Week in review: Blue Coats win only game during the holiday week

Due to Thanksgiving, the Delaware Blue Coats only played one game since Saturday the 23rd. They hosted the Westchester Knicks Friday night, as a second-half surge led the Blue Coats to a 110-93 victory.

Player carousal

Being a g-league affiliate of an NBA team requires great patience as a player and coach. Players are constantly coming and going, as the NBA team can pull from the G-league team at free will.

Since the Blue Coats only held three practices and had a single game this week, the Sixers recalled Norvel Pelle, Marial Shayok, and Zhaire Smith to their roster.

Pelle cracked the NBA, making his debut against the New York Knicks Friday night with the shorthanded Sixers. The defensive monster made his debut memorable, as he recorded four blocks in a mere 13 minutes of work. His energy helped the Sixers crawl back from as many as 16 down.

As for Shayok and Smith, they came just for the experience. Knowing these three could make an impact in the deeper parts of the season, the Sixers recalled them to get some reps in with the NBA team, and sit on their bench during Friday night’s game.

Rebounding

The Blue Coats rebounded in both a literal and figurative way this past week. After dropping a close game to the Wisconsin Herd, the Coats took their six days off to help them rebound and defeat the Westchester Knicks 110-93 to move to 4-4 on the season. This was even without Shayok and Pelle, who were both inactive, as Zhaire Smith stayed up with the Sixers.

In this game, the Blue Coats outrebounded the Knicks 55-40, with three players, Doral Moore (12), Christ Koumadje (11) and Julian Washburn (11) all picking up double-digit boards. According to G-league.com, “Delaware has now totaled 55 rebounds or more in four games this season, after doing so seven times last season.”

Five Blue Coats players scored in double figures. Xavier Munford added 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. Meanwhile, Shake Milton, on assignment from the 76ers, posted 18 points off the bench for Delaware. Jonah Bolden was a game-high plus-23 and recorded 12 points, while Moore added 12 points to his 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.