Philadelphia 76ers: The case for more Jonah Bolden minutes

Jonah Bolden’s solid display against the Raptors proves he should receive playing time over Mike Muscala and Amir Johnson for the Philadelphia 76ers.

When the Philadelphia 76ers faced off against a Kawhi Leonard-less Toronto Raptors squad, Jonah Bolden received his Christmas gift: an opportunity. In 25 minutes off the bench, the Australian forward scored four points on 1/3 shooting while hauling in nine rebounds and blocking four shots.

Aside from airballing his only three-point attempt pretty badly, Bolden filled his role almost seamlessly. For the vast majority of the game, Brett Brown ran a nine-man rotation, meaning at least one starter would always be playing, so that took pressure off Bolden offensively and let him focus on grabbing rebounds and protecting the rim.

Sure, the 22-year-old had his fair share of rookie moments, like when Pascal Siakam dream shook him out of his shoes in the first quarter, but Bolden did all the necessary yet unspectacular things well. He will not jump into the rotation and make a difference on every play at either end, which is the type of player the Sixers need off the bench at the moment, but watching the rookie’s flashes of athleticism and potential feels more tolerable than watching 27-year-old Mike Muscala and 31-year-old Amir Johnson flash their ability occasionally while opponents generally dominate them.

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Bolden boasts a three-point percentage of 10 for the season on his 10 attempts, but he shot 41.9 percent from deep on 105 attempts in 25 games with FMP Beograd in the 2016-17 season, so if he returns to a similar level of shooting, or even if he hits threes at a league-average clip, he will become a crucial part of the Sixers’ rotation.

Asking him to suddenly hit over 35 percent of his threes as a nervous rookie who hasn’t shot well in almost two years is unrealistic, but Bolden made it clear he can come off the bench and put in a solid 15-20 minute shift and protect the rim well while Joel Embiid takes a rest. He will provide a disruptive presence for the Philadelphia 76ers’ defense, which his per-36 minute averages of 2.7 deflections, 3.2 blocks and 1.4 steals illustrate.

Pairing Simmons and Bolden together while Embiid and Butler rest will provide a potentially intriguing offensive duo if Brown surrounds the two Australians with good shooters. Both still have a lot of learning to do offensively before they fulfill their potential, but theoretically, they both have the ability to pick for each other, play bully ball and take a defender off the dribble.

The forward has only faced 10 shots at the rim this season and impressively, only four of those attempts have resulted in baskets. Obviously, the sample size remains minuscule because he has only played in 10 games so far this season and most of his minutes have come in garbage time. But considering Amir Johnson allows opponents to make over 60 percent of their shots at the rim, coach Brown should let Bolden prove whether or not he can sustain what the small sample size has indicated thus far.

Philly is pressed for options defensively: after Embiid, Simmons, and Butler, the 76ers have no defensive game changers on their roster. Jonah Bolden has flashed his potential on multiple occasions, and Muscala and Johnson have made it clear to everyone that they are not capable of doing much to help the Sixers on defense.

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Using Bolden more won’t fix every issue plaguing the Sixers, but giving him more playing time will help the team instantly and in the long run. His athleticism will make a difference in Philly’s paint defense while Embiid rests and with his shooting and slashing potential, he will probably surprise many people with his flashes on offense if he earns an extended role.