3. Dario Saric is off his game
After a three point outing on opening night, Saric tallied nine points on 4-10 shooting last night while missing all four of his 3-point attempts. The Croatian, whose argument for Rookie of the Year was far too overlooked last season, doesn’t seem to be in the same groove to kick off this year.
There are a couple of possible reasons for that. He’s re-adjusting to a new role, where he’s coming off the bench alongside new personnel with new responsibilities. He’s also coming off of an extended international stint this summer, which could be bogging him down considering he went through the same kind of sequence last offseason.
That, simply put, is a lot more basketball than your typical NBA player over the course of two years.
Whether he’s tired or simply getting a feel for his new role, Saric needs to regain his form soon. He’s the Sixers’ most reliable asset off the bench for the time being, and that’s an issue if he isn’t actually reliable.
He had a weird sequence of offensive fouls and some ill-advised mistakes on the defensive end that might have gotten in his head a bit Friday night. Those are the kind of youthful mistakes that hurt him last year, and something he needs to strive to avoid in his second year with an NBA squad.