Sergio Rodriguez Is Philadelphia 76ers Starting Point Guard

After two free agency signings at the point guard position, Brett Brown will likely have to choose between either Sergio Rodriguez or Jerryd Bayless as the Sixers’ Ben Simmons accompaniment at the one spot.

There will certainly be some debate in the upcoming weeks regarding who should be the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting point guard. A couple days after agreeing to sign Jerryd Bayless to a 3 year, $27 million contract, the Sixers agreed to terms on a one year, $8 million contract with former Euroleague star Sergio Rodriguez, setting up a competition of sorts for the starting spot come next season.

While both guards fit the rotation in different manners and there isn’t any clear disparity in playing aptitude, Rodriguez has the upper hand in terms of reasons why he should be the man on the floor at tipoff on opening night.

Rodriguez isn’t an overly exciting player to watch, but he understands how to produce. He’s built well for the point guard spot at 6-3 and possesses the court vision necessary to excel from day one as an NBA playmaker. As someone who isn’t all that explosive off the bounce, Rodriguez utilizes his ultra-skilled approach to the game to exploit the defense from an intellectual standpoint rather than an athletic standpoint.

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He won’t finish above the rim in space, nor will he overpower his defender with unmatched speed or leaping aptness, but he understands how to work his way into the proverbial teeth of the defense and find passing lanes with extreme proficiency.

Watching him, in many ways, reminds me of an less athletic Jeff Teague. He probes the defense consistently and effectively, finding small nooks and holes in the opposition’s setup and facilitating from there. We won’t see him looking to score quite as much as Teague, but his ability to locate spots on the floor and operate in stride is highly reminiscent. Rodriguez is going to be able to take the load off of Ben Simmons when needed and find ways to up the ball movement on a Sixers team that will have to play a fully inclusive brand of team basketball to win games given the current state of their roster. He’s a much more versatile playmaker than Bayless, and molds better as a secondary playmaker rather than purely an off-ball scoring option.

With that said, Rodriguez has the ability to score the ball as well. He showcases nice touch around the rim, but will do most of his scoring with his outside jumper. He tends to do his best when finding space off of screens when handling the ball, but is a perfectly capable rhythm shooter when spotting up off of other creators. He only averaged 31 percent from beyond the arc in the earlier stages of his NBA career from 2006 through 2010, but the former first round pick has sense smoothed out his jumper a bit overseas with Real Madrid.

Defensively, Rodriguez is more flexible than Bayless as well. Despite Bayless’ unyielded effort, a facet of his game that works best coming off the bench in reserve, Rodriguez’s size advantage allows him to cover more ground and potentially defend multiple positions. He doesn’t have the elite quickness that seems to be a major focal point of guard play nowadays, but he knows how to play within his physical limitations and be sufficient as a defender in numerous different sets. He won’t be a stopper by any means, but he’s a functional rotational piece on that side of the ball who could fill a more expansive niche than Bayless in a starting spot.

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Neither of the Sixers’ two point guards are going to produce in any major way from a statistical standpoint, but Rodriguez can simply do more with the basketball than Bayless. He’s a more viable facilitator when called upon and has a more all-encompassing offensive arsenal. Rather than scoring in bunches like Bayless, Rodriguez can get the ball rolling in a sense and sustain his production for greater lengths of time than his counterpart. There’s a lot to like about both players as temporary fixes in an evolving Philly rotation, but Rodriguez should clearly be the starting option for Brett Brown and company when determining the logistics of the lineup for this upcoming campaign.

Sergio Rodriguez Should Be Philadelphia 76ers Starting Point Guard

By Christopher Kline | Jul 7, 2016

After two free agency signings at the point guard position, Brett Brown will likely have to choose between either Sergio Rodriguez or Jerryd Bayless as the Sixers’ Ben Simmons accompaniment at the one spot.