Ben Simmons Can Deliver Ish Smith Boost To Philadelphia 76ers

Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) dribbles the ball during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) dribbles the ball during media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Nov 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jerryd Bayless (0) defends against Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Chicago Bulls won 105-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jerryd Bayless (0) defends against Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Chicago Bulls won 105-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Take Your Best Shot

The Philadelphia 76ers have three “point guards” on the roster in the form of Sergio Rodriguez, T.J. McConnell, and Jerryd Bayless. As a group, the group has covered the one position for 22 games. So far, the group has scored on 117 of 301 shots from the floor (good for just under 39 percent) and on 33 of 102 shooting from three point range (good for just 32.25 percent).

More from The Sixer Sense

Broken down, the team is getting 13.27 points per game from the point guard in 48 minutes.   Albeit not all three have contributed in each of 22 games.  Jerryd Bayless, the presumed season’s starting PG, has appeared in just three games. The 13.27 represents the weighted average of all three.

And it’s not very impressive.

Teams almost dare 76ers point guards to take a shot, which T.J. McConnell refuses to do.  Bayless appears willing, but with only three games in and a sore wrist, he cannot be expected to turn it around.  For now, it falls to Sergio Rodriguez to man up to the challenge.

In the past six games, he has stepped up.

But as his scoring goes up, his assists slowly erode.  For November 2016, Rodriguez scored an average of just 7.1 points per game, and dished out 6.8 assists.  In December 2016, he’s brought average score up to 11.3 points per game, but watched assists fall to 6.3.