Nik Stauskas: A Look At His Role On Team Canada

Nik Stauskas was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason in a trade from the Sacramento Kings. After a disappointing first year, Stauskas is undoubtedly eager to make his name known with the Philadelphia 76ers.

On the other hand, the Sixers were undoubtedly eager to make their name known on the United States FIBA roster and have faces competing for the States this summer. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as no Sixers were chosen for Team USA.

Stauskas, however, was a player picked up for a FIBA team in his home country, Team Canada. Despite spending some college and high school years in the United States, his homeland is with our neighbors up north.

As a fellow American, I was hoping the likes of Nerlens Noel would have been chosen for the USA team, but I’m still excited to see Stauskas represent the Sixers on a FIBA team. I’d still be rooting for USA if they faced Canada, of course, but let’s check out how Stauskas is doing in these Canadian exhibition games that have already occurred.

Here’s Nik’s statistics profile for the FIBA games. Already, I’m fearing that it’s all too similar to his days as a King, averaging just 4.5 points per game so far, and a single assist per game. An even more alarming statistic is his three point accuracy. Over the four games, he’s shooting from beyond the arc at 44%, but that’s not what’s wrong. Over the last two games, he’s shooting at just 14.3%, and he went zero-for-four in the most recent game against Team Puerto Rico.

To be fair, it is easy to get pushed down in the hierarchy of the Canadian team, which features Andrew Wiggins, who is averaging 14.5 points per game. As far as rebounds, though, Stauskas is outdoing Wiggins.

In the team’s third game against the Dominican Republic, Stauskas did decently, earning himself the honors of a good sixth man, with eight points. This effort — along with some great scoring from other players — helped them win by 12 against the Dominican team.

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So, what is Stauskas’ problem? At first glance, it looks like it’s something that has to do with minutes. In the game I referenced earlier, where he scored eight points and did quite decently, he was getting more minutes than a good chunk of the team.

Noticeablly, he’s getting lower minutes than other players on the team. In the most recently played game, Stauskas only played 20 minutes, while Wiggins played for 31. It’s clear that Stauskas is a bit lower in the food chain than we would like him to be.

Good news for Stauskas though, team Canada is currently leading their group with an undefeated record of 4-0 for the Tuto Marchand Cup. I’m looking forward to seeing if Stauskas can do more once the true FIBA tournament comes around.

With plenty of talented guards on the team, it looks like minutes could be scarce for Stauskas. The opposite could also be argued, if he is able to prove his worth to the team and prove he is deserving of more playing time. We will look to see how it all plays out.

Next: A Letter To Darryl Dawkins

How Is Nik Stauskas Doing In FIBA?

By Josh Wilson | Aug 28, 2015

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