Philadelphia 76ers Rookie Report: Norvel Pelle can’t make an impact
The Philadelphia 76ers franchise struggled this past week and it didn’t help that their rookies failed to make a major impact.
To put it simply, the Philadelphia 76ers weren’t good this past week. There were many reasons why they failed to impress, but the lack of contributions from their rookies didn’t help, especially with their rookie big man not showing up.
20th pick, 2019
Matisse Thybulle has been known as one of the best defenders in this rookies class as a whole, but this past week he didn’t play like it. He only tallied three steals in four games. While his offense output was up to where it has been normally this season, for him to not average at least one steal per game isn’t good enough.
54th pick, 2019
To be fair to Marial Shayok, the Sixers kept him with their G-League affiliate despite the lack of the team’s depth. He probably should have gotten a chance to play this past week with Philly, however, Shayok did play three games with the Delaware Blue Coats this past week.
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Against the Capital City Go-Go, Shayok had 19 points. The second-round pick had 22 points against the Long Island Nets. He then finished with 15 points against the Raptors 905. It wasn’t a good week for Shayok in terms of scoring which doesn’t help his case for NBA minutes.
It should be noted that the Blue Coats game against the Lakeland Magic won’t be included in this Rookie Report, but the next one.
Undrafted
Despite the fact that Joel Embiid‘s been out with injury, Norvel Pelle has been used sparingly. He’s only averaged three minutes per game in the three games he played in this past week. With Al Horford starting in Embiid’s place, it would seem like an ideal time for Pelle to play seeing as he’s ahead of Kyle O’Quinn on the depth chart.
Sadly, it appears Pelle’s lost his role as the backup center to power forward Mike Scott. This would have been an ideal situation for Pelle to prove he can contribute in a bigger role, but he hasn’t been able to do so.
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With all the injuries that the Philadelphia 76ers are experiencing, the rookies haven’t impressed with the playing time they have had. Hopefully, this changes and Pelle, along with the other rookies, can prove more as the Sixers enter the end stretch of the season.