The Philadelphia 76ers were able to walk away with a 109-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night to improve to 6-1 on the season. Despite missing LeBron James and Joel Embiid, the Sixers were able to pull out a win thanks to some strong play from the others.
Once again, Dean Wade stepped in and produced for this group at a high level. He only scored four points, but he also dished out a career-high 10 assists as he filled the role that James normally does as a playmaker for the Sixers. He also took on the likes of Naz Reid, Brandon Miller, and Moussa Diabate on the defensive end of the floor.
"I mean, excellent," coach Nick Nurse told reporters in Charlotte after the win. "I think, again, there's going to be opportunities where they're
going to put two on the ball, and he did a great job of kind of finding that window and then making the next play, and he's got good size. You can see them in that window, too. He also made a really nice inbound pass there late to get the ball in, which is important, too."
When considering the fact that the Sixers were able to still find a way to execute plays the right way down the stretch is a testament to how ready the team was along with Wade's ability to do nearly everything on the floor. Philadelphia can continue to lean on him in the moments when James isn't available. That's the importance of depth in today's NBA.
Also, never underestimate the importance of a good inbound pass in order to get the ball in and help the Sixers get into a set.
"They put Naz Reid on the ball and we decided to use Dean to kind of at least see a little bit of the action," Nurse added. "He made a good pass on that. But again, I think Dean is still coming out of this injury just a bit, but he knows how to play. He knows how to play. Very good defensive player, but he just knows how to make the right play. And tonight the ball found him a little bit more than normal, probably. But he made the right plays with it."
The Sixers will return home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday before hitting the road for a 3-game trip.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers give praise to Dean Wade following career-high game vs. Hornets
