With his team fighting for its life and the season on the line, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown turned to an undrafted free agent.
It wasn’t Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid, but back-up guard T.J. McConnell who provided the spark in Philadelphia’s 103-92 win in Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center to keep them alive in the playoffs.
After playing effective, but limited minutes through the first three games of the series (plus-20 in 37 minutes), McConnell was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Robert Covington for Game 4.
The move paid instant dividends for Brown as the guard raised the 76ers’ defensive intensity while providing playmaking on the other end, where he had 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with five assists and no turnovers.
Aside from the tangible impact McConnell had on the game, he also fired up the 76ers’ home crowd and lifted spirits with Philadelphia staring at a near-impossible 3-0 series hole.
“You need to come in with a spirit. You need to come in with a tenacity,” Brown said. “T.J. epitomises that, so we start him. To declare that to a team – and you’re fighting for your life – and to then put him in an environment that lets him do it makes more sense to me as a coach.”
McConnell is now far and away Philadelphia’s leader in plus-minus for the series at plus-38. That’s not only better than anyone also on Boston’s roster, but ranks ninth among all players in the second round.
His defence on Terry Rozier, who had his worst outing of the series in Game 4 – 11 points, two assists and 4-of-11 shooting – will be critical if the 76ers want to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
