Only three games into his professional career, Philadelphia 76ers rookie K.J. McDaniels will be making his first career start and it’s an opportunity that could become a catapult towards a bright future in Philly.
For those who have seen McDaniels play, you know he’s an extremely raw product with a world of upside and the athleticism and defensive prowess that will make his coaches and fans alike salivate every time he’s on the hardwood. Luckily for McDaniels, he’s on a roster that desperately lacks any solidity in regards to its starters on the perimeter, which is why a simple start in the absence of Hollis Thompson during a preseason game can turn into such an important moment in K.J. McDaniels’ young career as a Sixer.
During his first three preseason games, McDaniels has compiled a stat line of 21 points on 9-21 shooting, 11 rebounds, four steals and most impressively, six blocks. But what makes this even more impressive is considering how McDaniels has done this in fairly limited minutes with outings of 20:31, 24:41 and 22:08 minutes in each of his firs three games respectively. As a starter, McDaniels should see a huge spike in minutes, but it will be significant enough to show what he can do when given the opportunity.
So what can we expect to see from McDaniels tonight against the Carmelo Anthony-led New York Knicks? I’d say much of the same defensive intensity with some added confidence on the offensive end, which will lead to what should become a new high scoring total for the rookie. Not in the sense of a 25-point outing or anything, but McDaniels going for somewhere between 15 and 18 points shouldn’t be much of an issue as long as his minutes do increase tonight.
Additionally, McDaniels will be faced with the obstacle of defending guys like Anthony, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, which is a tall task in itself. Throwing all offensive potential out of the window, if McDaniels can prove he can even slow down the of the Knicks’ prolific scorers as a rookie, this would prove how pivotal of a piece he can be as a defensive stopper to compliment his explosive transitional style of offensive play.
Although this will be McDaniels’ first opportunity as a starter, it surely won’t be his last as Brett Brown will experiment with many rotations throughout the season. But if he can show how crucial his role as a starter will be in the future, he’ll put a lock on one more position of the perimeter for the Sixers.