December was a month of depth chart changes on the Philadelphia 76ers and the team went through two major losing streaks.
December wasn’t an easy month for the Philadelphia 76ers, as it was a month of streaks. They started the month 1-1 before going on a five game winning streak. They followed that up by a three game losing streak, then a three game winning streak and finished it up with four game losing streak (three to end the month of December).
Through these ups and downs, the 76ers had several changes to their depth chart. For better or worse, those changes had a significant impact on the December’s players rankings. It looks much different from November’s rankings.
On a side note, sorry for getting these rankings out so late into January.
17. Marial Shayok
December Stats: None
Previous ranking: 16th
Former second round pick Marial Shayok didn’t make his NBA debut in December. He came off the bench for Philly’s G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, in the early parts of the month. Him being a reserve most likely due to an injury he sustained in November. Unless a trade or multiple injuries occur, it doesn’t seem likely that Shayok gets NBA minutes anytime soon.
16. Zhaire Smith
December Stats: None
Previous ranking: 17th
Like Shayok, Zhaire Smith didn’t make his NBA debut in December either. However, I did write about how he was slowly improving with the Blue Coats. Despite the improvement, there still appears to be no clear path for playing time for the second year player.