Though it wouldn’t be logical to glean much from a game in which none of the Sixers’ opening night starters were available, there was a storyline Tuesday night that stood out until the final seconds of the Sixers' 130-117 loss to the Suns.
With Josh Richardson resting and Joel Embiid (left ankle injury), Tobias Harris (right ankle soreness), Al Horford (left knee soreness) and Ben Simmons (left knee) all sidelined by injuries, Kyle O’Quinn came close to his first NBA triple-double in his 471st game.
He likely would’ve had a layup attempt to move from nine points to 11 if Furkan Korkmaz had found him under the rim late.
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O’Quinn would’ve enjoyed the achievement, though it sounds like he didn’t want to have his name be remotely associated with Ricky Davis. At the end of a 2003 blowout, the then-Cavs wing infuriated the Jazz by trying to claim a 10th “rebound” and his first career-triple through quickly shooting and missing on his own basket. O’Quinn wanted the milestone but didn’t want to look nearly that desperate in seeking it.
"I don’t think that Furk knew,” he said. “I knew, but I didn’t want to look like I was trying to get it. I didn’t want to look like one of those guys running in to miss a layup just to get the rebound and put it back. Furk was playing the game, and I’d much rather us play in the flow. … He came to me after the game and said he apologized in the most sincere way. I guess me and him are good. Maybe we’ll talk about it later at dinner."
NBA
Brett Brown was effusive in his praise of O’Quinn’s attitude and diligence this year.
“I can’t tell you how much respect I have for him and the way that he’s handled this whole season,” Brown said. “He hasn’t received a lot of minutes. And when I see him in a locker room and a team meeting, and just how he carries himself. … He talks, he communicates, he’s in great shape, he maintains that fitness base.
“And lots of players don’t have the character to be able to professionally see a day-to-day challenge and grind through. And for me — forget being his coach, just from a human standpoint — I respect the heck out of that. To see him come in and be rewarded for his preparation, as he was tonight, I just think it’s exceptional. And his teammates feel all of what I just said. … He’s highly respected.”
However, Brown was clear that O’Quinn’s good night and Raul Neto’s 22-point effort did not persuade him to make any last-minute radical changes to his rotation. Those players remain, in all likelihood, insurance policies.
Mike Scott, though, may have a larger role. He had 17 points and four rebounds vs. Phoenix, though the veteran forward only played 4:39 in the second half because the Sixers didn’t want to overextend him. Scott revealed Monday that his right knee had been swollen, but he said he was “feeling a lot better” after having it drained. He missed the team’s first three seeding games because of the injury.
“I think that it’s going to be contingent upon matchups,” Brown said of where Scott might fit in the postseason. “You know, like every coach in the NBA, you’re going to play whatever team they tell you you’re going to play. And immediately you’re going to go, ‘OK, who are the people that can guard X?’
“And there is a physicality and a toughness in Mike Scott that is undeniable. And he’s got a bounce, and I think that he’s not intimidated by the environment. And so what that looks like going forward, I don’t know. But I do know that he’s somebody who would not shy away from the moment.”
Glenn Robinson III was another bright spot in a loss that means little in the big picture, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He’s evidently healthy enough to play but, according to him, is still dealing with some issues related to the left hip pointer injury that he sustained in the Sixers’ second scrimmage.
“It’s a unique injury, I’ll just say that,” he said. “Small things — talking, laughing — little things. I’m trying to work my way through it and every day it’s getting better. Just trying to do everything I can with the training staff. I’ve been trying to get my legs under me these last two games and I’m going to do the same things the next couple games we’ve got.
“I’m not too concerned about it and hopefully we can just get to 100 percent. ... I feel it a little bit, still.”
Ahead of their penultimate seeding game Wednesday vs. the Raptors, the Sixers are a game behind the fifth-seeded Pacers.
When asked whether he had a preference about who his team plays in the first round — a matchup with the No. 3 Celtics is looking more and more probable — Brown simply said, “No.”
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