Jared McCain found his rhythm during his second outing for the Delaware Blue Coats.
Following a slow start to the season, the Philadelphia 76ers second-year guard put up 15 points, making 6-of-13 attempts
and six assists in 20 minutes against the Greensboro Swarm on Saturday.
McCain once again had his minutes split up into two 10-minute stints, one in each of the first two quarters.
“I feel a lot better,” he said postgame. “A lot better, just getting to play up and down and get the breathing room.”
He would also drain his first three-pointer of the season.
The first quarter was where he did most of his damage, scoring 13 on 5-of-8 shooting with some beautiful shot creation in the midrange and post. It was clear his confidence in his knee, thumb and shot were coming back to him in real time.
“I fully trust my knee,” McCain said. “There’s been no pain, it’s just more like getting back to playing how I can play.”
As seen in the video above, McCain is using the left knee first to initiate contact for positioning, then as a pivot and launching point on his shot. He was utilizing his strength or change-of-pace on almost every midrange shot he took, only possible when he’s got confidence in his lower body. He spoke about how important that trust is for him considering his play style.
“It’s huge. Here, with the ball in my hands and trying to create space with that leg, I like to push off my left left leg. And so that was the main thing I wanted to feel back to myself is getting to push off that left leg. That’s my balance and tonight, I really felt that getting to my midrange and that trust is huge.”
It was evident, as McCain got great lift on multiple pull-up jumpers, including a beauty from the free throw line.
McCain’s three was the highlight of the night, as he has yet to hit one on seven attempts so far with the Sixers. Everyone at Chase Fieldhouse including McCain himself, breathed a palpable sigh of relief.
It felt “absolutely amazing,” he said postgame.
“Yeah, it felt amazing, just to see that one go down. Especially in transition, that’s probably my favorite shot of all time. To see that one go down I was very excited.”
McCain’s return-to-form game was attended by Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse. Nurse would leave midway through the third quarter while Morey would watch nearly the whole game, despite McCain being done at halftime.
There was not much to see, as the Greensboro Swarm poured it on in the second half, defeating the Blue Coats 145- 129.
Johni Broome took advantage of the opportunity, notching his first career double-double with 26 points, making 9-of-20 attempts, 10 boards and a couple of threes from the top of the key. It’s the kind of night that Sixers fans can point to when discussing his potential.
The three-pointer, due to his lack of ideal size and athleticism for a center, is an extremely important tool for him to continue to develop. It looked very good Saturday, with a couple of his misses going halfway down the basket then rimming out.
In totality, it was a successful two-game rehab assignment for Jared McCain, as his shot creation and playmaking appear to be back on track.
