It might be time for the Philadelphia 76ers reserve power forward to change positions at this point in his career.
It’s become a common practice in the NBA over the past 10-15 years where players change positions as they get older. Paul Pierce shifted from being a perimeter player to being a power forward late in his career and even recently LaMarcus Aldridge has shifted from primarily playing power forward to center. It might be time for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ power forward Mike Scott to follow their example.
It’s no secret that the 31-year-old veteran has had some tough stretches this season, especially shooting the ball from deep. There were two months were he show below 31.0 percent from deep. In November he shot 30.2 percent from downtown and in January he only made 25.6 percent of 3-pointers.
Not only has he struggled on offense for stretches, but there have been times where the tough gritty defender he’s been know to be hasn’t shown up. However, before the Sixers give up on Scott completely and try to trade him, they should try him out at center for an extended period of time.
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Currently, the Sixers have Al Horford as Joel Embiid‘s primary backup and unless they trade Horford, that’s probably not going to change. However, in the month of May, head coach Brett Brown did use Scott as the primary back to Horford and power forward Tobias Harris while Embiid missed time with a shoulder injury.
It should be noted that Scott started some of those games at power forward, but the results of him backing up Horford were encouraging. During May, Scott averaged 9.4 points and 7.2 rebounds, while shooting 52.6 percent from downtown. That includes the one game in which Embiid returned and Scott didn’t play well functioning as the primary backup power forward.
Scott appears to have lost a small percentage of his quickness which hurts him playing the power forward, but he’s still more than fast enough to outmaneuver opposing centers. Centers naturally play closer to the basket on defense, so playing Scott at the five position gives him more space on offense to launch 3-pointers.
Now at 6-foot-7, Scott has a disadvantage on the defense and has been pushed around on the glass by bigger centers, but his gritty defensive intensity can partially make up for his lack of height and semi-thin frame. Scott at center may not be something the Sixers can do every night, but he’s definitely an interesting option at the small-ball center position. Brown will have to figure out if what Scott gives up on defense is less than what he produces on offense.
Scott might benefit from becoming a full-time center moving forward. His ability to take advantage of opposing centers on offense is something that should intrigue the Philadelphia 76ers.