Jaden Springer dominates against Canton Charge

Jaden Springer had a stellar performance with the Delaware Blue Coats.

We haven’t seen too much of Jaden Springer, as he’s been developing with the Sixers’ G League affiliate. Springer had a midseason knee injury that kept him from playing large amounts of minutes for the past few weeks. He got a good amount of run against the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League team, the Canton Charge — where he put together one of his best performances yet at the professional level.

In 32 minutes Springer scored 32 points and filled up the stat sheet with nine rebounds, seven steals, and six assists. He did not turn over the ball once either. The stat line alone is impressive, but what’s even more so is how efficiently he shot the ball: 57.9 percent from the field and 80 percent from three.

The three-ball is the one area that Springer has needed work on in his young career. Through 18 games, he’s only averaging 24.6 percent on 3.2 attempts per game from three. Some of the struggles here could be attributed to his knee injury and the inconsistency with playing time as well.

Shooting 4-5 from three is a step in the right direction, and hopefully he can get that average up with some time. He’s shot the ball well from the midrange and free throw line, so it all just comes down to finding a rhythm for him.

Springer has largely put together a successful rookie season in the G League. He’s averaging 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He’s been one of the best defensive players in the G League, averaging an impressive 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in only 27.3 minutes of playing time. He still needs some time, but performances like Wednesday’s shows you flashes of the player he can be with some time and development.

Charles Bassey, who is also assigned to the Blue Coats, faired well in their two matchups against the Canton Charge. Bassey spent the majority of these matchups against the tallest professional player in the US right now; the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall. Bassey is tall, but Fall has nearly seven inches of height over him. It’s not an easy matchup whatsoever, regardless of skill level.

Bassey had a solid outing, scoring 21 points and seven rebounds on 9-12 shooting in just 23 minutes of play. He even had a three-pointer in this game, which is an area that they’re looking to grow in his skillset.

The Blue Coats played a second game against the Canton Charge on Wednesday, where they narrowly lost 147-137. Springer did not appear in this game, but Bassey followed up his original performance with a well rounded stat line of nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and four blocks in 29 minutes of play.

The Delaware Blue Coats currently sit at a 17-7 record, which is good for third in the G League’s Eastern Conference. This team features a ton of depth up and down the roster, and they’ll be one of the more dangerous teams in the G League postseason. The Blue Coats next game is against the Grand Rapids Gold on Friday at 7 p.m.