T.J. McConnell is the Sixers’ only solution to their biggest weakness
The Philadelphia 76ers have one glaring hole and T.J. McConnell is the closest thing they have to a solution.
The Philadelphia 76ers have won five of their last six, with that one loss being a blown 22-point lead in London. They’re playing their best basketball of the season, which is promising for a team that’s still just one game outside the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Youth and injuries aside, the main problem with this Sixers team is roster construction. Even with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons playing at an All-Star level, their limitations in the second unit are something teams can continue to exploit. It’s arguably the biggest factor in their inability to hold big leads. There just isn’t enough consistency throughout the rotation.
That’s where the needs get more specific. The primary point of weakness is on the perimeter, where the Sixers have seldom found reliable production beyond their starters. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is shooting 30.8 percent from deep, Jerryd Bayless hasn’t been much better and Justin Anderson hasn’t returned to regular minutes yet.
T.J. McConnell is the only reliable perimeter piece in the second unit.
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There are obviously pros and cons to McConnell’s game, but he continues to be an significant contributor in almost every Sixers win. That’s because he’s their only solution to the biggest hole on their roster: halfcourt playmaking.
Aside from Simmons and Embiid, the Sixers don’t have anyone else who can consistently create off the dribble in a halfcourt setting. J.J. Redick is a killer off screens and in dribble handoffs, but struggles when forced to operate outside of rhythm dribbles. Robert Covington is good at a lot of things and ball handling simply isn’t one of them.
That means when Simmons leaves or Embiid can’t carry the team in the post, there’s a decent chance the offense stagnates. General shot-making plays a part in that, but it also comes down to finding players who — when shots aren’t falling within the flow of the offense — can make things happen individually.
Markelle Fultz has always been the ideal solution, but nobody knows where his game is at right now. He should still be capable of getting into the lane and creating out of the pick-and-roll, but it’s tough to picture him being effective without a jumper. Until we see more promising signs, Markelle isn’t a reliable option.
So that means T.J., for the time being, is their best option in that role. That was on full display in the Sixers’ win over Toronto on MLK Day.
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McConnell scored a career-high 18 points while dropping eight dimes off the bench, playing a big role in a late surge that helped Philly close the game. His ability to probe the interior and find his shots in the short and mid-range game is something nobody else on the roster can match.
That crafty scoring, alongside his passing skills and basketball I.Q., is what makes McConnell such an important cog off the bench. There are plenty of games where McConnell’s pace makes the offense tick, and some of their most effective lineups — especially in crunch time — are with him on the floor.
The Sixers are still missing a piece. They need another halfcourt playmaker who can space the floor and create his own offense when things get murky. That’s what Fultz projects to be at full strength, but we don’t know when (or if) that’ll happen.
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Until then, McConnell will remain one of the Sixers’ most important offensive pieces, whether it be with the second unit or in close games. You can even put his name in the Sixth Man of the Year discussion.