The Sixers' 2024 draftees entered their second NBA seasons with plenty of excitement, but ran into early walls. It appears they are both breaking through.
While Jared McCain's return from a torn meniscus was delayed by a thumb injury and derailed by tougher-than-expected movement troubles, Adem Bona was healthy but failing to leave his mark on games consistently. McCain ended up spending time with the Delaware Blue Coats, while Bona was losing many of his minutes to a resurgent Andre Drummond before a right ankle sprain sidelined him for two weeks.
But McCain has arguably posted his best game of the season three times in a row, and Bona made a successful return while achieving a milestone he has been working toward for a long time. Finally, both of their arrows are pointing upward again.
In this week's Sunday stats, diving into McCain's success alongside Tyrese Maxey and the first long-range make of Bona's NBA career:
+4.4
The Sixers' Net Rating (point differential per 100 possessions) in 84 minutes with Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain on the floor.
Among the primary rotational concerns surrounding the Sixers entering the year was that Maxey and McCain, both guards on the smaller end of the spectrum, would not be a viable long-term duo given their questionable defensive fit. Yet McCain has played with Maxey a whole lot more than he has played without him so far this season, and the results have been just fine. The Sixers have been only okay defensively with that pairing – which has often been joined by another guard, most commonly Quentin Grimes – and their offense has been terrific.
The sample remains pretty small for now, but it can only be a positive indicator that Maxey-plus-McCain minutes have gone well so far, particularly considering McCain looked like a shell of himself in his first six appearances before emerging over the last three. If there is anyone amped up by these lineups achieving early success, it is him.
"Whenever Coach puts TM and JM on the board, I get a little excited," McCain said after posting season-highs across the board in the Sixers' win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. "It's always fun playing with Rese. He draws so much attention, obviously, so you get easy shots playing with him."
On Tuesday, McCain credited Maxey with being a major part of his turnaround. Maxey has constantly been advising McCain, especially when the sophomore guard experienced significant struggles upon returning from two different injuries. Maxey has provided some reassurance.
"After every game, like the early games, he would text me," McCain said. "He texted me when I went down to the G [League]. Just staying in my ear. 'Continue to be yourself, it's going to come back.' So he's been a great mentor and somebody who I can go to for that, and kind of helping me get through this process of coming back to myself."
While Maxey is an ardent supporter of McCain privately, he enjoys the chances to make sarcastic comments about him when cameras or microphones are turned on. So, Maxey made a point to interrupt McCain's availability in Brooklyn, then point out during his own that McCain's one-on-zero transition layup in the fourth quarter should have been a dunk. Even as Maxey relented and praised McCain's efforts on Friday, he got some light jabs in.
"My biggest thing is I just want him to be aggressive, extremely aggressive," Maxey said. "Don't think, just hoop. When he does that, he's really good. He shot the ball really well today. He drove the ball right one time – he doesn't go right, so that was really cool – and it ended in a layup. He did not dunk the ball on the fastbreak. That was just ridiculous."
From within arm's reach, McCain responded.
"I was definitely not dunking that ball."
MORE: Two games added to Sixers' schedule
0
The number of three-pointers made in Adem Bona's NBA career... until Friday's game in Brooklyn.
Before every game he plays in, Bona goes through a long pregame workout with Sixers assistant coach Fabulous "Fab" Flournoy, who has taken the young center under his wing since he was drafted. Bona practices jump hooks and one-handed push shots and he takes power dribbles before putting his shoulder intoFlournoy and dunking. But then he steps to the three-point line and gets up shots from beyond the arc. That routine now includes Bona shooting corner threes from out of bounds. It is part of a long-term plan to develop Bona into a stretch five in the NBA:
Perhaps the dagger shot of the Sixers' win Saturday was a sign that the hard work is paying off. Bona, who entered the game without a three-point shot to his name dating back at least as far as his senior year of high school, found himself wide open in the corner with the shot clock winding down. He calmly stepped into a shot and knocked it down:
"I've been working with Fab since last year," Bona said. "We set a goal for ourselves to eventually stretch the floor, and I believe that's the first of many to come. So I'm pretty excited."
One of Bona's closest friends on the team, his draft classmate McCain, knows a thing or two about knocking down threes. What did he think of that moment?
"That was crazy. I mean, he’s been working on it, though, for so long," McCain said. "I know he can hit that. Was that his first?"
Not only was it Bona's first NBA three-pointer, but he also never made one across his two seasons at UCLA.
"Dang! Yeah, UCLA is trash anyways," McCain, a California native, said. "But, yeah, I’m proud of him. I feel like a proud big brother for him. He’s going to hate that. But, yeah, it was really cool to see him knock down a three, but I know he can knock that down so I’m expecting to see him shoot them more."
The 22-year-old Bona predictably took issue with the 21-year-old McCain describing himself as Bona's big brother.
"But he should feel like a proud younger brother, looking up to me," Bona said. "That’s good he’s proud, though. I like that."
MORE: Andre Drummond's resurgence has been about much more than corner threes
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