The Sixers Missing Link

Jun 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Confetti surrounds the stage during the Golden State Warriors 2015 championship celebration at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Sixers Missing Link

Let’s call it as it is. The Philadelphia 76ers have some good players in the pipeline. They have a bank vault filled with stashed players and draft picks for the future. The team has been losing the battle of the box office – fans are choosing to wait for signs of success before shelling out the money for tickets. In 2016, the team Sam Hinkie Hustle will kick in, and players from Europe, the injury list, and the first round of the 2016 NBA draft will arrive in numbers.

But so what?   The team and the president and team general manager have some passionate detractors, and the theme of that disbelief boils down to one thing – the team must put together a team that can win.  Eventually, the rubber MUST hit the pavement and the team will need to convert potential into production.   The plan on the drawing board will eventually need to be translated to the basketball court.

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Whether the trail to the promised land is a straight line, or if it is a curvy windy road through treacherous mountains, or its a slow boat around the world, the eventuality that the team will arrive in playoff caliber form is the universal translator.   Win, or start over.   Some see the path that chosen by the Sixers as a path of perpetual delay – one that keeps the promise of arrival in minds of the fans but continue to wander in the desert for forty years.  Some see the path as a tank job that is so obvious that they have gone to great lengths to attempt changing the way the NBA aids the less fortunate teams.

The most difficult part for a fan of a rebuilding team is the wait. Some players excel in one season. Some require two seasons. Some players do not turn it on until their second contract. Meanwhile, the fans’ optimism is drained out of them as they build their hopes each year on what might be, and struggle to find a soft landing as the floor disappears beneath them and the team is in one losing streak after another.

But there is an enclave of fans and sports writers who simply sees the Sixers as stacking the deck.  They are tossing the value of players in the past to receive value simultaneously.   Since the common wisdom is that the NBA draft, and even potential of players to achieve NBA stardom is so difficult to anticipate, they are simply increasing their odds through volume.  You’ve seen the strategy employed if you’ve ever played bingo.  Somewhere among that hall is that lady who has twelve cards lined up in front of her, and whose sole purpose is to scan twelve cards from the moment a letter and number are called.   No conversation, no breaks.  Even blinking happens rarely.  The key to success lies in playing more cards than any other player.

Okay.  So the Sixers are shooting more arrows than any other archer at the target.  Is it the right target?   Have these Sixers gone to such great lengths to succeed only to aim at the wrong goal?  What is the missing link to a playoff team?

What does that plan require?

Next: Scorer

Mar 1, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers Dance Team wear

uniforms during the second quarter of game against the Washington Wizards at Wells Fargo Center. The Wizards defeated the 76ers, 122-103. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

A Scorer

When you think of the missing link of the Philadelphia 76ers to a playoff caliber team, the first and most obvious role is that player who can join the NBA leaders in scoring. The epitome of scorer is the player by the name of Allen Iverson.

Iverson was a scoring threat in any and every game.   He was difficult to defend, and difficult to rest during the game.  The modern era of NBA basketball is less player centric.   Even a player the caliber of Russell Westbrook averages seven fewer minutes per game.   That rest keeps the player fresh, the players behind him proficient, and adds years to the player’s career.  Who will step up to become the scorer of this 76ers team?

Well, to be honest it has been quite a while since the team had a true scorer.  Allen Iverson played the role in the 2005-2006 season, but consumed 43 minutes to do so.  The closest player to score over 20 PPG last season was Tony Wroten,, and he dropped just 16.9 points per game. While he only played 29 minutes per game, his accuracy was merely 40%  FG, and 66% on FT.  Factor in 3.8 turnovers per game and that’s an inefficient way to get points in a game.

So how does an NBA team go about getting their scorer?  The Sixers could discover a scorer in one of three ways:  The Low Road, The Middle Road, or the High Road.

Next: Low Road

Jul 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

(55) keeps the ball away from Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Munford (14) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Low Road

The Low Road to the promised lands is to take the man who stands lowest to the ground, and place him in the position to stand the tallest on the scoring charts. To most players, that’s a recipe for disaster. But for Pierre Jackson, it’s what he does best.

He set a D League record with a 58 point effort. Watch it here:

His game can electrify when he’s on. He can take the ball close, or pull up outside of the arc and drop it through the hoop.  His is a game of determination and will power.   With the bigs setting up in traffic, and with the options to pass off the ball, the fact is that Pappy Jack will be challenged to hurt defenses.   Nobody will commit to stopping him until he proves that he must be stopped.  He is a scrappy player who can lead this young team.  But most of all, he is the never quit attitude that is mandatory to get onto the basketball court in a Sixer uniform this year.

Pappy Jack has plenty of shooting options.  He will threaten from long range.   When teams come out to defend that shot, his size and speed are incredibly elusive.  That quickness and size make him nearly indefensible.  The best defense will try to take him out of his offense by bringing two bodies to corral him.

That’s what he wants, and will be his most dangerous.   Two bodies on the point means the 76ers will have options to get the ball to a free body.  He can make a move towards the basket and then kick out the ball to a waiting Stauskas, or drive the ball between defenders to push it over to a waiting Okafor or Noel.   The low road is the easiest road to travel, and if Pappy Jack delivers his potential, this will be a very effective scenario.   Jackson is selfless, and will not command the 45 minutes in a game.  But his style will give defenses fits as they struggle to contain him.

Next: Middle Road

March 24, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard

(10) shoots the basketball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the 76ers 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Middle Road

Should the team find the going tough at the point guard scoring scenario, they will not be scrambling for answers.  Similar to the roster depth coming on line, the team is placing depth and overlap onto the floor this season.

Nik Stauskas is a player with unrealized potential.  But the NBA is a league which finds plenty of scoring opportunities for a good shooting guard.   Of the 15 players who scored 20 or more points last season, 33% were shooting guards.  Nik Stauskas is absolutely not one of the league best.  In fact, his arrival to the Sixer team is a sign that the Sacremento Kings have already given up on the former first round draft selection.

But he has come back before.  Here’s a video of his work at Michigan:

So what’s the problem now?  Well the Sacramento Kings saw a player who had excellent range from outside the arc, and draft him for that reason.  Let’s examine a pair of shot analytics from Shotanalytics.com  to illustrate what I’m referencing.  The first shot chart is the Michigan version of Stauskas.

What did they get?  Well things have a funny way of happening in the NBA.  Take a look at his shot chart in his first year with the Kings.

Stauskas is one of those shooters who you do NOT want to charge the basket. It’s not one of his best shots.  And that shot selection is what drove his playing time down, and his roster spot onto the “trade me” category.  So what do the Sixers have that is different?  Well, we’ll have those tall bodies in the area where Stauskas shot so often for the Kings.  He’ll need to learn to trust the plays here, and with a change of address, that is certainly enough of a wake up call to do just that. His rookie season hardly the NBA splash he had hoped for, save for a closed-captioning error that christened him with the nickname “Sauce Castillo.” He could never compete to earn enough playing minutes from Ben McLemore, a top-10 pick from the year before. Not enough floor time meant not enough time to progress. He averaged only 15.4 minutes per game, and scored on average just 4.4 points a night on 36.5 percent shooting (32.2 percent from deep).

But the change of address will do the young man wonders.   He will get his minutes in Philadelphia, and to a team that has the patience of Job, his progress should get back on track.  With a clearly defined role on this team, he will be able to focus on his mid-range and long range shots – which are clearly his strength.  The pressure will be off of him to excel with each possession, and that relaxation will allow him to find his NBA stature.  Stauskas has immediately benefited from the NBA draft for the 76ers.  He enters a back court ripe with opportunity.   He is a player with untapped potential.  He’s likely the starting shooting guard for the 2015 season.

Next: High Road

The High Road

Invariably, if you are a fan of Philadelphia sports team and you are preparing for an annual draft, you pretty much can settle in that if there is a consensus for the team, that player will be gone by the time we select. So it was that the 2015 NBA draft.  The Philadelphia 76ers selected third in a draft with three highly touted prospects.  With a roster already boasting first rounders Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, and the anticipation of Embiid from injury, the team was the least interested in a big man in the middle.

The first selection of the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl Anthony Towns went as expected.   But the LA Lakers ignored the script, and instead of leaning towards the middle, select Sixer favorite D’Angelo Russell.   The third pick of the draft now fell to the Sixers, who selected the best player available in choosing center Jahlil Okafor.  While that was not the way everything had been sketched out originally, many things deviated from the original plan.

Joel Embiid had not recovered.  His return to the active roster is likely delayed until next year.  Using Okafor as a trading chip was taken off the table instantly.   Hinkie loves to trade, but he wanted to see just how this new jewel of the NBA draft sparkled in a 76er jersey before putting him up for the highest bidder.   Lastly, but not least, Okafor came to play.

So it falls on the man who almost wasn’t to deliver the miracle of success to the team this season. Can he do it?

Well he’s preparing to do just that.

"“I am ready. I was the No. 1 player out of high school, so I always had a lot of attention and then I went to Duke University, one of the bigger schools in the country, won a national championship. So I’m used to it. I think I’ll handle it pretty fine. People get a little excited because of what Steph Curry and those guys did was great and it worked. Their formula was fantastic. For as long as I can remember, big men have been dominant and the result has been championships. I like to play in the post, that’s where I’m most comfortable. That’s where I’ve always been. I’ve never wavered off to shoot jump shots and things like that. I’ve always known that my bread and butter is in the post.” – Jahlil Okafor when asked if he’s prepared to be key player for 76ers"

Okafor showed his dedication right away, showing up for 6:30 a.m. workouts at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where the 76ers practice, shortly after the draft.  Despite plenty of double teams, Okafor scored 18 or more points right out of the gate in the summer league in three of the five games.  His Achilles heel?  Tall men.   He struggled against New York rookie Kristaps Porzingis.

But his play reminds me of one of the best Sixers I have ever seen.  Moses Malone was that big physical guy in the middle.  In fact, Jahlil Okafor was described as having some of the best low post footwork seen in college ball in the last 15 years. Malone was a 6’10” center who was a standout player for the Houston Rockets before joining Dr. J and the 76ers.   His arrival heralded some of the best basketball seen on the team.

Much like Malone, Okafor has that potential to score well into the 20 points per game average.   Neither Malone nor Okafor have strong blocks near the basket, instead focusing on the offensive output that happens when you place a wrecking ball near an abandoned building.   It’s going down, folks.

So you choose the road.   But they all lead to the same place.  The team does not need all three to succeed to change this team into a winner.  Only one scenario truly needs to happen.  And even if you are one of the staunchest critics of Sam Hinkie, and consider his a blind man trying to find a light switch, keep this in mind:  even a blind squirrel eventually finds an acorn.  What it comes down to is the Sixer’s missing link is a scorer.   We only need one, we may have found three.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers Schedule Gives First Reason For Optimism