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A Little Surprise for the Guys...

After their second win in as many nights, the 76ers boarded the bus for another early morning shootaround. On what must have felt like another version “Groundhog Day,” the team discovered a pleasant surprise.

When the bus took a detour off the normal route – the one that would normally lead the team to UNLV’s campus for shootaround – the chatter on the back of the bus began. Minutes later, the bus pulled into a Las Vegas breakfast spot and Sixers Head Coach Maurice Cheeks stood up wearing a big grin and said, “Anybody that doesn’t want to eat breakfast can stay on the bus.”

As breakfast concluded, Coach Cheeks took a moment to thank the players for giving a great effort, working hard and coming together as a team. But also, Cheeks told them that there was more to the Summer League than just what happens on the court.

“I can tell you guys, Summer League and the NBA in general is all about getting a chance,” said Cheeks. “All of us (former and current NBA players) got a chance that we took advantage of. You need to remember that somebody is always watching you. They watch you in the lay-up line, on the bench, just about every place they can. People in this league want to see how you carry yourself. Remember that as you move on. But most of all, we just wanted to say ‘Thank You.’”

Treatment at the “Cyber Café”

Every day before practices and games, Sixers Assistant Trainer Scott Faust opens his door at The Palms and welcomes players in need of taping or treatment or both. On Thursday morning, Jason Smith, Jared Reiner and Luke Anderson were the first three to enter the room. As Smith received treatment via one of the “stim units,” he conducted a conference call with media. With “Saved by the Bell” as a backdrop, Reiner used Faust’s computer to check his e-mail to make sure everything was squared away for his flight home.

“Another day at the ‘Cyber Café,’” joked Faust, making a reference the heavy usage the team gets out of his laptop when they visit for treatment. All the while, Anderson, a Minnesota native, read the paper and talked of how great it’d be if his Vikings could lure Farve from the Packers. Just another morning at the “Cyber Café.”