PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers made their move at the deadline to acquire an athletic 3-and-D wing player in the form of Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets in a four-team deal. The idea for the Sixers is that McDaniels will be a player they can count on in the playoffs on both ends of the floor.
In 15 games with the Sixers, he’s averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds as he continues to find his niche on the team. His role in Philadelphia is much different than what it was in Charlotte when the ball was in his hands more often than not.
Currently, he is dealing with a hip injury that has kept him out in three of the past five games, but as the playoffs approach, he is embracing what comes with the postseason. It’s something he didn’t experience while with the Hornets.
“I’m just looking forward to it,” said McDaniels. “I really don’t feel any pressure. It’s just going out there and playing. I feel like we have a good enough team to win it all as long as we’re out there having fun, playing the right way, it should be a good thing for us.”
At the moment, the Sixers are in the middle of a stretch of playing seven of eight games on the road. They are sitting at 49-23 and they are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the game McDaniels has played, he has been helpful to this team’s bench unit and he showed that he can fit into their schemes rather quickly because he doesn’t need plays called for him.
With 10 games to go before the playoffs, he is ready to make an impact and give Philadelphia the boost it needs to reach the mountaintop.
“I feel like we’re all good,” he finished. “We’re taking it one game at a time. We’re not really worried about it right now I’d say.”
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire