Stating The Case For Isaiah Canaan To Start
By Josh Wilson
The Sixer Sense staff is incredibly excited for the regular season to take off, and we know all dedicated Philadelphia 76ers fans are, too. We’ve had to watch football fans get their start to the season the past few weeks, and now hockey is getting its start. Training camp is about on its way after media day took place on Monday. As we anticipate the start of the season, we’ve decided to start a series discussing every player and stating a case for why they deserve a starting spot on the team.
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Bret Stuter already told us why Pierre Jackson deserves to start, and Lucas Gouvalis told us why Kendall Marshall should start. In this post, I’m exploring another one of the point guard options, Isaiah Canaan.
The point guard situation has been completely and totally shaken up the past few weeks. After fans speculated and had no clear answer on who would start at the point, Kendall Marshall was signed and it looked like he was a good candidate to start.
To our dismay, we found out he was injured, and wouldn’t be ready to play at the start of the season. To add to that, Keith Pompey reported that Tony Wroten was actually going to be returning from his injury after Marshall, which is not what initially was the timetable we were assuming.
So, with these two players out of the running to start for game one, there’s an open spot for one player to step up to during training camp. It easily could be Canaan.
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Canaan got his career started with the Houston Rockets, but never really found himself there. This was largely due to a lack of minutes. Canaan only played 13.15 minutes per game in the 47 games he played with the Rockets, and found himself averaging 5.4 points and 1.1 assists throughout this time.
Canaan was moved to Philadelphia partway through last season and flourished compared to his stats in Houston. More minutes (25.9 minutes per game) in 22 games allowed him to do more with his time, averaging 12.6 points and 3.1 assists per game.
The first thought is that this is expected, with more minutes higher stats will come, but per 36 minutes, Canaan actually put up the highest stats in his career with Philadelphia, a clear fact showing that things were working out better in Philadelphia for Canaan.
Shooting
The average distance of Canaan’s shots in 2015 was 19.4 feet. He took 65.6% of his shots from beyond the three point arc last season as a Sixer, but only shot 36.4% from the line. Still, his three point shot is one of his best attributes. His biggest games feature him taking lots of threes
Canaan is a great catch-and-shoot guy from beyond the arc. In college he drove to the lane more and got a bit more physical, but has found himself having more success as a shooter in the NBA.
Statistically, there’s not much special about Canaan’s shooting, but when you watch a game, it’s clear he’s comfortable from beyond the arc.
Can he be a shooting guard?
Since there’s only one point guard spot open, I’ve been looking at the possibility of some point guards taking some minutes at the shooting guard position as well. Canaan played the most as a shooting guard in Philadelphia compared to the rest of his career, so it’s not too far fetched.
Still, Canaan’s size (6 feet, 0 inches) is an obvious setback for him in the shooting guard position. I don’t see him starting at shooting guard, or playing much at all in that position. If he wants miunutes, he’ll have to work up the very tall ladder of point guards.
The case
So here’s the case for Isaiah Canaan. He’s a young player that has yet to get a full season of a good playing environment. It’s clear that Houston didn’t give him enough playing time or a good playing enviornment.
The Sixers gave Canaan more minutes, and he fit in well, but he only played a fraction of the season. This will also be Canaan’s first start of a season with a team that fits his style. He’s got lots of opportuntiy to grab the starting position while Wroten and Marshall are out for the start of the season.
Some consider Canaan to be the next in line for the starting position. I think this could be true. The main obstacle at this point in his way, as mentioned earlier, is Pierre Jackson, who is like Canaan, but even more versatile. Canaan can easily make himself the starter, since he has experience though. That’s one area Pappy Jack can not say he is skilled in, real NBA experience.
Be on the look out for Canaan to sneak himself into the starting lineup on opening night.
Next: Stating The Case For Kendall Marshall To Start
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