Philadelphia 76ers need to phase Raul Neto out of the rotation
The Philadelphia 76ers need to cut Raul Neto out of the rotation.
One of the bigger surprises from the first two games of this restart for the Philadelphia 76ers is that head coach Brett Brown has opted to included Raul Neto in his bench rotation. Neto has been a steady hand off the bench leading the offense, but Brown needs to take him out of the rotation.
To be fair to Brown and Neto, him being in the rotation can’t be helped. Neto is the only true point guard on the roster and with Ben Simmons shifting to the power forward positions, the club only has Neto and two combo guards in Shake Milton and Alec Burks this season.
It also happened that Milton played very poorly in his first outing and it didn’t leave Brown much of a choice but to turn to the veteran. However, with Milton’s great outing and game-winning shot against the San Antonio Spurs, it seems now is the time to phase Neto out of the rotation.
Neto should be benched.
More from The Sixer Sense
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell
Granted Milton needs to be consistent for more than one game, but Brown also needs to play the second-year guard for more than 26 minutes as he did against the Spurs. In those 26 minutes, Milton had 16 points and three assists, and just imagine if he ended up getting the 11 minutes that Brown gave to Neto.
While Alec Burks is a combo guard that more resembles a shooting guard than a point guard in his style of play. He and Simmons are more than capable of filling in as a backup point guard when Milton is resting.
I recently said on The Sixer Sense Podcast when Spike Eskin was our guest that while I believe Neto is an NBA point guard, he’s more of a third-string reserve than a backup playmaker. If the Sixers are relying on him for meaningful minutes, then they are in trouble.
Neto getting phased out should happen naturally opens up players like Glenn Robinson III and Mike Scott return from injuries. There just shouldn’t be space of Neto in the rotation once everyone is healthy.
Horford is becoming a lost cause. dark. Next
Neto shouldn’t be in the rotation for the playoffs and the Philadelphia 76ers should just go ahead and phase him out of the rotation.