Shake Milton failed to deliver on high expectations in his third NBA season. Pegged by many as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate before the year, Milton was never really in the running. His efficiency dipped, while the sheer volume of mouths to feed in the Sixers‘ backcourt — Seth Curry, George Hill, Tyrese Maxey — made it harder for Milton to separate himself from the crowd.
By season’s end, Milton was on the fringe of the rotation, though Doc Rivers never lost faith entirely. Now, he enters training camp with a lot to prove and a rotation spot to re-earn. The question is, of course, how much can we expect out of the 25-year-old?
Here are some season goals he should set — goals that, if achieved, would indicate an extremely successful campaign for the SMU product.
3 goals for Sixers guard Shake Milton: Hit 40 percent of 3s
In 2019-20, when Milton took over Al Horford’s spot in the starting five, he shot 43.0 percent from deep. Last year, that number dropped to 35.0 percent. That’s not bad by any stretch — in fact, it’s right around the league average — but Milton’s impact is so dependent on good shooting, that it felt like the bottom dropped out.
Milton was not very good last season, plain and simple. The raw numbers — 13.0 points, 3.1 assists per game — are misleading. He was in the rotation far too long, and should be looking at a reduced role in 2021-22, the Ben Simmons kerfuffle notwithstanding. That is, of course, unless he can bump up the 3-point percentage and recapture some of that Brett Brown-era magic.
For the majority of Milton’s career — professional and amateur — he has been above that 40 percent mark from deep. This is certainly an achievable goal, if not a downright regression to the mean. Milton is probably better than last season would suggest. The COVID of it all makes it difficult to invest too much stock in last season anyway.
This is the first box Milton has to check in order to win back not only his rotational prominence, but the trust of a fanbase that adored him a year ago.