Is This Season Crushing The Development of MCW?

Feb 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) during the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Bucks defeated the Sixers 130-110. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

But, wait…

How can the development of a player poised to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award be crushed? I know that’s what everyone is thinking, but it’s possible. When you have Henry Sims, Byron Mullens and Jarvis Varnado as a part of your team’s regular rotation, there aren’t many scoring options out there. Save Thaddeus Young, who does Carter-Williams realistically have to throw the ball too? We’ve seen the potential of Carter-Williams as a scorer, but we should all want him to develop into a true point guard that can affect the game in more ways than one. Not having anyone to throw the ball to can seriously cripple the development of MCW. To be honest, things are getting ugly for Carter-Williams and it’s not a good sign.

In February, Carter-Williams averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and a paltry 4.7 assists per game. Just to bring this home, Carter-Williams averaged 4.6 turnovers in February — so MCW had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.98 in February, that’s ugly. Keep in mind that the Sixers lost every single game in February and Carter-Williams played 30-plus minutes in every game. MCW shot 38 percent from the field and 19 percent from deep in February. Safe to say, this whole “tanking” concept is reaching new heights and it might be hurting the future of our franchise.

MCW has started March off by averaging 16.0 points, but he’s shooting 35 percent in those two games. He’s averaging 6.5 assists in two games this month, but once again, his turnovers are sky high at 6.0 per game. The numbers look nice on the outside, but an in-depth look shows some scary concern for this young stud.

Ever since Carter-Williams outstanding month of December, which saw him average 19.3 points on 45 percent shooting, along with 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists (3.8 turnovers) — things have been downhill. His assists, rebounds and shooting percentages have declined tremendously. The only statistical category that is rising is his turnovers, which is not the way we want his development to go. Not to mention, his steals have decreased considerably also. After averaging 3.5 SPG in December, that decreased to 1.5 in January and 1.0 in February. The numbers we want to see on the decline are on a steep and quick rise.

Maybe this isn’t so much a problem of MCW directly, but the talent that surrounds him — or lack thereof. The Sixers have lost 14 straight and possess one of the most embarrassing rosters in NBA history. With the departure of Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, there is now even more of a scoring responsibility placed on MCW. With the Sixers possessing the fastest pace offense in the NBA, A LOT of shots will be put up. Young and MCW are the only two candidates that are capable of scoring on a consistent basis, which makes the fast pace a scary concept for a young rookie.

Carter-Williams hasn’t reached double-digit assist totals since January 27th. Which was one game, before the Sixers last victory, January 29th vs the Celtics. Even if his assist numbers rise from the 4.7 APG he put up last month, these turnovers are atrocious.

This has more to do with the roster than Carter-Williams specifically, but it’s still a scary development. We can only hope that this terrible season doesn’t stunt the development of Carter-Williams. However, one thing is clear: All of this losing is not helping Carter-Williams in any way possible. Keep your head up, rook.