How Returning Players Can Bolster 76ers

Sep 28, 2015; Galloway, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten (1) during media day at Stockton Seaview Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Take The Heat Off

From the moment he arrives, the team will turn their attention towards Tony Wroten.  Why?  He’s outspoken, he’s fearless, he will make his own shots, and he’s already developed one of the bet repertoires with Robert Covington.  That sudden infusion of confidence is just what the team needs right now.

Yes it’s just a tweet from a player excited to return to the court. But so was this:

And this:

and even this:

The pattern is undeniable.  The theme is consistant.  Tony Wroten is confident, a tad peeved, and awfully anxious to change the tide.   If you’ve seen the Philadelphia 76ers recently, you’ve seen the immense difference having Robert Covington back on the court has made.  Tony Wroten is capable of adding to that zest, that surge, that production.  Wroten is not just getting off the bus into Philadelphia, he knows this team, he knows the returning players.  When the team needed a man to step up, Wroten was that guy. Check out this video of Wroten last season:

The team needs a guy, “that” guy, in crunch time. Tony Wroten has been that guy.  In recent weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers have had the lead going into the fourth quarter of each game.  But without feeding the ball to Okafor, the offense has been tied to the ever chilling hands shooting from the perimeter.  Wroten brings more than artillery.  He slices and scores at the basket. Then he moves to the basket and can feed the ball to a perimeter guy.   He can also collapse the defense his way, and quick feed or alley oop to a trailer.

Check out this ball movement against the Denver Nuggets:

Tony Wroten is not a savior.  He may not even get more than 15 minutes on the court.  But he brings audacity, and that has certainly been a very missing ingredient to this team so far.

Next: Show Them The Cavalry Has Arrived