The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: Jonah Bolden looks ahead of schedule

By Lucas Johnson

SHENZHEN, CHINA - OCTOBER 07: #43 Jonah Bolden(L) and #5 Amir Johnson of the Philadelphia 76ers during the practice as part of the 2018 NBA China Games between the Dallas Mavericks and the Philadelphia 76ers at Universidade Center on October 7, 2018 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA - OCTOBER 07: #43 Jonah Bolden(L) and #5 Amir Johnson of the Philadelphia 76ers during the practice as part of the 2018 NBA China Games between the Dallas Mavericks and the Philadelphia 76ers at Universidade Center on October 7, 2018 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff should be very happy with the preseason that Jonah Bolden has been able to put together.

Surely, one of the things that head coach Brett Brown and his staff have been doing during the Philadelphia 76ers preseason is tracking the progression of the club’s rookie players. Landry Shamet has been the star of the Sixers first year players and looks to be the team’s leading rookie, however the team’s lone rookie big man has been putting together a very solid campaign thus far.

Jonah Bolden has been surprising efficient on offense in three preseason game. He’s shot 50.0 percent from the field and has converted 3-7 3-point attempts. Averaging 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds isn’t a bad stat line either. While surely it would be nice to seem Bolden have more than one steal in the hustle stats area, it’s good for the Sixers that he hasn’t been a liability on offense.

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In the past, I wrote about my concern about Bolden hurting the Sixers on offense. This concern came from the fact that Bolden had a less than stellar Summer League and an unimpressive season overseas last year. Certainly Bolden is a long way from being a finished product, but seeing him as being able to be efficient during the preseason is a positive for the 76ers coaching staff.

Once the regular season begins, its unlikely for the big man to get minutes ahead of reserve big men Mike Muscala or Amir Johnson. As I wrote in the past, having Bolden play with Philadelphia’s G-League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats would definitely be a positive for his career. Getting reps in with the Blue Coats would help build off the positive preseason he’s had thus far.

If Bolden continues to make strides to improve his game in Delaware, then Coach Brown and general manager Elton Brand should seriously consider bringing him back to Philly and fight for minutes against Johnson and Muscala.

Next. Shamet is most important rookie this season. dark

It’s great that Bolden has had a good preseason on the offensive side of the ball thus far, now the Philadelphia 76ers need him to increase his rebounding numbers and be able to provide more hustle stats like steals and blocks. Bolden has a place in the Sixers rotation in years to come as long as he can build upon this solid start to the preseason.