What does Alec Burks bring to the Philadelphia 76ers?
So let’s be honest, if a time traveler told you in September that the sixth place Philadelphia 76ers getting Alec Burks at the trade deadline would be key to the Sixers offense, there would be two responses. First, “who the heck is that guy?” Second, “Wait, the Sixers are in sixth place?”
The acquisition of Alec Burks will give the Sixers a mix of what they needed, which is shot creation and shooting. Burks has hit career highs across the board this season, and has been one of the few highlights for the Golden State Warriors in a season flooded with lowlights. Now, let’s discuss what exactly he will bring to this Sixers team, and why he will stand out.
3. Spaces the floor for Embiid and Simmons
Elton Brand has made it his mission the past summer to fill the floor with non-shooters. Alec Burks, however, is a shooter alongside his teammate from the Warriors, Glen Robinson III. Although Burks is not the lights out shooter the Sixers so desperately need, he is a very good shooter nonetheless.
Of players who shoot the three on at least four attempts per game, Furkan Korkmaz is the only player on the Sixers shooting it above league average at 38.1 percent. Burks is a career 36 percent three-point shooter, and is currently shooting at 37.5 percent for the year — already slotting him as the second best shooter on the Sixers.
On corner threes, Burks is shooting 41 percent, per Cleaning the Glass. He is also shooting 38.3 percent on catch-and-shoot type shots, which will be important when spacing the floor for Simmons and Embiid. Despite being an efficient catch-and-shoot threat, he has a higher frequency of shots off pull-ups, and that leads us to the second asset he brings to the Sixers.