Sixers vs. Pacers: 3 takeaways from brutal loss in bubble opener

3. Shake Milton… yikes

After a solid, if not great, scrimmage slate, Saturday marked Shake Milton’s first official run as the Sixers’ starting point guard. The results were not what you would call ideal. In fact, Milton was easily the worst Sixer on the floor when he was on the floor, which wasn’t very often.

Milton botched a couple possessions in the first quarter, including one turnover where the ball was stolen while he was arguing with Joel Embiid in the backcourt. He then proceeded to pick up an offensive foul the next possession, not earning any brownie points.

On his way to the bench at the end of the first quarter, Milton exchanged words with Embiid, with whom he was clearly upset (and vice versa). Milton was held back by Matisse Thybulle, among others. Embiid, not looking at him, muttered the phrase, “I’ma slap the s— out of you.” Not! Great!

After the game, Brett Brown said sometimes families fight, a nice, very Brett Brown-ish way of putting it. And it’s true. Families do indeed fight, and there’s no reason to expect long-term chemistry issues stemming from this incident. It’s heat-of-the-moment stuff. Still, it was not a great start to Milton’s tenure as starting point guard.

Raul Neto started the second quarter at point guard and ended up outplaying Milton, who registered an inopportune five fouls and was unable to stay on the floor for extended stretches because of it. Neto was unspectacular, but he filled the void and it’s clear Milton will need to earn his minutes.

The final stat line for Milton was 0 points, one rebound, three assists, and five fouls in 19 minutes. He only attempted one shot and missed it. He needs to be better, and his composure will need to improve down the stretch.