Philadelphia 76ers Season in Review: Nik Stauskas

Nik Stauskas had an interesting sophomore season with the Philadelphia 76ers. After a slow start, but a hot finish, should it be considered a success?

Nik Stauskas was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers for practically nothing last offseason. As the Sacramento Kings were looking to dump salary, the Sixers got a few solid players for a few overseas players and a second-round draft pick. Nik, perhaps better known as “Sauce Castillo” was one of those players.

Stauskas has been a player that has always struggled to find a home, somewhat literally and figuratively. Since leaving his home in Canada as a teenager, Nik has been searching for a place to take his basketball talents professionally, and at the same time feel comfortable. It’s been quite the journey.

During this year’s offseason, Nik was coming off of a tough rookie season in Sacramento. The Kings expected him to come into the league and be a sharpshooter just as he was in college and high school.That was not the case. This most recent offseason, Nik played with the Sixers in Summer League and did well, making himself a frontrunner to easily make the final roster.

Nik was forced into a system in his rookie year that didn’t fit him well. It forced him to take 3-point shots that were not very natural, and quite uncomfortable for Nik. The Kings wanted him to be a range shooter so badly that he simply felt like he had to take those shots, even when he didn’t have good looks. This led to a lowly 32 percent shooting season from beyond the arc in his rookie year.

For anyone who has watched Nik intently, it’s clear that being comfortable is a huge part of his game. At times, he looks like a scared puppy dog on the floor, and that is when he plays poorly. But other times, he looks great, and looks like he’s really confident in his game. That is when he plays fantastically.

The goal of the Sixers was to offer Nik a system that was more comfortable, and less forced.

Right away in Philly, Nik showed improvement in his game. Although many were unhappy with how his season started (he shot below 30 percent from beyond the arc in his first 10 games) he was hitting more 3-pointers than he did in Sacramento. Nik had just one game where he hit three 3-pointers in Sacramento, something Nik accomplished in his second game with the Sixers, and in three of his first five games.

Still, his overall performances were sporadic, and he was not at all consistent. We weren’t sure which Nik Stauskas would show up most nights. Would it be the Nik who could put up 12 points and be a spark plug off of the bench? Or would it be the Nik who kept chucking up 3-pointers only to miss them time and time again?

Once mid-December hit, Nik started to heat up. By the time the new year rang in, Nik was consistently playing well, and had a great 2016.

In 2015, Nik averaged just 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He shot 34.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from the 3-point zone. His true shooting percentage was 45.8 percent, and his offensive rating was just 86 with a defensive rating of 111.

With the new year came a new Nik. In 2016, Stauskas put up a stat line of 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He shot 41.2 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and had a true shooting percentage of 55.5 percent. His offensive rating improved to 102.

Nik’s defense still isn’t great, but it has seemed to improve, although the numbers don’t reflect that. His defensive rating went up to 116 in 2016. I’ll be looking for him to take steps to improve that next year. What is encouraging is that shooters shoot about 1.5 percent worse when Nik is guarding them outside of the 3-point line.

Looking at Nik’s offensive numbers from 2015 to 2016, he clearly had a mindset change. Part of it was the fact that he wasn’t asked to carry the backcourt just as the rest of the guards were before Ish Smith came along. Nik could step back and play his more natural role as a shooting guard with Ish around.

Sauce Castillo still has lots of work to do, though. His shooting percentages don’t reflect those of a sharpshooter like Nik was said to be when he was entering the league. Hopefully we can see those numbers improve even more next season.

Next: For Instant Success, Philadelphia 76ers Should Draft Ingram

For a player with just two years under his belt in the NBA, Sauce is showing he has a bright future ahead of him. Of the 2015-16 Sixers, I think Nik may be one of the only players on the team that I would say confidently that I would like to see stick around for several years. Nik, although he doesn’t function well as a starter, could be a solid backup shooting guard on a competitive team. He’s one of those guys that can come off of the bench and give a team a push to win tight games.