Can Mike Scott rekindle magic for the Philadelphia 76ers?
Last postseason, Mike Scott was huge for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was one of two reliable bench players for the franchise and it earned him a solid contract this offseason. Yet, this year hasn’t been the best one for the stretch-four as he’s struggled shooting consistently this season. The question is can he catch that same postseason magic from last year for the upcoming playoffs.
Scott averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds while converting 35.3 percent from the 3-point line last playoffs. While those averages aren’t impressive on the surface, it was his reliable shooting and gritty defense that made him valuable to Philly last postseason.
Sadly, he hasn’t been consistent enough this season in either category. In the past, I’ve already written about how it will be hard for him to get playoff minutes and that was before the news came that head coach Brett Brown has shifted Ben Simmons to the power forward spot in practices.
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Assuming that Simmons’ new position change sticks, it will make it even harder for Scott to be minutes. Scott’s in the same boat as Al Horford in terms of minutes at the four spot. Both Horford and Scott are most likely going to be behind Simmons and Tobias Harris for minutes at power forward.
If anything Scott will probably be behind Horford on that depth chart as well. Part of the reason is despite the fact that Horford and Joel Embiid aren’t a great fit, Horford would be poorly used just as a backup center. It wouldn’t be surprising if Brown prioritized Horford’s minutes over Scott’s based on Horford’s contract alone.
Honestly, it doesn’t appear that Scott will get much of a chance at all to prove he still can consistently be a threat from deep. However, if he does get that chance, don’t be surprised if he shows out just like he did during the last playoffs. He has the skills and edge to do just that for the postseason.
The question isn’t if Scott can rekindle any playoff magic with the Philadelphia 76ers. The question is will he get the opportunity to try.