Sixers Bell Ringer: Role players step up, but still not enough in loss to Boston

Bell Ringer Season Totals:
Tyrese Maxey - 5
Joel Embiid - 2
Tobias Harris - 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. - 1
De’Anthony Melton - 1

We thought this would be set up for a schedule loss for the Sixers, but had some hope when it was announced that Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis would be out for Boston. Despite missing those two starters, the Celtics ended the first quarter with a 27-8 run to take a large double-digit lead over Philadelphia. The Sixers charged back in the second quarter to retake control, but after a back-and-forth second half, the Celtics pulled away with about four minutes left, eventually winning 117-107. Here are tonight’s Bell Ringer candidates for our now 8-3 Sixers:

Jaden Springer: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers

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Immediately upon entering the game, Springer hit a corner three and then had a pick-six for another bucket. The young guard had a couple of turnovers in succession (only both Nick Nurse and I didn’t understand the traveling call), but his energy and activity level on the court was a primary reason the Sixers were able to get back into the game in the second quarter. His hustle to save a loose ball from going out-of-bounds to jump start a fast break was the contagious sort of play that gets a team rolling. Later in the game, he stripped Jayson Tatum and took it in for an audacious reverse dunk. Nick Nurse acknowledged after the game that we will probably be seeing more of Springer moving forward.

Robert Covington: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 turnovers

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Covington earned another start with both Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nic Batum unavailable, and looked the part with a solid two-way performance. Offensively, RoCo uncharacteristically did all of his damage inside the arc, featuring a couple putback slams, sharp off-ball cuts, and a nice baseline drive. Defensively, he very much characteristically got his hands on everything, igniting some transition opportunities for his club. I am loving this Robert Covington homecoming thus far.

De’Anthony Melton: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers

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After a brutal shooting start to the season, it has been great to see Melton experience positive regression over the last two days. De’Anthony shot 5-of-6 from behind the arc in this game, including some tough pull-up and off-the-dribble attempts. I just wish his forays to the rim weren’t like those old Choose Your Own Adventure books where you fall off a cliff or get eaten by a troll 75 percent of the time.

Paul Reed: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover

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BBall Paul did a lot of helpful things in this game, but I only want to focus on him hitting his first three-pointer of the year and then grinning like a maniac.