Philadelphia 76ers: Backup point guard by committee?

Will the Philadelphia 76ers have a backup point guard by committee this season?

Based on the offseason moves, the Philadelphia 76ers have their clear cut starting point guard in Ben Simmons. However, who their backup point guard will be is a little less clear. There’s a halfway decent chance the team doesn’t rely on one singular player to be the pure backup point guard to begin this season.

I recently suggested that the Sixers need to add a free agent point guard, but that was before general manager Daryl Morey made the proclamation that the club won’t use any significant asset to add another player onto the team at this point. That means there’s a good chance that the team will rely on their plethora of combo guards to help carry the playmaking load in the second unit.

The 76ers have three players who will probably handle second unit playmaking duties when Simmons is on the bench. Newly acquired Seth Curry, rookie Tyrese Maxey, and third-year guard Shake Milton.

What each guard brings to the Sixers’ second unit as a playmaker.

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Milton is the longest-tenured guard on the team and thus has the most experience playing with this group of players. Last season as the secondary playmaker as a starter or the primary one coming off the bench, Milton showed flashes of legit playmaking skills. He averaged 2.6 assists and 1.2 turnovers.

It’s true that Milton’s not a lead playmaker (his play in the NBA Bubble proved that), but he’s still a solid secondary playmaker and a willing passer. Milton has a good ratio of aggression and being a willing pass.

While he’s not elite, he’s someone who can bring the ball up and make the right pass within the flow of the offense. He can also run the pick-and-roll to sum success, although he’s usually looking to score out of the play.

Curry has been much more a shot first type of combo guard. He average 1.9 assists and 1.0 turnovers per game last season. Not too impressive for a guy who averaged 24.4 minutes per game. That being said, Curry is usually willing to make the extra pass when the ball is swinging from side to side.

The younger Curry brother can also run pick-and-rolls as well as dribble-handoffs. Curry does have some solid dribbling skills, but he’s not great as a primary or even secondary playmaker, even if he in the second unit.

Maxey’s skills as a playmaker on the NBA level have huge question marks. There’s no question he can create for himself, but can he create for others? In college, he averaged 3.2 assists and 2.2 turnovers.

He’s shown flashes of being able to create for others while attacking the rim in transition and in the halfcourt. However, if he can do it consistently within the flow of the offense is yet to be seen. The potential’s there for Maxey, but the 76ers will have to rely on Curry and Milton to pick up the slack in the areas that Maxey still needs to develop in.

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The Philadelphia 76ers will have to rely on Curry and Milton to help Maxey run the second unit’s offense until he develops enough to do it on his own. It will be a point guard by committee approach for the second unit this season with Maxey probably leading the way.