Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Raptors

But then what about our 6MOY bets?

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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.

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Who said we always have to talk about trade requests? The Sixers have actually played a game! Let’s talk about it, in the first edition of Sixers Pros and Cons.

Pro: Andre Drummond damages small-ball

Andre Drummond was dominant early on in this game thanks to his incredible rebounding ability, strength and force that has earned him many dollars during his career. 

There are very legitimate concerns to have about a player like Drummond -- some of those concerns came to light later in the game -- but his flashes of dominance against Raptors lineups devoid of a big and strong center were tantalizing. 

We all knew about Drummond’s ferocious rebounding -- he is legitimately one of the best rebounders of a generation. But what might have been understated is his combination of size and strength that allows him to swallow up boards and be especially effective offensively against small-ball units like the ones Toronto ran.

Drummond pulled 14 rebounds and swatted four shots in his 24 minutes. Hopefully we can soon see how he fares against a team with more three-point shooting from their bigs. But Drummond unquestionably passed his first test as a Sixer.

Con: Shake Milton, shot creator

Milton had his fair share of issues as a ball-handler last season, particularly later in the season and during the playoffs. Milton’s craft was what made him a solid rotation player for these Sixers, despite his limited burst.

Unfortunately for Shake and the Sixers, that lack of quickness has shown its ugly head for a while now -- and tonight was not a good one for Milton.

Shake was constantly forcing the issue when he had the ball in his hands, making just one of his six field goal attempts and committing a pair of turnovers in his 19 minutes. 

For as long as Ben Simmons is sitting out and a trade is not in the cards, the Sixers need their reinforcements at guard to come from within. That means primarily Milton and Tyrese Maxey need to give the Sixers consistent production at the point guard position. 

I will almost never give up on a tall guard who can handle the ball and shoot like Shake. The archetype is tantalizing and we’ve seen it in positive action before. But there’s genuine reason to be at least somewhat concerned with Milton. Right now, the only thing he can be relied upon for is his spot-up jump-shooting.

Pro: Seth Curry picks up where he left off

Last year’s Sixers had a massively disappointing playoff performance. But if there was one bright spot, it was Seth Curry, who went ballistic for multiple weeks and became the team’s second-best offensive player for the vast majority of the postseason. He became much more aggressive with the ball in his hands, and it resulted in the best basketball of his career.

Initially, Curry struggled to produce off the dribble, causing some concern. But upon entering the game for his second stint, he became much more aggressive and showed some juice as a creator. 

All eyes will be on Milton and Maxey for as long as Simmons holds out. But it would absolutely be a boon for the Sixers if Curry can create shots for himself and others. I certainly do not expect him to become a part-time point guard, but I do think there’s a world in which he gives the Sixers a healthy dose of shot creation.