Philadelphia 76ers' Nik Stauskas Praying Third Time Is The Charm

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Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Nik Stauskas (11) moves toward the net as Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) defends during the third quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /

Playing Through

Slumps are nothing new to head coach Brett Brown. His approach to a slumping player is simple: focus on what you can control. Defense is far more manageable than how a shot drops, and so he began to work with Stauskas to commit to playing solid defense.

While he answered the bell in his first five games, where he averaged 14.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game, it would not last. By November, he was averaging 25.4 minutes, but his production has dropped to 8.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 2.1 APG.

And then the slump really kicked in.

Likely his most forgettable game was against the Utah Jazz on December 28. On that evening, he played 25 minutes, scored no points, and the team lost 91-95. Had he scored even six points for the evening, that would have been a badly needed victory.

Now that isn’t to say any loss is due to one player. But the struggles of a player become the struggles of the team.

Eventually, Stauskas would get his timing and bearings. In the month of April 2016, he had improved to average 12.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, but his shooting accuracy dropped to 33.8 percent from the floor and just 25 percent from three-point range.