This NBA season has had its fair share of surprises and the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t an exception to that. One sad development is the decline of fan-favorite Mike Scott. At this point, it’s hard to justify having Scott staying in the rotation moving forward.
I’ve said multiple times on The Sixer Sense Podcast that Scott has one foot in retirement and that he probably won’t get another NBA contract this upcoming season. Yet for some reason, Sixers’ head coach Doc Rivers is still using the veteran power forward as a replacement starter for All-Star center Joel Embiid misses time and he shouldn’t be.
Rivers please stop starting Mike Scott for the Philadelphia 76ers sake.
When Scott starts at center for the 76ers, Philly has a record of 2-4. Considering the team is without their best player, that’s not a horrendous record in itself. Still, the Sixers put themselves at a defensive disadvantage when Scott is starting at center.
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He’s only 6-foot-8 and while he’s a gritty defender weighing in at 237 lbs, he’s can be bullied by most opposing centers. Jonas Valanciunas of the Memphis Grizzlies had 16 points and 12 rebounds in 25 minutes against Scott.
The idea of starting Scott is more for offense floor spacing. Despite being known as a stretch-four, he’s only converting 34.4 percent from the 3-point. However, when he’s started this season, he’s shooting 31.6 percent deep.
Scott should have more space being guarding by opposing centers but his shooting percentage is actually lower when he starts. Scott is more inefficient as a starter than as a reserve and Philly does have other options instead of the veteran.
Let’s be clear, Dwight Howard isn’t an option. He’s proven he can’t start anymore at this point in his career. Sadly, Philly had to give up Tony Bradley to get George Hill so he’s no longer an option either. That leaves rookie Paul Reed and veteran Anthony Tolliver.
Tolliver is similar to Scott in terms of size and skill, however, it’s unclear if he still has his shooting touch at this point of his career based on the fact he’s barely played this year. Reed won G-League Rookie of the Year and MVP while also showing potential as a stretch-big, but Rivers has stated he doesn’t feel Reed is ready to play center in the NBA yet.
Until Rivers changes his stance on Reed, the Philadelphia 76ers might have to suffer with having Scott being a replacement start for Embiid.