Dario Saric’s rise makes the 76ers’ future even scarier

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Brett Brown was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs when Manu Ginobili first came to the NBA from Italy in 2002. Ginobili was a seasoned Argentinian rookie who played under international coaching legend Ettore Messina.

But though Ginobili put together a Hall of Fame career in San Antonio, his first season in the league was rocky. FIBA’s style vastly differs from the NBA’s, so the then-Spurs rookie spent two seasons adjusting before taking his game to the next level.

So it’s especially impressive that Brown’s newest international import, Dario Saric, is adjusting on the fly.

The 22-year-old Croatian forward is averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, lodging himself firmly into the Rookie of the Year race teammate Joel Embiid left open.

The speed with which Saric has acclimated to his new environment shocks Brown the most.

“I did not expect him to be as good as he’s been,” the Sixers coach tells reporters on Tuesday. “If you look at our wins. ... the common denominator is [Saric] performs.”

Saric is in front of his locker after the 76ers’ 106-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets. Two days before, he posts one of his worst games of the season, scoring just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting in Phladelphia’s 13-point loss to the Indiana Pacers.

“I had a disappointing game in Indiana for me,” he tells reporters. “ [Here in Brooklyn] I tried to stay more focused on this game. I stayed in my room and I was focused all the time, trying to prepare myself for this game.”

The solitude works. The Croatian forward bounces back for 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and guides his team to a road win in front of a Brooklyn crowd that boos him every trip to the foul line.

That pressure of carrying a team is nothing new. Saric has held that responsibility since his teenage years playing big minutes in the Euroleague. He had only been waiting for an opportunity to prove he could handle that pressure here in the NBA.

“I think the fact that now he starts, he’s featured more, he’s on the court more minutes than normally he would’ve been. That is a true reason [for his rise],” Brown says. “There’s a comfort level that he plays with now that he did not play with at the start of the year. And it’s continued to grow as he has assumed more responsibility as a starter.”

Brown spent 17 years as a basketball coach overseas and says international ball is “very, very different” from the NBA. Players here are faster and more athletic than those in Europe. It took months for Saric to understand that, he admits.

But Saric’s advantage over college prospects is that he’s used to playing against grown men and not peers his age. Saric could have come to the NBA when he was drafted in 2014. Instead, he stayed in the Euroleague for two seasons.

Saric used that time to practice under revered European coach Dušan Ivković. He worked on the intangibles: How to make plays with fewer dribbles, how to keep his head in the game.

“I think that that environment hardened Dario,” Brown says. “Those extra few years let him continue to play against adults, let him continue to play against a physical league. And I think that that did set that table a little bit cleaner when he came into the NBA.”

Those digs may have become less of a joke and more of a reality.

In the 18 games since Ilyasova’s trade, Saric leads his team in both scoring (19.4 points) and rebounding (7.8 boards). Saric leads all rookies in scoring since the All-Star break and is second in rebounding behind New York’s Willy Hernangomez.

Philadelphia is 7-11 in that span, despite playing without Embiid and partially without Jahlil Okafor.

“It’s just a progressive sort of rhythm beat to his mind and his confidence, and his disposition, his poise,” Brown says. “I think there’s a calmness and a confidence that he plays with as this season has unfolded.”

Many on the outside feel the Sixers are a tank factory, but the feeling internally is the opposite.

Injuries limited Embiid, the runaway Rookie of the Year frontrunner, to just 31 games. They robbed the Sixers of Ben Simmons’ first year and parts of Okafor’s second. And injuries snatched Gerald Henderson and Jerryd Bayless, two veterans who could have been valuable contributors.

“That injured group in the locker room is a pretty good team I just rolled off,” Brown sighs.

Still Philadelphia has strung together a 28-46 record, 18 games better than last season with eight games still remaining on the schedule. Saric points to other teams with better rosters and worse records than the 76ers. That means Philly is doing good given the circumstances, he says.

They could have $53 million in cap space this summer if they renounce all of their free agents. They also own their pick in the loaded 2017 NBA draft, which they could either use on one of many promising young players or package in a deal for an established veteran.

Philadelphia could also own the the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick if it falls outside the top-three, and they hold swap rights with the Sacramento Kings (29-45) in case the draft lottery falls in their favor.

“I always step back and think about what’s coming because we have so much flexibility with draft picks and free agency,” Brown says.

Then, Brown pauses to reference his team’s health issues. Simmons hasn’t touched the floor and Embiid has only played 31 games in three years.

But those ailments allowed Saric to come into his own. That makes the future even brighter in Philadelphia, and they know it.

“Especially when Joel comes back, when Ben Simmons comes back, this team has a lot of talent and a big opportunity to make something [happen],” Saric says.