Philadelphia 76ers: 3 takeaways from narrow victory over New York Knicks

2. Jimmy Butler’s shot selection needs work

The Sixers are making a concerted effort to get Jimmy Butler more isolation looks within the offense. That’s good, especially if it convinces Jimmy to re-sign in the summer. He’s still a top-15 player and someone the Sixers should invest in.

With that said, his performance in New York was underwhelming. He took several high-difficulty shots, most of which were considerably off the mark. The Sixers’ offense runs through Embiid and Simmons, and it’s effective because of how often the ball (and players) moves.

Butler should get a larger slice of the offensive pie, but it can’t stall the offense early in the shot clock. There’s a happy medium between spotting up on the perimeter and single-handedly taking over possessions before they begin.

It will take time for Butler and the core to make things work. The first quarter was some of the most cohesive basketball the starting five has played since Butler’s arrival, so it wasn’t all bad. Butler’s ability to create in isolation also becomes more valuable late in games, when the Sixers have historically struggled.

He can’t lean on step-back jumpers and difficult shots inside. He also needs to take open threes, which hasn’t been happening as of late. Like, there’s no reason not to shoot this. He’s an apt shooter and there’s Ben Simmons-level room to let it fly.