The Sixer Sense
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4 Reasons to Aim to Retain Ersan Ilyasova After This Season

By Josh Wilson

Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) dribbles past Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Los Angeles Lakers won 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) dribbles past Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Los Angeles Lakers won 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) dribbles past Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Los Angeles Lakers won 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) dribbles past Los Angeles Lakers guard Louis Williams (23) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Los Angeles Lakers won 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

3-point shooting

One major reason to retain Ersan Ilyasova is because he has dramatically increased how good the team is overall at 3-point shooting. Ilyasova ranks in at fifth on the team in 3-point percentage, something the team has struggled with immensely in previous years.

The trend of the league is taking more 3-pointers, and it makes sense. It took us a while to figure out, but three is, in fact, greater than two. While the Sixers have a few decent 3-point shooters in Dario Saric and Joel Embiid, they are not yet — and Embiid may never be — a high-volume 3-point shooter.

Ersan contributes 6 points per game via 3-pointers alone, which is the most on the team, and 2.1 points higher than Dario Saric, and 2.4 higher than Joel Embiid.

Must Read: Simmons Needs Shooters to be Great

His 3-pointers tend to be pretty clutch when they need to be, too. With less than 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Ilyasova is hitting 63.6 percent of his attempted 3-point shots this season.

Looking back on his career, 3-pointers have been something that Ilyasova has, for the most part, always been pretty good at. Ilyasova has not shot below 36 percent from the 3-point zone in the past 3 years. So it wouldn’t be that far out to assume that Ilyasova could keep hitting those 3-pointers at a decent rate if the Sixers were to re-sign him.

The Sixers should, of course, continue to look for shooters to surround Ben Simmons with, but Ilyasova is by no means a bad start. He could be a decent option as an off of the bench scoring machine for the next few years if the Sixers decide to re-sign him.