Sixers’ point guard depth chart: Shake Milton — THIRD STRING
While Doc Rivers’ presence makes it unwise to rule anything out, it’s hard to imagine Shake Milton keeping his grip on the backup point guard role next season. He was virtually unplayable in the playoffs — aside from that Game 2 renaissance against Atlanta — and for much of the regular season, it was the same exact story. It just wasn’t a good season for Milton, who not long ago convinced most of the fanbase he was an adequate starter.
The problem with Milton is simple — he relies almost entirely on making difficult shots. He is not a good athlete, he is not a visionary playmaker, and he is a god awful defender. His entire game boils down to makes and misses. Too often last season, he was missing more than making.
On the year, Milton averaged 13.0 points while slashing .450/.350/.830 from the field. That’s not bad. His production took a nosedive after the All-Star break, however, and his skill set looked far less valuable when it wasn’t the only alternative to Al Horford.
Milton has some black-hole tendencies, often resorting to difficult step-backs and contested long twos, rather than making the extra pass or getting to the rim. In fact, Milton struggles to get to the rim. His lacks burst on his first step, and he doesn’t have the live-dribble finesse or the change of pace ability to shake off a half-decent defender (no pun intended). Even smaller guards can easily contain him at the point of attack, and he doesn’t have the passing awareness to work fruitfully out of tight quarters.
If his shots are falling — especially from 3-point range — then Milton can still contribute. He’s on an extremely team-friendly contract, and the Sixers would benefit from multiple-guard lineups in the second unit. Expect Milton to compete for some time at shooting guard next to Maxey. Also, last season was weird. Abnormally bad, on the heels of an abnormally good sophomore campaign. Given the general unpredictability of a COVID season, perhaps Milton can still regain some of that sophomore shine in year four. He could make all these nitpicks look foolish. That said, consider me a skeptic on that front.