McDaniels already showing some poise on the court

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. - They say that when an athlete reaches the professional level, the game proceeds at breakneck speed. Not until the player starts to see the game at a slower pace can he fully use his athletic abilities the way he and his team anticipated.

K.J. McDaniels is a long way from landing in that comfort zone, having played all of 81 minutes in the NBA. But the Clemson product has a level of ease that is hard to miss. Perhaps it's his stoic look, whether he's coming off his man to block a shot, draining a three or getting bulldozed by a bigger, accomplished NBA veteran. Maybe it's the slow, but smooth way he shoots his jumper with little excess body movement.

Whatever it is, it is undeniable. The 6-6 wingman, who was the ACC's defensive player of the year a season ago and has a penchant for coming out of nowhere to swat shots, is a real bright spot for a team that has failed to hit the win column in any of its four games.

He's averaging nine points a game so far, with his best showing the 14 points he posted Monday against the Houston Rockets. He's made six of his 11 three-pointers, and has seen his playing time grow and, with that, his confidence.

Although Houston guard James Harden poured in 35 on the Sixers in the Rockets' 104-93 win, McDaniels would hardly change a thing. He covered the All-Star for a lot of the night, challenging him throughout, even though he lost most of those. He called his time on Harden "fun" and "a learning lesson." The 32nd overall pick in June's draft just seems to have an understanding of what it's all about for him and this team that will suffer through another season of painful growing.

"I feel like I'm getting more comfortable," McDaniels said. "As the game goes on, I get comfortable each game and I talk to my teammates, and they just motivate me to go out there and play hard. I've always been able to shoot. I feel confidence has a big part to do with it, and a lot of reps. I shoot a lot after practice and before so I feel I'm getting more comfortable with it."

Get the feeling he's comfortable?

"With James Harden, one of the instructions was that you can't hit James up high," coach Brett Brown said of the defensive assignment against Harden. "You need to really show refs your hands, and he didn't do that [laughs]. He picked them up high, but didn't show his hands, like all of us. So you get punished, and it's a hot stove, and so you get burned. It's a fantastic learning thing for him. His heart was in the right place, trying to harass him out there. But James is James, and then he gets playing downhill. K.J. is coming around in just learning the league and trying to learn to take his natural skills and parlay that into an NBA setting. He's most definitely coming around. How many athletes do you see who can shoot threes and guard? That's a good start."

The team practiced yesterday at the expansive military base in South Jersey in front of a nice gathering. Brown and his players spoke informally to those people after the practice and posed for pictures.

"We understand that we're able to do what we do because of what they do on the big picture of reality," Brown said. "It's quite amazing what they do, given the global times that we all now live in. Their role is, obviously, enormous and one that we all have great respect for. We come here as a privilege to play in front of them, and, from time to time, doing things like this for them is our privilege.

"To see these people and to understand the reserves what they mean? We're with active military people here, and there's a section right around the corner that has many, many reserves that have real jobs and real lives, and then when it gets ugly and hard, boom, the bullpen is called in, and here we go again, they're gone [into service]. We all have great respect and appreciation."

Sixers (0-4) vs. Orlando Magic (0-4)

Tonight, 7 o'clock

Wells Fargo Center

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: The Fanatic (97.5 FM)

Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville