Sixers vs. Nets notes: Jalen McDaniels the cutter and closer, Tobias Harris' approach, more

McDaniels the closer and cutter, Harris never not locked in, more on Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — Nine weeks or so ago, Jalen McDaniels made his Sixers debut at Barclays Center.

He’s now back in Brooklyn with the Sixers looking to take a 3-0 lead Thursday night over the Nets in their first-round playoff series. And though McDaniels was officially listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness, he sounded ready to go following the Sixers’ Thursday morning shootaround.

“I feel good,” McDaniels said. “I’m feeling normal. Just had a little stomach pain or whatever — I really don’t even know — but I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.”

On Feb. 11, McDaniels acknowledged he was mostly “going with the flow” offensively and still had to learn plenty about the Sixers’ defensive schemes and terminology. In the Sixers’ Game 2 win Monday night over Brooklyn, head coach Doc Rivers played the 6-foot-9 wing the final 13 minutes and change.

“Things have been great since then,” McDaniels said. “Since I first got here, I made a big transition. Now I’m here playing in the playoffs, so it’s everything I dreamed of. I’ve just got to take advantage of this opportunity.”

As Tyrese Maxey mentioned Monday, McDaniels’ instinctive cutting talent and size are good qualities to have when the Nets send aggressive double teams at Joel Embiid. P.J. Tucker and McDaniels each played 22 minutes in Game 2, and the 6-foot-5 Tucker did not appear in the fourth quarter.

“We knew Jalen could dive because he’s taller — bigger target for Joel — and then they have to help on Jalen,” Maxey said after Game 2. “So now we’ve got three shooters that are spaced out. … That was good for us.”

According to McDaniels, he wasn’t cognizant of how lengthy his final stint ended up being.

“I was just out there playing and I didn’t even notice Doc didn’t take me out,” he said. “I was just out there hooping. I wasn’t even noticing how much time I played — none of that. I was just out there lost in the game and having fun, honestly.”

Harris perpetually locked in 

Tobias Harris has had quite a strong start to the series.

The 30-year-old forward scored 20 points in Game 1 and posted 21 in Game 2. He’s made 17 of his 28 field goals (60.7 percent) and 4 of 6 three-point tries, grabbed seven offensive rebounds, and dished out six assists (with just one turnover).

And as Rivers highlighted Monday night, that production hasn’t stemmed from Harris suddenly becoming the Sixers’ top offensive option.

“He’s been great,” Rivers said. “Just solid. … I think we ran one play for him — that duck-in to get a penalty free throw for him.

“Other than that, he’s letting it come to him, he’s getting it through our spacing, and he’s just playing the right way. And then the other thing he’s doing is he’s really fighting defensively. That keeps going unnoticed, but his defense in these two games has been unbelievable.”

Harris gave a brief answer when asked Thursday morning about appearing especially locked in.

“I’m always locked in,” he said. “Let’s not get it twisted. Anytime I’m on the basketball court, I’m always locked in.”

Whatever his role may be, Harris has aimed for consistency in his approach. 

“More opportunities, it does lead to being assertive and being aggressive,” he said. “Anytime there’s opportunities for me to take advantage of, I’m always going to do that. That’s always been my approach to the game throughout my whole career.”

As far as the team at large is concerned, Harris was pleased with how the Sixers improved their collective “body language” early in the second half of Game 2.

When the Sixers have dropped dispiriting games in the past, he’s commented on the team needing to be better at turning things around mid-game and preventing offensive frustration from seeping into defensive lapses.

What exactly does Harris think has changed for the better on that front?

“I don’t think there’s one thing to pinpoint, but I think for us as a whole group, we’ve got to expect the best out of our opponent and be ready to combat that with whatever we have,” he said. “Getting stops defensively. Getting the ball out and moving it offensively, and creating more pace.

“Obviously, you’re going to have great body language when you’re making shots. But when shots aren’t falling and you’re not getting as many shots as you predicted, you’ve still got to figure out a way to create that type of energy.”