3 observations after McCain misses potential game-winner, summer Sixers fall

3 observations after McCain misses potential game-winner, summer Sixers fall originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The story of Jared McCain’s night did not dramatically flip in the final seconds.

With the Sixers behind by three points Monday against the Trail Blazers and six seconds left, Jeff Dowtin Jr. made one free throw and missed the second. Keve Aluma chased down the rebound and tossed the ball to McCain, who air balled a game-winning three-point attempt.

The 97-95 defeat dropped the Sixers to 1-1 in the Las Vegas summer league. They’ll face the Timberwolves on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET.

McCain had 11 points on 3-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists. Ricky Council IV scored 18 points. Dowtin added 17 points and eight assists.

Blazers guard Bryce McGowens made two late free throws to put Portland on top and posted 20 points.

Here are observations on the Sixers’ loss Monday night to the Blazers:

Still waiting for McCain to heat up  

The Sixers committed three turnovers before getting a field goal up and Portland grabbed a 14-6 lead.

McCain made a corner three-pointer on the Sixers’ first shot and drilled a deep jumper on the team’s penultimate possession of the first quarter. Late in the second, the rookie guard broke free for a triple off a well-executed baseline out-of-bounds play.

McCain also displayed a bit of his playmaking creativity. He made a brilliant behind-the-back assist to Adem Bona around 7-foot-2 Blazers rookie Donovan Clingan.

Unfortunately, McCain was ice-cold in the second half and appeared to doubt his instincts at times in the fourth quarter. He missed a floater, had a mid-range jumper blocked with 17 seconds remaining, and got whistled for a five-second violation on a sideline out-of-bounds play where tossing a pass to Bona appeared viable.

Through five summer league games, McCain is 17 for 64 from the field (26.6 percent) and 6 for 26 (23.1 percent) from three-point range. He’s bound to trend up soon.

And as Council can attest, it’s better to struggle in July than during the actual NBA season. McCain would obviously love to experience sustained shooting success at…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-observations-mccain-misses-potential-032654400.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-07-16 03:26:54

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