Josh Richardson and Shake Milton can become a legit threat for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The revelation that was Shake Milton in the second half of the season has easily been one of the best stories surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers this year. Milton’s breakout season should continue to roll into the playoffs, but he can become apart of a scary backcourt for the Sixers.
He and Josh Richardson could become a great one-two-punch at the guard positions. Milton is a combo guard and Richardson is a shooting guard with some playmaking/creating skills. While they haven’t had too much time to play together because Richardson has struggled with injuries this season and Milton has only had only broke out for a chunk of games, these two together can be special.
Both guards are 6-foot-5 with long arms and while Richardson is clearly the better defender, both are positive on the defensive end. Switching on defense shouldn’t be a problem for these two, but if push comes to shove, Richardson can take on the tougher defensive matchup.
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On the flip side, both guards are legit three-level scorers on offense, with Milton showing the potential to be special offensively. Milton and Richardson can also play off the ball and don’t need the ball to be effective.
They can each run the pick-and-roll, but both have different strengths in that type of play. Due to being a better athlete, Richardson is more capable of attacking the rim and pulling up over defenders in the mid-range than Milton. On the same note, Milton is a much more willing 3-point shooter off the pick-and-roll than Richardson. This type of diversity works in the 76ers advantage.
Working under the assumption the NBA does return, head coach Brett Brown needs to get these two a lot of reps in a potential training camp. They haven’t had that many reps playing with each other thus far so it might not be the smoothest of pairings to begin with, but time should smooth out any bumps in their pairing.
Assuming that Brown makes the smart move and starts Milton over Al Horford, the Philadelphia 76ers could have a scary backcourt for the rest of the season and beyond.