PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers saw the debut of one of their new offseason additions in the form of Dean Wade on Saturday. After missing the first two games due to an ankle injury, Wade filled in for the absent LeBron James in a 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
In his Sixers debut, Wade finished with seven points, knocked down two triples on three attempts, and had three steals, in 28 minutes. Obviously, coming off the ankle issue he suffered in the preseason finale, coach Nick Nurse was not trying to push him too much. He is going to be hugely important to Philadelphia's success.
"I'm a little sore, but feeling good," Wade said of his ankle after the win. "Me and the training staff, you know, had a few days to get together
and, you know, just grind out some real treatment times, and so I'm feeling good. It was yeah, it was kind of an awkward fall. I kind of don't really know how I was able to shoot free throws after that. I'm pretty sure VJ (Edgecombe) got fouled, and he kind of got pushed into me. So yeah, I don't know, but yeah, I'm feeling good."
Wade started the scoring off by spotting up in the corner and drilling a 3-pointer off a Tyrese Maxey pass. That is what the Sixers are going to need from him as they move forward. He did so much for this group against the Bucks on Saturday as he was able to handle plenty of defensive matchups, and was able to do the little things that don't show up in a box score. That is the beauty of having somebody like Wade around.
"It felt good," Wade added. "I wasn't sure when my first shot would come or if it was going to come at all. And you know, being out there first possession and not being absolutely dog tired for your first shot was awesome. So, yeah, that was cool. I felt great when I saw them help uphill. Tyrese swung it. I felt very confident, and you know, it felt great."
Nurse and his staff will be looking to work Wade into things along with Anfernee Simons, who has had an up and down start to the season. If the Sixers can get those two into a rhythm, then Philadelphia will be a much better team for it.
"He's good," Nurse said of Wade's debut. "I think both him and Ant are still kind of trying to figure it out. But I think again, Dean gives us some nice options, and I really liked the little segment when we had him and Jabari in together, and it was really going really good. And then right away, Jabari (Walker) got, you know, tweaked his knee. That gave us a little versatility there to play him at some five, which I liked. Again, just pretty solid. I don't think he was moving maybe as well as he would like to or can move tonight. But he played a solid game."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Dean Wade reacts to his Sixers debut after win over Bucks at home
