Justin Anderson Has His Number Called – and Delivers

One responsibility of professional athletes is being ready when your number is called.

Seems like a simple concept. However, not everyone can handle the duties of coming into a game cold and making an impact.

The Sixers' Justin Anderson prides himself on being able to thrive in just that type of situation. That's why when Brett Brown told him to be on alert prior to Friday's 120-116 win over the Nets, he was good to go.

"He came up to me before the game, maybe like 20 minutes before the game, and said he was going to go to me tonight," Anderson said. "I told him I was going to be ready. He went to me and we all played well."

Oh, Anderson was definitely ready. The third-year swingman entered at the 6:55 mark of the first quarter and made a trio of three-pointers to keep the sluggish Sixers afloat early on.

"I had hit the first one, and they were talking a little trash. They didn't respect it, so they continued to go under [screens]," Anderson said. "I was always taught if they go under, raise up and shoot it. That's what you practice for. I just wanted to make sure I took good shots, played hard, brung energy and I think we did a good of doing that."

Wait, so guys on the 21-48 Nets squad had the nerve to talk a little smack? While a bit laughable, it didn't help in knocking Anderson off his game.

Philadelphia 76ers

Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.

3 observations after Sixers lose dramatic, controversial game in Harden's return

Can Sixers avoid the play-in? Taking stock of the race going into home stretch 

"It just showed me that they weren't disciplined in their scouting report and I tried to take advantage of it," he said. "It's not like I'm shooting 20s [percent] from the three. It was what it was and I just wanted to take advantage of my opportunity."

Anderson finished with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range along with two rebounds in 14 minutes. Even with that offensive production, it was his defensive prowess in the final minute that made the biggest impact on the night.

"We had the confidence to both give Richaun (Holmes) some minutes and Justin when it mattered and had a big stop," Brown said. "I think it was against (Spencer) Dinwiddie. You know, moved his feet, guarded the yard as we call it.

That's major trust in a player who missed 23 games earlier in the season with shin splints and eight more recently with an ankle sprain. But with the playoffs right around the corner, Brown knows he may need to go to Anderson again in an even more crucial moment.

"Good for him. He's a wonderful teammate, he's good people and he's had sort of an erratic year with injury," Brown said. "I thought tonight he confirmed what we all think in relation to him being able to help us."

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us