Philadelphia 76ers: New Year, New T.J. McConnell

T.J. McConnell is coming into his season with the Philadelphia 76ers with a new number. That’s not the only thing that’s going to be changing, though.

T.J. McConnell, last season, donned a 12 on his jersey. It really seemed like it fit. But when Gerald Henderson indicated that he wanted the number in respect of his father, McConnell, being the selfless player that he is, switched it up happily, and took No. 1 instead.

Going into this season, however, things are going to look a lot different for McConnell, and not just as far as the number on his jersey.

Last season at this time, McConnell was at a huge disadvantage. He was fighting for a point guard spot that didn’t seem realistic, but he somehow got it. Then he was fighting for a starting spot that also seemed unrealistic, yet he still got that done.

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This season, however, the competition is thick with established, real NBA point guards (no, not just Sixers point guards). Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodriguez are likely going to be ahead of McConnell in the depth chart. And let’s not forget that McConnell is a pass-heavy point guard. If he’s smart, that’s going to change during this upcoming season.

McConnell needs to realize what he’s good at, and what he needs to star being good at. For example, McConnell, last season, got away with not having much of a scoring game simply because no one else on the roster did either. He was looked at as an asset because not many of the point guards could pass the way he could.

Even on a Sixers roster that couldn’t score, McConnell was still having regular double digit assist nights. That’s impressive.

But this year, that’s not the case. The Sixers are, by no means, lacking a passing authority. Ben Simmons is one of the craftiest passers that comes in his size, and Dario Saric is just the same. On top of that, Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodrugez aren’t exactly poor passers by any means.

Passing is something the team can do. But what can’t the team do right now? Score.

There are no high-volume scorers on the Sixers right now. Jahlil Okafor could be called the only high-volume scorer, and that’s going to be an issue if the Sixers actually want to win games this year.

McConnell likely is aware of the things that need to change, and will be shifting some of his game attributes in order to help the Sixers win. He’s also got to look out for himself. He’s a selfless player — that was shown when he gave up his No. 12 — but he needs to do whatever he can to put himself on the roster, and keep himself there.

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His role, as well, will be completely different. Rather than McConnell being relied on as one of the cornerstones, he’s just going to be a role player.

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That’s okay though, because McConnell is able to mold to whatever his team needs from him. He did it in college, he did it in his rookie season, and he will do it this season as well.