https://youtu.be/U5YhPo5SiDo
Isaiah “He of Two First Names” Joe had a rather rough go of it in the game before this one. You know, the game where the Sixers only had seven players and, like, four of them were rookies? Joe got 45 minutes in that one (props to him for not cramping up under the sudden barage of playing time), took eighteen shots, and made four of them for a grand total of thirteen points. Not an inspiring statline, but what else do you expect from a second-round draft choice who had been getting DNP’s for the first three weeks of the season?
This game, Joe was considerably more effective, going 6-of-9 for an efficient eighteen points. Foul trouble kept him from playing more than he did, but it’s still a better game than most late-second-round picks can expect to have in their rookie seasons. In fact, it’s a better game than a lot of late draftees have in the entire careers. In that sense, Joe is ahead of the curve. So far ahead of the curve, in fact, that Doc Rivers might continue to give him a small amount of minutes even when the team returns to health.
Sometimes you have to grab opportunity by the nutsack and yank hard. Not every player grabs, and not every player yanks, the nutsack of opportunity when the nutsack of opportunity is dangling in front of their face. Joe saw this dangling nutsack and did what he needed to with it. That is a mark of maturity and poise. And nutsack-grabbing.
By the way, I would totally call Joe by his nickname acronym “HOTFN”, but that’s actually more work than just typing out the three letters of his name. Nicknames are supposed to be easier, not more difficult.