McDaniels impressing on defense in the early going

IF NERLENS NOEL'S 24 games at Kentucky and his NBA Summer League display are any indication, the lanky, 6-11 power forward has the potential to become one of the league's elite shot-blockers.

But in the 76ers' lackluster preseason opener at Boston 2 nights ago, it was another rookie who stood out in that category.

Though he contributed only a point on two field-goal attempts in the Sixers' turnover-filled 98-78 loss, shooting guard K.J. McDaniels impressed defensively with a game-high four blocks, including one on a shot attempt by former Sixer Evan Turner. McDaniels, the 32nd overall selection in June's draft, also contributed a pair of steals in his preseason debut.

"I feel like I do [surprise opponents with my shot-blocking ability]," he said after yesterday's practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where the team readied for tonight's preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Wells Fargo Center. "They're not expecting a 'two' guard to go block shots, but I feel like I've got to have my teammates' back, so I go out there and do whatever I need to."

This is nothing new for McDaniels, whose father preached the importance of defense to his son at a young age. McDaniels, who didn't start Monday, but might come the Oct. 29 season opener, tied for 23rd in the nation last season at Clemson with 2.78 blocks per game. He tallied four blocks or more in a game 10 times and twice had seven-block performances, one of which came against Temple.

"His college stats would've suggested he would do stuff like that," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "For me, it's trying to put him in a lane that is very - you've heard me use the name Bruce Bowen before. We never put Bruce in pick-and-rolls. We never, like, isolated him, watched him do stuff with the ball. It was making corner 'threes' from the skill package of catch go, catch shot, stuff from the [corners].

"And most importantly is guard your man, be tenacious defensively. And I think that that is in [McDaniels]. If we wants to know where his bread is buttered, that's where it is, is on the defensive side."

When the curtain was raised to allow reporters to watch the final minutes of a 3-hour practice, the group of players on the court featured a couple of new faces.

The Sixers announced yesterday they signed a pair of free agents in guard Malcolm Lee and forward Drew Gordon. To make roster space, veteran guard Keith Bogans and big man Jarvis Varnado were waived.

Lee, listed at 6-5, is a former second-round draft pick out of UCLA who spent 2011-2013 with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gordon, 6-9, was undrafted out of New Mexico and played the last two seasons overseas. He recently had a stint with the Sixers' Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Lee, 24, was back in Los Angeles working out when he got the call less than a week before training camp. He said he was known in Minnesota for his defense, but feels he can also score and make plays.

"I see a big opportunity to help this young team as well as help my career, too, because I'm kind of rebuilding my career as well," he said. "[I] had a little setback last year, but I feel like it's a good opportunity to help this franchise head in the right direction."

Gordon, also 24, said he hopes to bring the team "a lot of defense" and described himself as someone who can "do what other guys don't want to do. Dirty work, garbage-man type stuff." Gordon had bone spurs removed from his left ankle in June after an injury he suffered playing in Italy, but said he is back to 100 percent.

The release of the 34-year-old Bogans came as no surprise. The Sixers acquired him and a 2018 second-round draft pick from Cleveland on Sept. 27 for a protected 2015 second-round pick. Varnado, 26, had been battling an Achilles' injury. Brown said the team will revisit the possibility of bringing him back upon his recovery.

Nerlens Noel seemed eager to get back on the court in front of the home fans tonight after struggling offensively in Monday's preseason opener. "He's so prideful," Brett Brown said. "He hurt [Monday]. He really hurt. He wanted to play well. He didn't feel like he did. The reality from me looking at him [is] he cares. He genuinely cares. That in itself is a wonderful sign" . . . Tonight's game is the Hornets' preseason opener. Their roster includes Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who grew up in Somerdale, Camden County, and Gerald Henderson, a former Episcopal Academy star and the son of the former Sixers guard of the same name.