T.J. McConnell wouldn't slow down. After knocking the ball away from Marcus Smart, he ran after it in hot pursuit and raced toward the sidelines. A fan sitting courtside moved out of his path, but the same couldn't be said for her beverage.
"I stepped on her Dr. Pepper and just slipped and hit the bottom of the chair and gashed my leg a little bit," McConnell said. "Nothing serious."
McConnell stayed in the game before checking out temporarily with a lower right leg laceration. His "nothing serious," tough-nosed mentality resonated with head coach Brett Brown as the only highlight of the Sixers' 112-92 loss to the Celtics Sunday night (see story).
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"I think that everyone was poor except T.J.," Brown said Monday after practice, later noting, "He's just tough. He plays, he competes."
In Sunday's game he posted eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for a team-high plus-seven in 16 minutes. For the season, he is averaging 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals.
The undrafted point guard out of the University of Arizona has carved out a role for himself in his first year. He's not looking to score 30 points a game or be the center of attention. McConnell has embraced his duties as a facilitator who commits to defense and can make shots when needed.
"I think he's been pretty good from the get-go," Brown said. "I feel like he's starting to understand the rhythm of the game, the tempo of the game, who needs the ball, what plays should be called, defensive rotations, on-ball pick-and roll-defense. … He's constantly in pick-and-rolls. He's developed in a big way there."
NBA
McConnell started 16 games this season while the Sixers went through a changing cycle of point guards. He is now a backup with the addition of Ish Smith, and has been able to bring a spark off the bench. Even though his place in the rotation is more clearly defined, he doesn't let himself get settled into one spot on the roster.
"I'm not comfortable in the role. I think if you get comfortable in anything you do, that's when you get complacent. That's when you get your spot taken," he said. "I kind of just go in there and play as hard as I can for however minutes I play, run the offense and be tenacious on defense."
Smith trained with McConnell in the offseason and knows the work he has put in to get to the NBA and stay there. Smith referred to McConnell as "special." He doesn't think the rookie has played a bad game this season.
"He's been great," Smith said. "He just kind of brings a different energy. To me, I don't know how he doesn't get tired. But he just constantly is like a pest, staying on you, getting on your nerves."
Playing with McConnell reminds Smith of his college days at Wake Forest under late head coach Skip Prosser who, like McConnell, was from Pittsburgh.
"(He) used to always say, ‘I'm from Pittsburgh, I'm tough,'" Smith said of Prosser. "I guess that's T.J.'s little saying — he's tough, he's from Pittsburgh. He does have a tough little thing about him when he plays and it sets the tone for the whole team."
McConnell has proven himself ready to take on what other NBA guards throw at him. He doesn't want to let his competition, let alone a soda, slow him down.
"I've never liked Dr. Pepper," he said.