The Philadelphia 76ers positive news in regards to the team’s top selection from this past summer’s NBA draft dominates this rookie report.
As in the last rookie report, news surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers 16th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft dominates this report. With only one active rookie on the Sixers roster, it’s not surprising that this report is more focused on the recovery path of the team’s top rookie versus the overall production of the team’s rookie class.
16th pick, 2018
After recently being declared out from playing with the Sixers this season by head coach Brett Brown, Zhaire Smith is now set to make his Delaware Blue Coats debut March 1st, according to Keith Pompey of Philly.com.
If things continue to go as scheduled, #Sixers rookie @zhaire_smith will make his pro debut for the @blue_coats in Friday’s @nbagleague road game vs. the @maineredclaws, according to sources. He was sidelined due to a Jones fracture in his foot & allergic reaction to food. pic.twitter.com/YfvGHrmXd4
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 27, 2019
With more than a month left in the NBA season, this news seems to somewhat reopen the possibility of Smith playing this season. It should be interesting to see how Smith develops in the G-League in the following weeks.
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36th pick, 2017
Despite lapses on the defensive end and being out-muscled by some of the more physical centers in the NBA, Jonah Bolden had a solid week of production. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in three games.
He’s played as well as the Sixers could have hoped for despite his lapses on defense. He started in two out of three games and the last game he started in was due to Boban Marjanovic getting injured in the previous outing. Until both Marjanovic and Joel Embiid return from injury, Bolden should be seeing minutes regularly moving forward.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2019.
54th pick, 2018
Sadly, there’s still no update on the status regarding Shake Milton‘s recovery from getting surgery on his broken finger. With the injury to Furkan Korkmaz, Milton would be a welcomed addition of depth to the Sixers bench once he returns. Hopefully, there will be news on his progress within the next week.
Undrafted, 2018
Inconsistency on the offensive end has become a normal theme of Haywood Highsmith‘s season. The two games he played in this past week highlighted this theme. Against the Maine Red Claws, he finished with 18 points and shot 7-13 from the floor. On the other side of the coin, against the Long Island Nets he had eight points on 2-11 shooting. Inconsistency is one of the biggest things that’s holding him back from being a contributor on the Sixers roster.
Season stats: Blue Coats
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/1/2019.
The weekly progress of Smith will be an important story to follow for the rest of this season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The development of Bolden and the road to recovery of Milton are also important stories to follow at this last stretch of the season.