Philadelphia 76ers: Dario Saric, Starter or Reserve

Dario Saric is an interesting player, but he may not fit well onto the starting lineup. Would he be a solid reserve for the Sixers?

The wait for Dario Saric finally came to a close this summer. After two years of being stashed away in Turkey following the Sixers drafting him in 2014, Saric made his way to America this summer to sign his rookie contract in the NBA with the Sixers.

What we know so far — Saric will play for the Sixers this season. What we don’t know — just how well he will fit, where he will fit, and what his functions as a player will be. One of the things that needs to be figured out is whether he will be a starting player, or an off-the-bench player.

This is something that still needs to be figured out for several players. Really, the only player that seems to have a locked up starter role this season is Ben Simmons, the team’s first overall pick that’s debuting this season.

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There’s reason to put Saric on the starting five, and there’s also reason to run him off of the bench.

Starting role

Saric, over the course of his two seasons in Turkey, developed more than just aspects of his game. He also gained a lot of experience as a leader. He played in Euroleague for a few seasons, and over time, began to fill into a leadership role with the Anadolu Efes. By his final year with the team, he was a solid leader of the squad that went all the way to the Finals in their league.

Following leading the Efes to the Finals, he led the Croatian national team to a win in their Olympic qualifying tournament just last month, almost singlehandedly putting the Croatian team in the Olympics. Some casual basketball fans aren’t realizing just how big of a deal that actually is for a player that has yet to even begin the portion of his career that’s going to be the biggest.

Being a leader is a good reason to put Saric in the starting lineup, but he also offers structural reasons alongside Ben Simmons to put him with Simmons. Although they’re both listed as power forwards, they also both are somewhat position-less, having very versatile skill sets that seem to work in at least four of the five positions on the floor.

You could easily slip Saric in at the three (or even Simmons) and justify it. Putting Saric alongside Simmons makes sense from an offensive standpoint because Simmons is a great passer, but needs to be surrounded by players that can make their shots to be completely effective.

Saric has developed a solid 3-point shot in Turkey, finishing his final season with the Efes with a success rate of over 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Reserve role

Although there is decent justification for putting Saric in the starting five, there is also decent justification for running him with the second unit. For starters, Saric can get pretty emotional on the floor, which takes away from that leadership I talked about earlier. Head coach Brett Brown already said that the emotion could be a bit of an issue this season, and it’s something that he’s going to keep his eyes on.

Secondly, and this does refute the leadership point from earlier, Saric, although he has leadership experience, is still a first year player. That’s not to say he can’t be a leader with the Sixers, (heck, Ben Simmons is expected to be a first year leader) but he also doesn’t even speak the same primary language as most of the players on the Sixers roster. Putting a first year player that’s emotional, and that may have communication issues, in a leadership position could be troublesome.

Saric, although he’s a solid shooter that would compliment Simmons’ passing ability, is a solid passer himself. Having him come off of the bench in the power forward spot could be deadly. Teams have enough trouble figuring out how to guard point-forwards in one unit, and it could be even worse if you have a point forward in for nearly the whole game, one in the first unit, and one in the second.

Additionally, the defense will never be able to rest with changing how they approach the Sixers if you rotate Simmons and Saric as pass-heavy forwards. With Simmons, they’re going to let up when he’s away from the hoop because he doesn’t have much of a jumper, giving him room to work.

With Saric, they’re going to stay closer because of his 3-point ability. But when they get closer, he can get physical and blow by them. He adds layers to the Sixers off of the bench.

Lastly, Saric is still an NBA rookie. There’s something to be said about rookies that come off of the bench for at least a season before going to start. It could really help him ease into the NBA if he comes off of the bench for a year or so.

Where does he go?

Ultimately, Saric would have been a starter this season if the Sixers didn’t have the first overall pick, selecting Ben Simmons. He’s the perfect player to start in the four spot in almost any situation that doesn’t involve Simmons.

That being said, Simmons is here, and Saric will not fill out to be as good of a player. Although Saric makes sense to run alongside Simmons as a shooter, every other part of Saric’s skill set points to him being a solid backup to Simmons. He will be able to learn at least for this first season on the bench, and come hard at opposing defenses who try to continue to figure Simmons, Saric, and the Sixers out.

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I’m certainly not opposed to trying Saric out as a starter at some point this season, especially in games that Simmons may be injured or kept out for rest. He has the potential to be a leader on this team moving forward, and could easily become a leader and move the team forward in terms of versatility in the starting lineup.

Ultimately, though, we should see Saric being one of the first guys off of the bench for the Sixers for the bulk of this season.

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The ideal situation, to me, is having Simmons start, and Saric on the bench. Then, a few minutes before Simmons comes out, put Saric in and run them together (Simmons at the four, Saric at the three). Then take Simmons out and slip Saric to the four. Then, a few minutes before you flop them back, run them in the same unit again for a few minutes.

Is Dario Saric Going to be a Starter or a Reserve?

By Josh Wilson | Aug 25, 2016

Dario Saric is an interesting player, but he may not fit well onto the starting lineup. Would he be a solid reserve for the Sixers?

More from The Sixer Sense

Starting role

Reserve role

Where does he go?