The Sixers finished the preseason with a 2-6 record after falling 109-103 Thursday night to the Pistons. There were pluses and minuses revealed about the Sixers' young roster during those eight games.
Here are five observations:
1. Nerlens Noel finished the preseason on a high note with his eight points, eight rebounds, five blocks and five steals against Detroit. However, he did foul out for a second time in four games.
Overall Noel struggled shooting, both from the field and at the foul line. He shot 35.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent at the foul line. Brett Brown's goal for the rookie is 60.0 percent from the charity stripe. Consistency is a more important goal. Noel was 6 for 8 at the foul line against the Knicks and 2 for 10 combined in the other three games.
The 6-foot-11 forward did average 8.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.25 steals, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 assists.
Noel won't be a dominant scorer, but he will give the Sixers a little bit of everything most games.
2. Tony Wroten was adequate as a starting point guard, or slightly above that, during the seven games he filled in for Michael Carter-Williams.
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Wroten led the team in scoring and assists with 13.9 points and 4.6 assists. He also led the team in turnovers with 3.6.
Thursday it was learned Michael Carter-Williams is targeting Nov. 13 as his return date when the Sixers play at Dallas. If that comes to fruition, Carter-Williams will miss just seven games.
Wroten is more valuable to the team as a sixth man than he is as a starter.
3. The Sixers did show signs of improvement on defense. They held opponents to 99.1 points, 10 points fewer than teams averaged against them last season. Additionally, opponents' field goal percentage was 42.3 down from 47.1.
4. Outside shooting is a weakness, and Brett Brown is aware. He has preached since the summer that this year's roster, with the exception of Hollis Thompson, has no true outside threats. During the preseason, his players performed close to his prediction.
Thompson shot 45.0 percent from three-point range making 9 of 20 attempts, and Elliot Williams was 8 for 18 (44.4 percent.) The rest of the team shot a combined 23.9 percent three-point range.
5. K.J. McDaniels is known as a defender and for his size, 6-foot-6, an exceptional shot blocker. He didn't disappoint playing seven games. The rookie led the team with 14 blocks.
If McDaniels can average 1.5 blocks in the regular season, he would be the first player at his height to do so since Vince Carter during the 1998-99 season.
As a team, the Sixers averaged 21 turnovers per game. McDaniels committed five total in 156 minutes played.