Philadelphia 76ers: Shake Milton needs more time to develop

The Philadelphia 76ers need to be patient with Shake Milton’s development.

Going from “zero to hero” is a phrase that very much applies to Shake Milton with how he came on the scene and performed very well for the Philadelphia 76ers. He showed off his true potential in February with getting very limited playing time in his career prior to that point. However, his play has cooled off in the Disney Bubble and honestly, it’s not completely surprising.

Don’t get me wrong, I was completely on the Milton hype train earlier this season and still am to a certain extent. While the hype was certainly warranted, some of it was premature. As Spike Eskin alluded to on The Sixer Sense podcast, Milton was a late second round pick two offseasons ago.

Milton was the 54th pick int he 2019 NBA Draft and is only 23-years-old. Most players don’t peak until the mid to late-20’s, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to see him have struggles inside the Bubble.

Milton is still growing.

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In Disney, Milton has averaged 9.0 points and 4.6 assists, but only converted 41.5 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from the 3-point line. In terms of points, Milton has a similar average on the season, but he’s seen a big uptick in an assist as he’s only averaged 2.6 assists on the season.

The problem of course is with his field percentage. On the season, he’s shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 42.6 percent. It’s totally possible that part of his shooting issues are due to the long layoff, but it’s also a lack of aggression.

Milton has attempted more than 10 shots twice in the Bubble and has only scored in double-digits in four out of eight games. In those four games that he scored double-digit points, he shot above 50.0 percent on his shots in three of those contests.

It should also be noted that when he’s attempted four or more 3-point attempts a game inside of the Bubble he’s made at least two 3-pointers. However, when he attempted less than four then he failed to convert any outside shots in those games.

These stats indicate that Milton plays better when he’s more aggressive and during the Bubble, but he hasn’t been that consistently. The lack of aggressiveness could be due to his lack of experience and/or it’s because he’s being relied on more as a playmaker inside of the Bubble. It may take some time for Milton feels comfortable being more aggressive as a shot taker.

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Either way, more experience moving forward would certainly the Philadelphia 76ers young combo guard grow. While he’s getting that experience and developing, the franchise and fans shouldn’t be too hard on him.