Isaiah Canaan Is Custom Made For Ben Simmons

The Achilles Heel of Ben Simmons is the jumper, but the long ball shooting Isaiah Canaan is the custom made compliment for Simmons style

Isaiah Canaan is a niche player. If you want a player who will shoot from the perimeter fearlessly, he’s your guy. If you want someone who can attack the defense from anywhere on the floor? Keep looking. Isaiah Canaan is “that guy they got in the K.J. McDaniels trade”, a guard who never seems to fit the right mold of point guard (although he’s been played there), and he’s not threatening the floor enough to be a premier shooting guard (although he makes great plays from there).

So what does he do? He scores in bunches, sometimes. In one of those freakish anomalies, he’s actually more accurate beyond the perimeter than at mid range. In fact, he dropped 176 triples on 485 attempts. On eight occasions, Canaan connected on at least 5 treys in a single game. He posted a season-best six three-pointers first on November 7th versus Orlando, and then again on December 16th at Atlanta. His three-point acumen actually places him fourth for all time three point shooting for the Philadelphia 76ers.

While Isaiah Canaan is not a perfect fit for either guard position, he is versatile enough to float back and forth between the two spots. In fact, it was the Isaiah Canaan, T.J. McConnell, Ish Smith in the same lineup that formed the rather successful small ball version of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015-2016 season. Isaiah Canaan gives a roster that “tweener” guy who can defend a guard, but who can light up the scoreboard as well.

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We had compared his style of play to both Austin Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and Norris Cole of the New Orleans Pelicans, both reserves for their respective teams. In that comparison, Canaan came out quite favorably. Now, with the opportunity to add Ben Simmons to the roster, the value of Canaan just increased a little.

Draft wunderkind Ben Simmons is a point guard in the Philadelphia 76ers system, a position he prefers to play. But he doesn’t have a jumper, and he’s never had to sink treys to help his team. What he does is move the ball, pass the ball, and slice to the basket for a score. But he’s limited on outside shooting.

Now, pair Ben Simmons player with Isaiah Canaan, Dario Saric, Robert Covington and Joel Embiid, and you have a roster that can push the ball, score from the post and from the perimeter, and defend well enough to keep the Sixers in the game. We’ve talked about the positives of placing Ben Simmons on the same roster with Dario Saric, but add a good perimeter shooter like Canaan and now you are cooking. The nice thing is that Canaan is just about to start hitting his stride, as he is now 24 years old and entering his third season with the 76ers.

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Canaan may not be in the long term plans of the Sixers, but he should be. Right now, the team is seeking players to compliment one another. Canaan has flaws, but his play compliments a number of pieces on the team now and projected to arrive. Added to that is his youth and light experience in the NBA, and there are many reasons to see his improvement for several years to come. The team will need shooters from a distance, and Canaan has provided that, at times. There are other areas of need, and replacing Isaiah Canaan is more of a luxury at this point.