As somewhat expected, the rookies on the Philadelphia 76ers are experiencing a reduced role now that the NBA Trade Deadline has passed.
At the NBA Trade Deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers traded for two veteran wing players that should boost the bench’s production. As a result of this move, the teams’ rookies, especially the two that play on the perimeter have experienced reduced roles.
20th pick, 2019
In the first four games of February, Matisse Thybulle played over 20-minutes in three of those outings. In the two contests this past week, he played under 20-minutes in each of those outings. He was still productive enough in those two games, especially on offense, but the additions of both Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III have clearly cut into his playing time. This will probably be a trend moving forward.
54th pick, 2019
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After making his NBA debut last week, Marial Shayok failed to record any minutes with the Sixers this week. This isn’t surprising due to the additions of Robinson and Burks. What was surprising is that he only played in one out of three games this past week for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philly’s G-League. In the game against the Stockton Kings, he scored 25 points.
Undrafted
Despite getting Jonah Bolden‘s roster spot, fans should expect Norvel Pelle‘s playing time to be even more sporadic now. Pelle probably won’t be seen in the G-League anymore now that he’s on a regular contract, so he won’t get game action with the Blue Coats.
Another thing that will hinder Pelle’s opportunities to get playing time is that Al Horford has moved to the bench, which means Horford will get all the minutes at the backup center role as long as he and Joel Embiid are healthy. Pelle played in one game this past week, but didn’t record any stats.
Playing time for each of the rookies isn’t as plentiful as it was earlier in the season. New additions to the roster and changes to the starting five are the main reasons why the rookies will probably have a reduced role moving forward.