Nik Stauskas Should Come Off Of The Bench
By Josh Wilson
One of the Philadelphia 76ers players that has definitely disappointed so far this season is Nik Stauskas. He came to Philly with high hopes off of a trade that moved him and Carl Landry here from the Sacramento Kings this summer, but things have been dismal lately.
Disappointing is a word that could’ve been attached to Stauskas’s season last year as well. In Sacramento, he didn’t get much playing time, playing just 15.4 minutes, and scoring 4.4 points per game. The pressure to be a three point shooter was high, and it seemed to inhibit his game. He wasn’t able to knock down shots like he did during his college days at Michigan.
Its absolutely different in Philly, even already. Stauskas is getting more minutes and he’s already appreciated more by Sixers fans. But there’s still some woes that come along with Stauskas.
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His season got off to a decent start. In his first five games, he shot 43.3%% from the field, 36.9% from three, and was averaging 14.6 points per game. He looked comfortable and was driving to the lane, while also hitting shots from beyond the arc, too. He was more free and versatile this year.
Recently, though, it’s been largely downhill for Stauskas. In the two games following those first five, he’s only shooting 21.4% from the field, 21.5% from beyond the arc, for 6.5 points per game. It got really bad against the Toronto Raptors when he shot 27.3% and missed five out of seven three pointers.
Fans are nearly at the point where they get scared when Stauskas touches the ball, which is close to how it was for him in Sacramento last season.
Among other woes for Stauskas have been his poor shooting, even when he’s close to the hoop. Through eight games, Stauskas had missed eight shots at the rim. It’s not just his range that’s giving him issues, that’s clear.
There needs to be a solution. Although I was one lobbying for Stauskas to start before the season started, I think if this goes on much longer, a change in the lineup is in order. Maybe Stauskas would do better off of the bench.
Brett Brown has had success moving players to the bench already this year. Isaiah Canaan was not working well starting the point, and moving him to the bench behind T.J. McConnell was a great move. Now, it may be time for Canaan to come back to the lineup, but in the shooting guard slot, so that Stauskas can sit.
Allowing Stauskas to sit and watch the game unfold before going in could be helpful. It’s not clear what’s been off the past few games with him, but something is obviously off. Canaan is shooting much better, with a success rate of 40.4% from beyond the arc. We’ve heard “Canaan ball” a lot this year, as he’s hit 23 three pointers, good enough to be eleventh in the league in that category.
Some do think Canaan only has that three point ability, and nothing else, but I think he can offer more.
While I do want to see Stauskas move back to the lineup eventually, I’m not sure he’s ready for it. I think that waiting until Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall are back to move him to the bench is an option, but I feel it’s becoming inevitable. Why not try and make the transition now?