76ers, Ish Smith look to bounce back
The 76ers swear they're far from the lackluster bunch that was pummeled by the Boston Celtics on Sunday. And they say they are determined to show that Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns at Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers swear they're far from the lackluster bunch that was pummeled by the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
And they say they are determined to show that Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns at Wells Fargo Center.
"I'd be very surprised if you see anything that reflects last night tomorrow," coach Brett Brown said Monday after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Time will tell.
But the Sixers (6-39) were dominated in just about every category in the 112-92 home setback to the Celtics. Their losing margin could have been wider if not for Boston resting four of its starters for the fourth quarter.
"After a game like that, you just kind of like, excuse my language, you want to kind of throw it up," Ish Smith said. "Like get it out of your system, regurgitate it. I just had a nasty taste in my mouth last night. I woke up early this morning thinking about it. I just wanted to get in. We had a good practice, a good, spirited practice to get it out of our system."
The point guard, who scored seven points on 3 of 12 shooting, said he fell asleep about midnight Monday after the game. Smith woke up around 6 a.m., earlier than normal, to think about his team's performance before falling back to sleep an hour later.
"I had a nasty taste in my mouth," Smith said. "I'm glad that I got a little bit of it out [during practice]. But a win would make it feel so much better."
That's why the squad is motivated to face Phoenix (14-31). The Suns are coming off a 98-95 victory Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks. Before that, they had lost six straight and 15 of their last 16 games. One of those setbacks was a 111-104 decision to the Sixers on Dec. 26.
That was Smith's first game back with the Sixers after he was reacquired in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans two days earlier. He was originally claimed off waivers by the Sixers in February, but the team chose not re-sign him in the offseason.
Until Sunday, the Sixers had been an exciting group since his return. They had won five of 13 matchups before losing to the Celtics. That came after they lost 30 of their first 31 matchups.
But they looked more like the team that started 1-30 on Sunday than the squad that was in a 5-8 stretch.
"I appreciate the fans who did come out through the snowstorm," Smith said. "I'm glad they came and made it home safely. But it was just an ugly game. Like Coach Brown always tells us, we owe the fans to go out there and play hard. I felt like we didn't do a great job of that.
"We got beat in every statistical category, and I put that on myself. That kind of trickled down to everyone."
We will find out on Tuesday if Smith and the Sixers can redeem themselves.
Former Suns
Smith and reserve point guard Kendall Marshall will face their former team. Phoenix selected Marshall 13th overall in the 2012 NBA draft. He went on to average 3.0 points and 3.0 assists in 48 appearances in his lone season with the Suns (2012-13). The former North Carolina standout was traded to the Washington Wizards on Oct. 25, 2013.
Smith arrived in Phoenix via a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks on Aug. 29, 2013. He averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 assists, and 14.4 minutes in 70 appearances during his lone season (2013-14). The Suns waived him on July 15, 2014.