Not only is Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown playing his rookies, but he’s entrusting some of them in important roles coming off the bench.
Its become clear that during this past week, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown has more trust in his rookies. The solid play of two of the team’s rookies has given some stability to the Sixers weak bench unit.
16th pick, 2018
Before getting into how well some of the rookies are contributing, it’s important to give an update on the team’s lone injured rookie. Shams Charania of The Athletic recently posted the following update regarding Zhaire Smith.
Sources @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: 76ers rookie Zhaire Smith has started his return process to the team after broken foot and allergy issue, being assigned to G League Delaware for non-contact elements of practice. He’ll ramp up activities as weeks progress.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 24, 2019
Practicing with the Delaware Blue Coats is definitely an improvement. It looks like the next step of his rehab would be for contact practices, but for the time being, he’s only doing non-contact activities.
26th pick, 2018
Landry Shamet came up big this past week. He’s averaged 13.7 points in the past three games and has made 9-14 3-pointers in the same stretch. His three steals against the San Antonio Spurs were important to the team’s win. Shamet has the potential not only to be a 3-point threat but also to be active in the passing lanes. Hopefully this is a sign of his development in becoming a 3-and-D player.
Season stats: 76ers
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Generated 1/25/2019.
36th pick, 2017
Jonah Bolden didn’t have the same offensive impact that Shamet did, but his defense was on point. He averaged 2.3 blocks in the past three contests, including a a four block performance (which ties a career high) against the Houston Rockets. His defensive potential and effort can be seen in an epic sequence against the Spurs.
He’s been a revelation as Joel Embiid‘s backup and on top of his ability to shot block, he’s been able to keep his foul trouble down to a minimum. As long as he’s able to provide floor spacing every so often, he’s a positive coming off the bench.
Season stats: 76ers
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Generated 1/25/2019.
54th pick, 2018
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Like in the previous rookie report, Shake Milton didn’t see any NBA action and that has to do more with Corey Brewer joining the roster and taking up playing time. Milton did have a pretty decent week with the Blue Coats.
In two games, he had one double-double and scored over 20 points in both contests. However, he did shows areas where growth is needed at the same time, he had seven turnovers against the Westchester Knicks and fouled out against the Memphis Hustle.
Season stats: Blue Coats
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Generated 1/25/2019.
Undrafted, 2018
Haywood Highsmith is in the same boat that Milton is stuck on in regards to NBA playing time this past week. The undrafted rookie dealt with offensive inconsistency this past week, he had a solid outing against Westchester with 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the field, but shot 2-14 and scored 11 points against the Hustle. Becoming more consistent on offense should be a goal for the rookie moving forward.
Season stats: Blue Coats
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/25/2019.
Both Shamet and Bolden have earned their spots in Brown’s rotation and are performing at a level well above expectations for most rookies. The Philadelphia 76ers should surely count their blessings that they have two rookies that have become key parts of their rotation.