Sixers Bench Competing Down The Stretch For Playoff Rotation MInutes
Another silent tournament?
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
With the Sixers nearing the conclusion of their regular season, their final handful of games will be about far more than just their win-loss record.
From here on out, every game is an audition of sorts for much of the Sixers roster. Head coach Doc Rivers initially hesitated to approve that claim Sunday afternoon before the team’s home game against the Washington Wizards, but eventually conceded that it is the case for most teams.
“It’s that way all year, but definitely down the stretch for sure. Not really an audition, but in some ways it is. You want guys to separate themselves from everybody else. That’s what every coach would love,” Rivers said. “They would love nine guys to tell the coach, ‘we’re way better than the other guys and we should play every night.’ But it doesn’t work that way most of the time.”
So, with nine players likely being the sweet spot, the Sixers have a battle for playoff minutes brewing. They essentially have seven players locked into the rotation: James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, Joel Embiid, De’Anthony Melton and a backup center -- for now, let’s say that’s Paul Reed, who Rivers has stuck with in that spot for the last few weeks.
That leaves two spots in the rotation, if we are to believe Rivers will stick with the number he has often preferred to have in the playoffs. The Sixers, meanwhile, have four players with credible cases to get minutes. It’s time to evaluate each of those players and what their cases look like:
Georges Niang
Niang received a DNP-coach’s decision on March 1, the culmination of a shooting slump that further exacerbated his weaknesses as a defensive player. Niang has returned to the rotation since and solidified his standing as an overwhelming favorite to make the cut in the playoffs.
When Niang’s shot isn’t falling, it becomes incredibly difficult to stomach his minutes. But his shot falls too often to ignore. Niang is shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range this season, as he has in every full season of his career. While every shooter has hot streaks and slumps, water always evens out. And it has recently, with Niang knocking down 12 threes in his last four games prior to the contest against Washington.
Most importantly, the threat of Niang’s shooting -- and the gravity it provides for Embiid and Harden -- is always a factor.
“I’ve seen [Niang] over the years with his time spent in Utah,” Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr., also a former Denver Nuggets assistant coach, said. “He can come in and impact a game right away.”
“His ability to stretch the floor, he moves without the ball… he creates action, spaces correctly, causes a little coverage confusion with his movement,” Unseld Jr. said. “ Every time he shoots it you feel like it’s going in.”
Niang has shown on several occasions that he is the kind of role player capable of swinging a close loss into a close win. Niang made three triples 26 different times this season. The Sixers are 23-3 in those games.
Flawed player or not, Niang’s shooting is simply a skill too valuable to ignore right now.
Jalen McDaniels
McDaniels is likely the favorite to pick up the second rotation spot for optics alone -- as the team’s lone trade deadline acquisition and an upcoming free agent, benching him entirely would be quite a tough admission of defeat. But there are legitimate pros and cons that come with using him.
The most obvious benefit of playing McDaniels is having his size, length and athleticism on the wing. The Sixers have been thrilled with the athleticism that he and Reed have provided the second unit, and it’s McDaniels’ most valuable trait right now.
With Niang being a liability on the defensive end and Reed being shaky there, some solidified defensive impact would be quite valuable for this Sixers team. But… is it solidified?
McDaniels has always been a foul-happy player, which is often okay for a role player not logging 30 minutes per game. But his fouling has gotten out of control recently -- McDaniels averaged 4.4 fouls playing just 18 minutes per game in his last five contests prior to the Wizards game. As a Sixer, he’s averaging 8.7 fouls per 100 possessions, a gargantuan number.
McDaniels suffered a hip contusion against the Wizards, so certainly keep an eye on that. Assuming he is healthy by the time the playoffs start, if I had to guess which second unit member joins Melton, Niang and the backup center in the playoff rotation, I’d pick McDaniels. But it is very far from definite.
Shake Milton
Milton’s minutes have dwindled frequently in recent weeks, and a few times he has played briefly in the first half and been benched in the second half. While his primary ball-handling services are no longer needed with Harden and Maxey healthy and in a groove, Milton is an established rotation player here longer than any of his competition.
Milton deserves more credit than he gets: he is an ultimate chameleon, constantly rolling with whatever punches are thrown and seemingly making himself useful no matter what.
When Milton needed to shoulder a massive load as a scorer and playmaker, he did so and passed the test with flying colors. When they’ve needed him to play off the ball, he’s weaponized his shooting and end-of-shot-clock scoring prowess to diversify the offense.
Milton is nothing to write home about defensively, but his length at least makes him capable.
Oftentimes for role players, surviving in the playoffs is about masking their weaknesses. Milton may have fewer weaknesses than any member of his competition.
Danuel House Jr.
House Jr. was out of the rotation for most of the last two months, but in recent weeks has come on strong as a surprise contender for playoff minutes. His defense on the wing has been solid and his athleticism has popped quite a bit on both ends of the floor.
If McDaniels does miss time in the playoffs, House Jr.’s candidacy gets stronger -- the team would sorely lack depth on the wing.
It’s worth noting that House Jr. has more experience playing deep into the playoffs than any of the other three candidates, maybe save for Milton. House Jr.’s time with Harden in Houston was filled with important games, and that counts for something.
But, similarly to Milton, the strongest part of House Jr.’s argument is that he doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. He isn’t going to be exploited on either end of the floor, even if he doesn’t provide a massive amount of value in the aggregate. Think 2019 James Ennis III-type stuff- that isn’t so bad!