The Sixers have a lot of talent on their roster, but it’s the young guys who will likely determine how they fare in the regular season.
The sixers news is a battle that will be worth watching.
Following their battle against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, the Philadelphia Sixers’ focus has shifted to the regular season. Their first official game will be on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans in only four days.
Now that players have had the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities throughout training camp and the preseason, it’s time to make predictions about how the rotations will appear. Doc Rivers has said many times that he does not have a specific amount of players he plans to play on a nightly basis, but there will still be some players on the outside looking in when the action begins next week.
The majority of Rivers’ lineup is fixed in stone, but there is one point of contention. In the second unit, which young shooter gets the most wing minutes?
Isaiah Joe shone brighter than any other Sixer throughout the preseason. Many supporters are clamoring for him to be given a bigger role in year two after the former second-round selection put on an amazing performance. Joe had a team-high 16.8 points per game in four preseason games and shot 59.3 percent from outside the arc.
Joe has continued to demonstrate his desire for greater playing time this season since the Summer League. Seeing what he can accomplish in a larger position should at the very least earn him a spot in the rotation. The issue is, who will he choose to help him get more playing time in 2021?
Bench minutes will be even more difficult to come by if Ben Simmons decides to play when the regular season begins. Rivers’ choice between Joe and Furkan Korkmaz as an outside shooter is likely to be the deciding factor.
The Sixers clearly respect Korkmaz, as shown by his return in free agency, but Joe may make a case for playing time over him. To begin with, he almost quadrupled Korkmaz’s three-point percentage on the same number of tries each game (6.8).
Joe’s strongest argument for increased playing time comes from the opposite side of the court. Despite losing some weight, the 22-year-old is more than capable on the defensive end. For a player in his second season, his IQ and basics on that side of the court are very remarkable. He’s also a better defender than Korkmaz, in my opinion.
Last season, Korkmaz’s ballhandling may have placed him ahead of the pack, but that is no longer the case. Joe put in a lot of work in the summer to improve that aspect of his game, and it has paid off thus far. He has the potential to be just as excellent a backup ballhandler as Korkmaz if he continues to improve his ballhandling abilities.
Rivers should be wary of playing Korkmaz just because he re-signed this summer. Given his low salary, playing Joe to start the season after his outstanding preseason performance would be a no-brainer.
In fact, these two may find themselves in and out of the starting lineup during the season. Shooters experience hot and cold periods on a regular basis. Rivers should ride the guy who is making the most shots at the moment.
Joe had been mentioned by Rivers as a guy who would be looking for minutes this season, and given the way he shot the lights out in preseason, he may get his wish.
The espn is a battle that will be interesting to watch. It’s the Sixers vs. the Cavs, and the winner of this game will take on either Toronto or Boston in round one.
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