going under and giving me space and I was just being aggressive. It felt pretty good.”

His play was so strong that when coach Brett Brown tried to bring Ben Simmons back in, Simmons waved it off and allowed Neto to keep going.

“As it was communicated to me, as I’m getting ready to have Ben Simmons come back in and to Ben’s credit as a teammate, he sort of passed on down the bench to one of my assistants, ‘Let’s let him keep going.’,” Brown explained. “That’s an interesting selfless instruction, so we did it and he rewarded us. I think he had 19 first-half points. It’s not something that you are normally going to do, letting Ben sit there. Raul had played so well, so we decided to roll with it.”

When Neto heard the news, he was happy with it, but he understood that that’s just the spirit of the group and they want each other to succeed.

“When we see somebody out there playing great, I think we want each other to play good,” he said. “We want each other to be out there and have good minutes. That’s just the spirit of the team.”

As mentioned above, the Sixers did get off to a slow start and Neto noticed it. The Bryant tragedy set the mindset for him to really enjoy life and understand what it all means in the grand scheme of things.

“I could feel the energy was kind of low at the beginning,” he added. “But if we take something from that it’s just: enjoy every minute we are here. We never know what the day of tomorrow will bring and that’s what my mindset was. Just being present, just being there.”

Philadelphia will now head to Atlanta on Thursday to begin a four-game road trip against the Hawks.

Raul Neto understanding role with Sixers, playing with Ben Simmons

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Raul Neto is beginning to understand his role with the team.

The Philadelphia 76ers tried something a little different in Monday’s 117-111 road win over the Brooklyn Nets and that was to have Raul Neto play next to Ben Simmons and have him wreak havoc.

Simmons received all of the glory, and rightfully so after a masterful performance, but Neto should receive some praise too. He ran the offense with precision off the bench and only had one turnover with his four assists while knocking down a shot from deep.

“One of the reasons why they brought me here was they wanted me to hit those open shots so I just try to shoot it with confidence,” said Neto. “Just being smart and being in the right space at the right time, I think will get me open shots or it would get somebody else open shots too.”

The focus of the Neto and Simmons lineup was the ability of the two players to run the pick-and-roll. Neto is more of a pass-first point guard so he is able to find with Simmons with pocket passes with him as a roller or he can throw lobs up to the rim and Simmons can go get it.

“It was good, he made it easier,” said Neto of the time with Simmons. “He’s so good on the pick-and-roll, he’s setting the screen and just rolling so I think for me it was just easy to make a choice. It was either me shooting a floater or he’s open on the roll. It was one of the first times I’ve played with him with that many minutes so I think it was good.”

The Sixers will still alternate the backup point guard role between Neto and Trey Burke as well as Josh Richardson getting a look, but as long as Neto is continuing to understand his role on this team, they will be able to make it work. [lawrence-related id=23985,23978,23967]