The rookies of the Philadelphia 76ers have had to deal with either injury news or have had great performances this past week.
This has been an eventful week for the Philadelphia 76ers. Outside of the drama surrounding the second year player Markelle Fultz, there’s been some important news concerning the club’s first year players. The news surrounding the Sixers rookies for this past week has to either deal with injuries or having great games.
16th pick, 2018
There seems to be more questions than answers when it comes Zhaire Smith. After having his timeline pushed back to at least the turn of the calendar year, it appears now he has a chance to miss the whole season, according to John Gonzalez of The Ringer.
Gonzalez also reported that Smith had multiple procedures following his allergic reaction to sesame. As a result of all these complications, he’s apparently lost around 20 pounds. These developments are disturbing to say the least, considering that the 76ers have yet to make a statement after this report has came out. It sounds the seriousness of his overall well being needs to be considered first and foremost.
26th pick, 2018
For the most part, it was an average shooting and scoring week for Landry Shamet, with one exception. The late first round pick had a career night scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans, ending the game with 15 points and going 4-6 from the 3-point line. Shamet is slowly building the expectation that he will eventually become the heir apparent to the role that J.J. Redick currently fills for the club.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/23/2018.
36th pick, 2017
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Jonah Bolden didn’t start the week off well. In a game with the Sixers G-League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats, Bolden suffered “a small cortical crack” in his right leg’s fibula. It was announced Nov. 19 that the big man would be re-evaluated in about 10 days. With that in mind, there should be an update on Bolden’s condition in the near future.
It should be noted that Bolden have been putting together a solid game against the Raptor 905 before his injury. He had 12 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Bolden hasn’t played in an NBA game since the previous rookie report, so his NBA stats haven’t changed, but his G-League stats have.
Season Stats: Blue Coats
GP 3| GS 3| MINS 34.6| FG% 45.0| 3P% 31.6| FT% 71.4| TRB 15.0| AST 3.7| STL 0.7| BKL 1.7| PF 3.0| TOV 2.3| PTS 17.3
54th pick, 2018
Philly should be happy with the week that Shake Milton had with Delaware. Milton had a career game against the Raptors 905 this past week. He ended the contest with 33 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one steal. He shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown in the impressive showing. This is a great sign of Milton’s potential moving forward and could help him get playing time with the 76ers in the future.
Season Stats: Blue Coats
GP 5| GS 5| MINS 35.4| FG% 45.7| 3P% 29.0| FT% 81.8| TRB 5.4| AST 2.4| STL 1.0| BKL 0.4| PF 2.8| TOV 2.8| PTS 18.4
Certainly, the injury news pertaining to Smith and Bolden isn’t good, but the good performances by Shamet, Bolden and Milton are positive takeaways for the Philadelphia 76ers this past week. Hopefully, the positive play for these rookies can continue in next week’s rookie report.