Sixers lose second straight in Summer League, Harkless sits with injury
Rookie Maurice Harkless sat the second half of the Sixers second Summer League game in Orlando today due to a strained hip flexor. The team lost by 84-80 to the Utah Jazz contingent.
Sixers lose second straight in Summer League, Harkless sits with injury
Bob Cooney
ORLANDO, Fla. — When Sixers summer league coach Aaron McKie pulled rookie Maurice Harkless out of the game in the second quarter against the Utah Jazz, the 15th overall pick slowly went to the bench and grimaced in obvious pain. He stretched his legs out in front of him, trying to give some relief to the left hip flexor that is strained and causing him so much pain. Nothing seemed to work, so Harkless was shut down for the rest of the day after scoring two points in 9 minutes and 29 seconds of action.
Also on the injury front, second year center Nikola Vucevic was a bystander again on the bench, nursing a strained left Achilles' that he said he hurt last week when the players gathered for a minicamp at the University of Central Florida. Vucevic said he came down awkwardly after a layup and then tried to play through the pain. He couldn't, and the guess here is he probably won't see action down here this week.
The Sixers could be getting reinforcements, though. Lavoy Allen is expected to sign his new contract sometime after midnight tonight, the first day new contracts and free agents can sign, then head back to Orlando and perhaps play in the team's 3 p.m. game against Brooklyn.
In today's game, guard Jacob Pullen led the Sixers with 23 points, while Justin Holiday added 16, Xavier Silas 11 and Solomon Jones 10, but they dropped an 84-80 decision to the Utah Jazz, who were paced by Alec Burks' 31.
Comments (41)
To show how far down the local sporting front are the Sixers, I had a doctor's appointment this morning, so listened to Rob Ellis and Rickie Ricardo (Oh Lucy!) on WIP who, clearly bored, did a top Phillies of all time list and what Eagles player to watch out for, and never mentioned the Sixers. Generally, the overall coverage of the Sixers since the season ended has been putrid, although at least Bearsfriend and johngian, along with Mtairy1 (hope you are teaching those AAU kids some offensive fundamentals) have been on the scene.
As for the Sixers summer league team getting reinforcements, they need more than Lavoy Allen, now that Harkless joins the walking wounded. Sixers must have the same training staff as the Phillies.
Pullen is clearly a gunner, but has range and moxie and might get a longer look. Holiday, who has some game, might get a look because of his brother. Silas has no chance, back to the D League. Johnson has a nice left-handed stroke, but another tweener, and unless they trade Young, has no chance here. Vucevic, already in DC's doghouse, is not helping himself and could be getting a ticket out of town soon.— chuckw- Wholeheartedly agree. I'm a newbie to this, and a definite lightweight compared to you and your brethren mentioned above. I don't even bother reading the articles anymore - I blow right down to the comments section so I can actually learn something I didn't know. Keep up the good work. — pfes
- pfes: may be a newbie on these boards, but one with always interesting insights. — chuckw
- Chuck: As you said it is amazing how little coverage the sixers get. As far as the summer league goes it is very disheartening that none of the players that needed to get experience are actually playing. Vuc is starting to concern me and why wasn't Harkless getting treatment the last month so he would be ready to play. I know most people think this is a joke, but these minutes are crucial to a young players development.— Mattb
- Very disheartening that both rookies are out, and that Vucevic, who clearly needs to excel after falling out of graces with the coach from March on, has been held out with his mysterious foot/Achilles injury..Are they playing it safe in lieu of Hawes' trials last season, or maybe is he being shopped?...Watching the beleaguered Austin Daye light it up,with his confidence growing, shows some of the positives a second or third year player can take from extended minutes... — bearsfriend
- Philly Sports=SAD. that's why we the most passionate/idiotic/most hated. We keep chasing out tail! 1 ring in 25 yrs+ in the big 4 = PATHETIC— sore richard
- LOL, and sullinger puts down 20 pts & 6 rebounds— main liner
- Sort of a waste of summer league. Neither of your 1st rounders can play, the 1st rounder from last year can't play. Allen really doesn't need it - why spend the money to have a team ?— 7mel11
- Rest assured Chuck, the fans WILL be back. The Sixers are building a good to very good young team. The rebuilding is about 80% of the way. 2013 we may have a championship contender. Trust me, as a 45 year fan of the team, the fan base will come back!!!— GOLDY2007
- The summer league stuff is (usually) fun to watch, but I'm really waiting to see what the Sixers are going to do with their extra cap space. I feel a major move coming on! Just when we're all down because our young guys are all hurt and other draft picks look great compared to ours (of course), the Sixers announce a trade with the ____ for _____ and _____, with the Sixers sending _____, ____ and a ____ (fill in the blanks yourselves to see who can come up with the best, most reasonable trade.)— mjc1
- Before anyone jumps off a bridge watching the Sixers entry in the summer league, and on the eve of the start of free agent signings, the rest of the division hasn't overly impressed me either (yet, I'll add). The Celtics are not much improved if at all; the Knicks have Lin (turnover machine) and Kidd (can't defend Rod Thorn) at the point; the Nets, yes, have improved, but without DH, are they appreciably better than the Sixers; and Toronto? Okay, so that's still far behind being a championship contender, but let's see what the Sixers can put together.— pfes
- I would counter by saying the Celtics retained a rejuvinated KG and Brandon Bass, more than replaced the departing Ray Allen with Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, and added what might be productive rebounding and interior scoring depth with Jared Sullinger...The Nets are the buzz of the league, and will be a factor...with or without DH...The Knicks are still mega deep, and just added a low post defensive presence (Camby) just in case the oft injured Tyson Chandler blows an occasional tire...Discounting Jeremy Lin is stretching it, although chemistry WITH Melo and Amare needs to take place...Toronto will have 3 new impact players in rookies Terrence Ross,Euro star Jonas Valanciunas, and PG with a huge chip on his shoulder in Kyle Lowry...So there's a case for 4 of our rivals that exudes excitement in those respective cities...We've lost our leading scorer and most efficient offensive player in Lou Williams, and an aging warrior in EB,but added an offensive threat in Nick Young...Our young "athleticism" will be behind the eight ball to learn the system, but at least have practices with the "master teacher"...Is that what should get me excited? — bearsfriend
- Didn't say you should get excited, just don't jump off a bridge yet. Celts had Bass who was a killer for them in the series against the Sixers, not so much vs the Heat. KG showed flashes of still having it, but disappeared more frequently (I'd still take him compared to what we've got). Yes, Sullinger if healthy should give them a boost. Nets are generating buzz, and I like Avery Johnson as coach, but they're a wait and see to me. I know the Knicks finished strong under Woodson, but I think too many dysfunctional parts. And Lowry/Ross/Valanciunas will make Raptors better, but not sure about significant impact. Good points all - just sayin' that the hill to climb in the division doesn't look like a mountain to me (I will add again, not yet). Still waiting to see what the Sixers put together. And, yes, I agree that the 'master teacher' needs to be way more patient and less ego driven. — pfes
- Lou Williams signed with the Atlanta Hawks.— bearsfriend
- The only 4 guys who matter in Summer league (Rose, Vuc, Hark, Moultrie) will barely see the court. Very disappointing from a Sixers thing to watch POV, but in reality, not that big of a deal. As long as they are all there (and healthy) come October 1st for training camp, that's all that matters. As you know, Vuc and Lavoy got limited camp time last year and no summer league so camp this year will be huge.
As for the real Sixers interest, yep we are all waiting for the other shoe to drop---using the cap space. If they weren't going to use it, they wouldn't have bothered with the amnesty (its not like brand is useless). I am NOT liking the Landry idea as I think he's a bench guy and we need a better piece than that. I don't see DC going forward with Thad as the 4. We needed to get bigger and tougher inside and we have yet to accomplish that for 2012-13...down the line Moultrie "may" be the answer, but no way they are counting on that for this year.
The one name I've heard mentioned that I'm most intrigued by is Utah's Paul Millsap He is really established himself the last 2 years and would be a perfect fit for the Sixers. The Jazz have a logjam upfront with Al Jefferson, Derrick Favors and Millsap. Both Millsap and Jefferson are free agents next year. Millsap wants an extension and I don't think the Jazz are willing with the logjam, so if the Sixers could trade for him with 1 yr left on his deal it would be a great move IMO.— terpaholic
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About this blog
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
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