Mail-It-In Mailbag: Should Shake Milton Start?
But then what about our 6MOY bets?
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Now that the James Harden dust has settled, we can all take a step back and evaluate what is in front of us.
It’s time for… the Mail it in Mailbag!
Question from Jackson Frank: Would you consider inserting Shake into the starting lineup? Why or why not?
In a preseason predictions video with myself, AU and MOC, I predicted that Shake would play at the level of a starter, and then Doc Rivers would refuse to start him and we’d all be confused about it. We’re not at the frustration stage of things, as Tyrese Maxey has been fine and Milton is still getting his on the bench.
When Seth Curry is back, I still lean towards bringing Shake off the bench. If Curry experiences some significant regression and doesn’t pop defensively, I would absolutely be willing to swap him for Shake.
But for now, if my options to fill the starting lineup are Maxey and Shake, I lean towards the latter because of his quick trigger and efficiency as a three-point shooter. At the end of the day, the Sixers should be maximizing all opportunities to surround Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons with as much shooting as they can.
From Kinetic Skateshop (!): Who would get second place in a dunk contest of the current Sixers players? Would Furkan buy dinner for the rest of the team with his first place prize money?
I think we can all agree that Furkan will win, even if simply for the irony, as long as he wears his Batman costume. After that, give me Dwight Howard, who has quite a significant competitive advantage over the rest of the team thanks to his experiences with these kinds of things.
From Rebecca Croog: Could you describe the overall experience of watching Jo in person this season? Both what he looks like on the floor, specific areas that his play is noticeably different from last season/previous ones AND your internal reactions to witnessing the greatness of it all.
Great question! First of all, I am very lucky to be going to the games this season, and that isn’t lost on me.
I don’t know if it comes through on television, but watching Joel at all times has been fascinating. On offense, he is as assertive as a big-man could be. On defense he’s methodical, surveying the floor and making snap judgement calls.
I won’t try to be a Body Language Guy. But watching Joel in person without noise is, to me, a very cool experience, as I get to pick up on some of the ways he quarterbacks the defense, even if much more like a wide receiver on offense.
From Jacob Miller Russo: What would be your best trade without giving up Ben or Joel? Obviously people like to chase stars but it doesn’t have to be for a big time player, could be as simple as shoring up the bench.
As I will start writing about a lot very soon, the easiest way to upgrade the rotation will be combining the contracts of Mike Scott, Terrance Ferguson and either Vincent Poirier or Tony Bradley. Sending out an end of the rotation guy in Scott along with two non-factors can allow you to bring back up to $15.7 million. That is enough for a lot of very good players. I don’t want to get too specific yet, but how’s this for an idea: Scott, Ferguson and Bradley for Rudy Gay or Patty Mills? The Spurs continue to develop their youth, and could be willing to sell off a rotation player. Mills has been a Future Sixer for nearly half a decade, for obvious reasons. Gay would provide more versatility than Scott, especially thanks to his ability to put the ball on the floor.