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Some more images and links from last night as we celebrate all that is T.J. McConnell.
ESPN Top Performers
Check out the top performers and tell me it doesn't bring a smile to your face. One guy is the best player in the world and the other is LeBron James.
"Perhaps it was no coincidence that the Sixers’ top offensive effort through three games (season-highs in points, field goal percentage, and assists) came in a contest in which the team received sound point guard play. T.J. McConnell - in only 23 minutes - dished out 12 assists, while not committing a single turnover. McConnell - at six-feet, two-inches tall - also grabbed seven rebounds, and scored six points."
Titus Couldn't Believe It
Mark Titus is spending his time post-Grantland doing what the rest of us are doing; watching TJ ball.
Get used to it Shark, get used to it.
More Stats
As mentioned in this morning's Sonoran Hot Reads, T.J. becomes just the 4th player in the past 5 years to finish a game with double digit assists and no turnovers. He is also the first player to accomplish that particular feat this season.
Small sample sizes be damned as T.J. is now averaging 6.7 assists per game. That's good enough to be tied for 8th in the entire NBA. McConnell is currently averaging more assists per game than Steph Curry, LeBron James or Derrick Rose and he leads other more heralded rookies point guards like Emmanuel Mudiay and D'Angelo Russell.
T.J. is tied for 3rd in the NBA in Assists Per 48 Minutes.
Dellavedova Matchup
I wrote this last year and I'm hardly alone on this comparison but watching Dellavedova hustle and pester in the playoffs last year was the exact thing that gave me hope for T.J. to have an NBA career. There was something very satisfying about T.J. having this type of performance against Delly. Even his current coach thinks the comparison is apt.
Direct Quote from Sixers Coach Brett Brown That Absolutely Sounds Like It Could Have Come From Sean Miller
"He's a spark. He plays with great heart. He plays with great pace," Brown said about McConnell after the game. "We have to run with him. He forces the game's tempo on everybody else."
Fantasy Outlook
T.J. was so impressive that CBS Sports recommends adding T.J. in deeper formats. It's incredible that T.J. McConnell and NBA Fantasy Leagues are being said in the same sentence one week into the new season.
Next Up
The Sixers are up again tomorrow night against the Bucks and former Sixer Michael Carter-Williams. Let's hope Brett Brown is a man of his word and he runs with T.J. yet again.