Jalen McDaniels reacts to his debut after Sixers beat Nets on the road
NEW YORK–Caught up in everything that comes with a Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets matchup was the debut of Jalen McDaniels for the Sixers at Barclays Center.
McDaniels played 15:40 and had five points and four rebounds off the bench. He definitely looked a bit out of place on a lot of defensive possessions and even on the offensive end of the floor, he seemed out of it, but he found a way to contribute and was able to help Philadelphia escape with a 101-98 win over the Nets.
“It felt good to get back out there,” said McDaniels after the win. “High energy win, high intensity. That’s how each game is gonna be playing here so it’s good to be out there to support the win.”
Afterward, coach Doc Rivers was happy with what he saw from McDaniels and how he can help the Sixers going forward.
“He’s gonna help us,” Rivers added. “He’s gonna really help us. His length, his rebounding, he’s gonna be big for us. You can see it. Very happy with a guy who didn’t know what the hell we were doing. He literally didn’t know. Offense, defense, his head, you can see guys screaming at him go to this spot, get to this spot, he’s gonna be really big for us.”
Even on the last two defensive possessions, the most important of the game, Rivers had McDaniels out there to try and get a big stop with the game on the line.
“Just already coming here and Doc throwing me in there and building trust is all I’m trying to do so I feel like he trusts me,” McDaniels added. “He knows I’m a defender. He can trust me and throw me in those positions so I appreciate it.”
In terms of any butterflies or nervousness, McDaniels said he didn’t have any for this one. He was made available for Friday’s contest with the New York Knicks, but he didn’t play in that one as Rivers wanted to just have him watch.
“If I would’ve played yesterday (Friday), I would’ve had some nervousness,” McDaniels laughed. “Today (Saturday), I felt good. It felt real regular, today, honestly.”
