Neto starting to show something valuable
PHILADELPHIA >> At some point, in some situation, in the long, long season that is the NBA, Brett Brown knew he’d face the decision. Until he did, he would just watch and learn.
The decision, the one that eventually will matter to every team: What to do when the point-guard situation becomes scrambled? Where to turn for stability, for unselfishness, for reliability, for professionalism?
Phrased another way, who would be his next T.J. McConnell?
With Jimmy Butler offloaded to Miami, freeing the locker room of stress but also of a talent with special lead guard talents, Brown would be confident returning the position to Ben Simmons. After that, there were options. There would be Josh Richardson, who could shuffle over from the perimeter. There would be Trey Burke, a born scorer, if one with a history of on-court selfishness. And there was Raul Neto, a veteran who’d played his first four NBA seasons in Utah, far enough from the Eastern Conference clatter to be something of a mystery candidate.
For that, he would be an acquired taste.
Through the first five Sixers’ games, Neto would play little, never more than seven minutes, twice less than three minutes, once not at all. Yet practice after practice, shoot-around after shoot-around, minute after whatever minute Neto would play, Brown would begin to enjoy some clarity.
Finally, there was conclusion.
“He can play,” Brown said.
The Sixers’ coach was in a pregame conversation Sunday, ready to hand Neto the ball for a start against the Charlotte Hornets. With Simmons about to miss his second consecutive game with a sprain on one of his two non-shooting shoulders, that meant Brown’s earlyseason indecision had cleared.
“He really has a skill package that you say, ‘OK, that’s an NBA package,’” Brown said. “He can shoot. He actually sees the floor. I was most impressed with his defensive toughness. If you look at his body, he’s got a thick chest. He’s got long arms. I thought he was our best defensive player in Utah against some pretty dynamic guards in an otherwise forgettable night.”
There has been all of that from Neto, if not on public display in training camp, then in the 30:10 he played in a loss at Utah, when he shot 5-for-11 in a loss, and then in his first start Friday in Denver. Against the Nuggets, he shot 5-for-6, including 3-for-3 from three-point range, providing six assists and committing just two turnovers.
So in a combined 60:35 over those two games, Neto shot 4-for-5 from distance, and thus would have made four more three-point shots than Simmons had in his career. Neto added nine points, four assists and was 1-for-3 from deep in Sunday’s 114-106 win over the Hornets.
“I thought he was great, just to see his pace out there,” Tobias Harris was saying. “In the Utah game he was really good. When Ben is obviously out, he came in and showed what he’s here for. He was able to stretch the floor and get our pace to pick up. He’s a guy you love playing with just because he knows how to play. He knows the game. He knows his spots. He has a very simple game but a productive game, too. I thought he did great.”
The Sixers guaranteed the free-agent Neto only $1,737,145 in a oneyear deal with no promise of an encore. At best, they were hoping that a 27-year-old with international and NBA experience could be calming influence in a crisis. Early in training camp, there were at least some whispers that the Brazil native was lagging behind Burke. But he kept making plays, hitting shots, and catching his coach’s attention.
“His defensive toughness has been as surprising as anything,” Brown said. “I get the shot. I get him making passes and seeing how people rotate behind middle pick and roll, as an example. His toughness, defensively, stood out on the road trip.”
Brown has been happy with what he has called the optionality of his roster, one with players who can shift into multiple positions. But he tried Richardson as a point guard in the preseason, and it never looked comfortable. Burke, his $2 million contract only partially guaranteed, has yet to make any substantial move toward regular time.
So when Simmons hit the Utah floor in pain, Brown let his actions speak: Neto is the primary understudy.
“Of course we all want to play,” Neto said. “When you get his opportunity, it means a lot. I’m ready. I’m just trying to help the team. And I’m not going to change my game because I am playing more minutes or because I am starting or whatever. But I’m happy for the opportunity.”
If Neto can mix in the occasional three-pointer, it will challenge the defense to adapt in a way that would not be necessary against the ever-reluctant Simmons. But if he can just play intense, 94-foot defense and hit teammates when they are open, much in the style of McConnell, Brown will continue to roll him into the rotation.
“I’ve said since the beginning that’s the way I play,” Neto said. “I play for the team and I try to do whatever the team needs to do to play well out there. That’s what I’ve been doing. And that’s what I am going to keep doing.
“I’ll take my shot when I’m open and try to get everybody involved.”
Brown knew he would need such a player.
It didn’t take him long to find one.