By the end of this past week, the Philadelphia 76ers were without both Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Seth Curry. Despite the growing amount of injuries, head coach Doc Rivers didn’t fully embrace the rookie depth that he has at his disposal.
21st pick, 2020 draft
Out of all the rookies, Tyrese Maxey saw the most game action this past week. That being written, he still only played in two games and totaled 14 points in 16 minutes for both games. The good news is that he is starting to find his shooting touch again which is positive for when the Sixers need to go to him for some bench scoring.
Season averages: 7.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 0.7 turnovers, and 1.2 fouls. Shooting 45.2 percent on field goals, 28.1 percent on 3-pointers, and 85.2 on free throws.
49th pick, 2020 draft
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Like Maxey, Isaiah Joe also played in the games against the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings. He played a total of 13 minutes, but only scored five games against the Spurs and went scoreless against the Kings. Considering the team is without Curry, it’s surprising they didn’t use Joe for his 3-point shooting more.
Season averages: 4.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, 0.2 turnovers, and 1.0 fouls. Shooting 36.0 percent on field goals, 36.4 percent on 3-pointers, and 100.0 on free throws.
58th pick, 2020 draft
Despite being one of the most dominant big men in the G-League, Paul Reed still hasn’t gotten a real shot to be in the 76ers rotation. To be fair to Rivers, the incredible play of Tony Bradley and Dwight Howard doesn’t lend itself too much time to experiment with Reed.
Season averages: 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.4 assist, 0.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, 0.7 turnovers, and 0.6 fouls. Shooting 45.8 percent on field goals and 0.0 percent on 3-pointers.
It seems as if unless push comes to shove, it will take a lot for the Philadelphia 76ers to give their rookies consistent minutes in the rotation for the time being.