Philadelphia 76ers: 3 Reasons Timothe Luwawu Has Bright Future

After two months of shipping Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot up and down to the Delaware 87ers, do the Philadelphia 76ers now believe they have a future star?

On the heels of a career-high 18 points in his second consecutive start in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Sunday night’s win against the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s time to take a look at Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot.

For anyone who watched film on TLC before or after the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him with the 24th overall pick in last year’s draft, it’s pretty clear what he does well.

Luwawu fits the trendy “3-and-D” mold that has quickly gone from a premium to a prerequisite for the prototypical role player in today’s NBA.

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Many players are drafted with the caveat that they are not yet a seamless fit in that mold. The Sixers have brought in a carousel of powerfully athletic wings over the past several years that they have tried to refine into 3-and-D players.

Luwawu-Cabarrot is not that. His skill set is already that of a 3-and-D player.

But what is TLC’s base right now? Is he another project, or can he already fit the 3-and-D role that the Sixers desperately need? Let’s look at some of his rudimentary offensive displays so far and also see what TLC might look like as a finished product.

Jump Shooting

On the season, TLC is shooting just 21 for 72 (29.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

But Luwawu’s jump-shot is as technically proficient as they come. His rookie year struggles are due mostly to small sample size coupled with a nervous adjustment to the NBA.

TLC’s shot form not only checks every technical box, but also maintains remarkable consistency.
A key thing to look for in shooters is how their form looks in makes vs. misses. Does he change his mechanics when he gets tired? Does his release point change to react to the defense?

The answers for TLC is, thankfully, no. His release point is incredibly consistent and he always uses a “hop” to get into his shot as opposed to a 1-2 step. This hop allows for his energy to flow succinctly from his legs to his release point.

He also does a tremendous job of seeing past a defender. Watch his form here remain completely unchanged despite Luke Babbit’s contest.

Even in contested shots and misses, he holds his release point and commits to his hop.

But what will make TLC a punishing cog in the Sixers’ offense is his nose for finding open spaces in defenses. He understands how to find creases where a helping defender has vacated. Watch him relocate twice on this play. He lifts on the drive, and then sinks on the help.

Watch him lift to the wing here as soon as

Dejounte Murray

takes his eyes off of him.

In the long run, TLC will thrive as a shooting threat in Brett Brown’s maze of handoffs and inside ball screens that suck wing defenders off their matchups with a barrage of middle drives.

Off-Ball Cutting

Hot take: cutting, as a skill that we assess, is oversimplified. There are a few savants that torture their match-ups off the ball, a few woefully benign non-factors, and an extensive middle ground of capable cutters whose success depends almost entirely on their system and the players around them. If you’re in the NBA, you generally can recognize when your matchup is ignoring you.

So, let’s examine what will make TLC an effective off-ball cutter, outside of sheerly gliding past an oblivious defender.

For starters, he doesn’t need much space to finish. He maintains his fluidity from anywhere. His length allows him to approach and finish from peculiar angles before the defense recognizes he’s a threat.

He also has a tremendous sense of how to use his body. He shields off defenders with his hips and shoulders, daring shot blockers to foul him with their body.

TLC’s recognition, length, and craftiness make him a considerable off-ball cutting threat for years to come.

TLC: Shot creator?

Let’s be clear about something: TLC will never be the primary ball handler in an offense, or anything more than a second option on the perimeter.

But there’s plenty to like. He won’t create many issues for defenses, but he can already punish for those that get created.

In short bursts, he’s already useful. He’s quick enough to blow by any upright and unprepared defender in one step.

He’s got a variety of finishes, and he generally does a good job of letting his instincts dictate his choice of finish.

As we saw from his off-ball cuts, he contorts his body however he needs to in order to shield the ball from the defender.

But he has a long way to go. Dribbling is a major issue with TLC. He’s usually either far too ambitious or too conservative to get anywhere.

28 percent of his turnovers are lost ball turnovers, which would measure as the highest team percentage in the NBA, per NBAminer.com. He gets his pocket picked with concerning frequency.
His dribbles can often get him caught in a bad part of town. When he panics, he tends to over-dribble. It’s like talking a lot without saying much.

In TLC’s case, the less dribbles, the better.

The Verdict

There’s an awful lot to like from the first 53 games of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot’s career. It’s safe to remove any doubt that has been cast over his ability to fill the 3-and-D need at shooting guard that has evaded the Sixers dating back to the on-again, off-again relationship that Andre Iguodala had with shooting.

That said, it’s unlikely that TLC ever expands his game beyond that. And that’s fine. He’ll be strikingly good at what he does, and smart enough to do what he should not.

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He’ll be very effective in the paint and beyond the arc, and will create nothing in between.
For now, let TLC develop his base and anything that gets developed on top of that will be gravy. But fortunately for the Sixers, they have finally found their 3-and-D guy.

Three Reasons Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot has a Bright NBA Future

By Mike O'connor | Mar 15, 2017