While the Philadelphia 76ers are fighting to keep their name in the upper half of the Eastern Conference standings in the NBA, their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, are fighting to stay at the top of the table.
After getting eliminated early in the G League's Showcase cup prior to the start of the season, the Blue Coats have gotten off to an electric start, posting a record of 16-8 through the first 24 games.
The firey start can be attributed to the team as a whole, however, the efforts of Ricky Council IV, Terquavion Smith, and the recently waived Kenny Lofton Jr. have made them the team's top performers.
In only the seven games that he's appeared in this season, due to his prolonged tenure with the Sixers, Council averaged 25 points and six rebounds per game.
Smith came out of the gates hot during the Showcase Cup and has carried it into the regular season, putting up 22 points per game on an efficient 41 percent from the field.
While Lofton proved to be the Blue Coats' leading scorer, as he averaged 26 points per game along with seven rebounds, the 21-year-old was waived earlier in the month.
The Blue Coats took their time to find players to fill in for Lofton, as well as Javonte Smart, who made a move over to Crvena Zvezda in the Basketball League of Serbia towards the beginning of the year following the Sixers' decision to waive him in late December.
Yet it appears that Delaware has taken the time to find a new batch of players to inject into their lineup as they enter the final month of play, with the arrivals of Rob Edwards and Daniel Giddens.
For Giddens, the Blue Coats will be his third team this season, having spent time with the Iowa Wolves and Westchester Knicks earlier on in the season, averaging one point and one rebound across an average of nine minutes on the court.
Edwards, on the other hand, is a G League veteran, having spent time with the Oklahoma City Blue, Wisconsin Herd, and most recently, the Maine Celtics.
In his stint with the Boston Celtics' G-League affiliate, Edwards put up an average of six points on 37 percent from the field.
While they may not be the most flashy acquisitions, it is sure to help Delaware head coach Mike Longabardi down the final stretch, as the team has had to run short rotations as of late, which may not be the most ideal when playoff positioning depends on it.
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