Philadelphia 76ers' G League Affiliate Advance in 2024 Playoffs
The Delaware Blue Coats passed their first test of the 2024 NBA G League Playoffs.
While the NBA is starting to inch closer and closer to the playoffs, the same can’t be said for the G-League who just hosted their first postseason matches of the year. Among the teams participating in the playoffs are the Delaware Blue Coats, the affiliate organization of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Given the Blue Coats struggled towards the business end of the regular season, they saw themselves cling onto their post-season dreams, falling into the sixth seed, which would pit them against the Indiana Mad Ants in the opening round of the playoffs.
The regular season matches against the side would prove to be a foggy mirror to look at as they lost their most recent meeting against the Indiana Pacers G-League affiliate while blowing them out of the water in their first meeting.
Tuesday night’s match would go the way of their first meeting, as the Blue Coats cruised to a 123-101 victory, which came as a result of a combined team effort, in which their two-way stars thrived.
Notable two-way standout Ricky Council IV would light up the Mad Ants for a game-high 28 points, doing so on 47 percent shooting from the field. While Council IV had himself a night on the offensive end, he would also prove to be quite useful on the defensive end of the court, recording two steals and converting three blocks.
Yet, Council wouldn’t be the only two-way player to go off in the opening playoff match as Jeff Dowtin would drop 24 points and eight assists en route to a Delaware victory.
Elsewhere on the Blue Coats lineup, Melvin Fraizer Jr would have himself a great night from the field, scoring 24 points on a lethal 80 percent from the field, which includes an impeccable 83 percent from beyond the arch.
As a result of their win against the Mad Ants, the Blue Coats booked themselves a ticket to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals where they’re set to take on the Maine Celtics.
