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Sixers' Saric: 'I know what I can expect'

Dario Saric is still adjusting to NBA terminology.

Even with that, the 76ers rookie has come a long way in regards to comfort since the preseason opener against the Celtics on Oct. 4.

"I'm starting to really feel the game," he said. "I know what I can expect in a game and in what situation."

The 6-foot-10 power forward from Croatia will try to put the things he has learned to use Wednesday night when the Sixers host the Thunder in their season opener at the Wells Fargo Center.

Saric snapped out of his shooting slump in Friday's final preseason game at Miami.  He finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting and seven rebounds. He averaged 10.2 points in seven preseason games.

Getting to play in Wednesday's NBA opener has been a long time in the making for Saric.

The Sixers acquired him in the 2014 draft, but he spent the past two seasons playing in Turkey.  The 22-year-old has actually played professionally in Europe since 2009. As a result, he was asked what it will be like to face NBA players such as Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook.

"It's a little bit weird," Saric said. "Five years, you play in PlayStation games against that player. Now, you are in real life.

"In Westbrook, I have one of the fastest guys in the world."

But Saric will tell you that he's worked hard to be able to play in the NBA.

"It's not so easy, you know, from Europe to play here with the best players in the world," he said. "It's looking like some gift for me."

Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.