Philadelphia 76ers rookie Dario Saric has been really good this season, but has been a bit different than what we expected him to be in his rookie year.
Some said that Dario Saric, the Philadelphia 76ers International rookie sensation, would never come over to the United States to play for the Sixers.
Drafted in 2014 by the Philadelphia 76ers via a pick the Sixers traded for with the Orlando Magic, Saric was a lottery pick, but was not expected to immediately come over to the NBA. Saric would be the first experiment in this rebuilding process overseas.
The rebuilding process of the Sixers dealt a lot with looking towards the future, developing low-level players for a cheap cost, and thinking more about small investments with long-term results rather than big investments with short-term results. It went against a lot of what a typical NBA team should do if they were seeking success.
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Saric’s situation, too, went against a lot of what a team would do to seek success.
Saric had his draft rights retained by the Philadelphia 76ers for two full seasons, but spent those seasons playing overseas in Istanbul, Turkey for the Anadolu Efes. There, he could develop and contribute to the future-heavy mindset of the Sixers without taking up a roster spot or taking up any cap space. Additionally, the Sixers were able to push off the beginning of his rookie-scale contract for two seasons.
Saric was a role playing athlete in his first season there as a sixth man type of player, and in his second reason really exploded with a skill set that looked to be attractive for a building NBA team.
If all went according to plan, Saric would come into the NBA with a skill set of a pretty well developed rookie or sophomore year player, all without taking up that precious salary cap money in the meantime.
Still, there were doubts about him coming over. Ultimately, it did not matter, and Saric did end up coming over, and his skill sets looked like something that, alongside Ben Simmons, could be really great.
There were two big things that Saric really developed in his time with the Efes, and those things were 3-point shooting and passing.
We saw him become a main cog for the Efes — who were a threat deep in their playoffs — success and a main facilitator of his team’s offense. We also saw him get comfortable from beyond the arc.
Saric shot 40.3 percent from three in his second season after being drafted, 9.7 percent better than his first. Although his assists went down statistically in his second season, we saw his passing get more crafty. His assists went down because he became more of a scoring threat, going from 9.9 points per game to 11.7 points per game, all while receiving less overall minutes.
Saric, so far this season, has struggled a bit from beyond the arc, which was something he excelled in for the most part in Croatia. While he has shot above 30 percent on the season, as of late, during his incredible February and March stint, he has had several games where he makes one of his just 5 or 6 attempts.
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Still, Saric is getting things done without relying on being a shooter. One of the reasons he may be struggling from beyond the arc is because the NBA arc is a bit extended when compared to the international arc. Still, it’s a similar struggle that most of the rookie class is facing, as the college 3-point line also is not the same length away from the rim as the NBA.
Saric has recently shown us his flashy passing ability. His crafty over the head, behind the shoulder, and behind the back passes have been exactly what we expected from him coming into this year. That said, that wasn’t what we saw right out of the gate, and it took an increased role and a comfortable environment for that to come about.
So if the passing wasn’t there, and he’s not relying on being a knock-down 3-point shooter, what is it that we’re seeing from Saric?
Well, 42 percent of his shots come from within 10 feet of the rim, and just under. 30 percent of those shots come from 0-3 feet. He has taken just over 20 percent of his shots from between 10 feet and the 3-point line, showing that he’s been incredible effective in a sense that he doesn’t waste time with the ever invaluable mid-range jumper.
If Saric is going to shoot, he’s going to make it an efficient shot — one that will get him a riskier three points, or one that is going to get him an almost guaranteed two.
And when he goes for two, he is able to charge inside like a bull, and use brute force to make his presence known. While Saric isn’t looked at as the biggest or most muscly NBA player, he isn’t going to stop going to the paint because a player with Greg Monroe stature is there waiting, he’s going to challenge.
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So, no, Saric isn’t the swingman 3-point hitting, crazy versatile player we expected. He also hasn’t been the stretch four that some people were really hoping he might be. But in a way, he’s been more than we expected, and more than we needed. We can only hope that the skills we did expect will come and add onto what he’s already shown us. If his passing coming up as a huge deal over the last few weeks is any indication, then it’s clear that we’ve got a star on our hands.