It’s time for the Philadelphia 76ers’ coaching staff to give their second-round pick from this past draft a chance to earn some minutes.
Outside of Matisse Thybulle, none of the Philadelphia 76ers rookies have been getting any semblance of regular minutes. Norvel Pelle has been buried on the center depth chart at times and due to the fact that Marial Shayok is on a two-way contract, he’s been stuck in the G-League for almost the whole season. However, now is the time to see what Shayok can bring to the table.
The injuries to Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Josh Richardson has left the Sixers with few options, especially with Richardson’s injury. The Sixers are somewhat thin at the wing position as a result of these injuries.
Thybulle, Glenn Robinson III, Furkan Korkmaz and Alec Burks were already getting regular minutes before the injuries and Shake Milton has stepped up in a huge way at the point guard spot. The need extra depth for at least the short-term and that only leaves Zhaire Smith and Shayok.
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Smith and Shayok can’t be anymore more different as prospects. Smith a young hyperactive athletic, that has a very raw skill set, Shayok is a mature and not super athletic shooter. The only common ground they have is that both have upside as defenders.
With the season coming to a close, head coach Brett Brown should see what a year of development in the G-League has done for his second-round pick. While it’s tempting to see how much Smith has developed, but he’s already played in seven games and didn’t impress. Shayok, on the other hand, has only played in two games and hasn’t got enough opportunity to show what he can do.
Another thing to consider is that Shayok is more NBA ready than Smith. Shayok played four years of college ball, versus one year for Smith. Shayok is averaging 22.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while making 36.5 percent of his 3-pointers with Philly’s G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Smith is only averaging 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, while converting 35.6 percent of his 3-point attempts with the Blue Coats.
The Sixers are trying to win games and having a player with more experience soaking up minutes makes sense. In that regard, Shayok should get minutes while the time while the team is dealing with these injuries. He gives them a better chance to win right now than Smith does.
Based on his overall great G-League play and the experience that he has from playing four seasons in college, Shayok should be getting NBA minutes with all the injuries that the Philadelphia 76ers have. He appears to be a better player than Smith right now and the Sixers need to see what he can do with more an extended period of playing time on the NBA level.