Dario Saric is Sixers' workhorse
Sunday's scrimmage was a light-hearted way to introduce the players to the fans. But Dario Saric meant business.
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Dario Saric doesn't know how to take it easy.
It doesn't matter if it's a training camp practice, a regular-season game, or an open practice scrimmage in front of fans. Saric is going to play hard no matter what. That's just how he's wired.
On more than one occasion Sunday, Saric quibbled with referees about foul calls during the Sixers' Blue x White Scrimmage at the Palestra. But after the disputes, Saric sprinted up and down the court, always in position and ready to knock down a shot.
In the grand scheme of things, the scrimmage was meaningless outside of the opportunity it afforded players of more on-court action. But Saric didn't seem to care how little it meant.
"That's why we all love him. Talk about a workhorse. Talk about just blue-collar, a passion for the sport, and knowing the right way to play," head coach Brett Brown said after the scrimmage.
In between arguing with officials, backing down Ben Simmons, knocking down multiple three-pointers, passing to open guys, fighting for rebounds, and charging across the court trying to keep a ball from going out of bounds, Saric still found the time to joke around on the bench and offer advice to Furkan Korkmaz, who was a standout Sunday.
"He tries to help me everyday because he came over [from Europe] and he felt the same as me," Korkmaz said.
The always play hard and never slow down attitude is not new for Saric, who was second in rookie-of-the-year voting for 2016-17.
After the season, Saric joined Korkmaz playing in the EuroBasket tournament before returning to Philadelphia for training camp, and stayed in the gym in between.
"I was busy all summer. … I feel a little bit tired," Saric said last week before training camp began, adding that he doesn't like to take time off and wants always to stay busy.
You wouldn't know that Saric was feeling tired at all by the way he played in the scrimmage, and it's likely he will only pick up the pace, wanting to improve on his rookie season.
"He's everything that we want here in Philadelphia," Brown said. "He's a good teammate, and he's tough. He really knows how to play. … He's a wonderful Philadelphia 76er."