Philadelphia 76ers: Raul Neto could see resurgence in Orlando
The Philadelphia 76ers’ backup point guard may have another shot at cracking the rotation.
It’s officially official. Ben Simmons is no longer the Philadelphia 76ers‘ point guard — at least, that’s the word from “training camp” in Orlando. Now he’s the power forward. And if Simmons is playing exclusively at the four, as Brett Brown has suggested, it could have a ripple effect on the rest of the rotation.
The obvious cause-and-effect here is Simmons at the four pushes Al Horford to the bench. It’s something we have speculated on for millennia (or it feels that long), but now it’s finally coming to fruition. Horford is all but officially the most overqualified backup center in basketball.
A smaller ripple effect in the rotation, however, is the role of backup point guard. If the Sixers are to exclusively play Simmons next to other ball-handlers, that could mean a newfound purpose for Raul Neto. It’s been a while since Neto saw consistent minutes this season, but he’s not unplayable.
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Neto has played 49 games this season (including three starts), averaging 4.3 points and 1.6 assists in 11.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting a cozy 39.4 percent from deep, and he’s a passable defender at the point of attack. His stout frame and hustle make up for limited athleticism.
It’s not unfeasible for the Sixers to work Neto into the nine-man rotation. Horford, Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson, and Neto makes for a solid second unit. While it seems unlikely for Neto to surpass the likes of Matisse Thybulle or Furkan Korkmaz, it’s important to note how limited Thybulle is offensively and Korkmaz is defensively.
Thybulle is arguably the worst offensive player on the roster. Or at least the most limited. The same goes for Korkmaz on defense. If the Sixers are committed to unlocking Simmons off-ball, someone like Neto — a veteran guard who’s comfortable in the pick-and-roll, doesn’t turn the ball over, and shoots the 3 well — has a lot of appeal.
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Do I expect Neto to get minutes when the season starts back up? Not really. It’s likely the Sixers use Burks in a quasi-point guard role, and when push comes to shove, we will probably see Simmons as the main ball-handler on occasion. It’s worth exploring the option, though. We should at least see a Neto test run in the Sixers’ eight regular season games.