Sixers Fans Demand More Playing Time for Isaiah Joe
The NBA Summer League is an excellent time for young players to develop and showcase their skills. Typically, first- and second-year players tend to fill up rosters, but it’s not necessarily rare if a third-year player takes the court in Las Vegas.
Philadelphia 76ers’ third-year guard Isaiah Joe is taking advantage of his opportunity to play for the Summer Sixers this offseason. As Joe lacked playing time during his sophomore effort, the young sharpshooter is looking to show improvements where he can get on the floor in hopes of gaining more opportunities with the 76ers’ main roster during the 2022-2023 season.
So far, Joe’s Summer League run has been quite successful. When the Sixers opened up their Summer League run in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Joe checked in for 28 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies. The young guard chucked up 15 shots from the floor and collected 19 points.
After getting the following game off, Joe returned to the court for the Salt Lake City finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Once again, Joe checked in for nearly 30 minutes and hit on six of his 12 shots from the field, and collected 19 points.
On Saturday, Joe and the Sixers took the floor in Las Vegas for the first of four matchups out in Nevada. With the stakes slightly higher, Joe looked to show out in front of a bigger crowd. Although the Sixers struggled to overcome the Toronto Raptors, Joe stood out.
In 31 minutes of action, Joe knocked down eight of his 14 shots from the field and hit on seven of his nine threes. He finished the loss with 24 points, putting on a performance that encouraged fans to urge the 76ers’ main coaching staff to give the former second-round pick minutes in the future.
The Fans Are Talking
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.