Despite imminent NBA Playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers need to get Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot playing time. Know what the team has going forward before using their 6-pick 2018 NBA Draft
Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is regressing as rapidly this season as Nik Stauskas did the previous year. Out of the rotation, time is passing the young man by. Yes, he is getting NBA gym time with teammates. And yes, he is still developing. But he appeared much further ahead a season ago at this time than this year. Of course, a year ago, he was playing. Lots of minutes. He appeared in every game in March 2017, and played an average of 26.4 minutes. And during that time, he averaged 9.3 points per game.
In 2018, he’s played in just four games in March 2018. And he’s played an average of 4.0 minutes per game. If I had to guess why his offensive production has fallen, I’ll shoot from the hip and assert that the cause is his playing time has fallen to a level below life support. Not only will he NOT develop with this level of playing time, but the progress made a year ago will grow stale by sitting on the bench.
2017 different player? Or different team?
In April 2017, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot averaged 33.7 minutes, 18.3 points, 3.3 rebound, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and just 1.7 turovers per game. This year, he has played just 32 minutes total in his last seven games. That’s quite a demotion. But it’s also an indictment on the Philadelphia 76ers organization.
A year ago the Philadelphia 76ers did not play Joel Embiid, Robert Covington, Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless nor Sergio Rodriguez. TLC was starting on a lineup which included Richaun Holmes, Dario Saric, T.J. McConnell, and Justin Anderson. And the team lost games, plenty of games. The Philadelphia 76ers lost their final eight games of the season. But while losing, that roster did pack a ton of oomph off the bench. Players like Nik Stauskas and Tiago Splitter, and even Gerald Henderson hit off the bench late in the season. Henderson was since cut, Splitter’s contract expired, and Stauskas was outright traded for Trevor Booker‘s 10 weeks rental. That team could never make the NBA Playoffs.