Sixers are out of excuses not to play Isaiah Joe

The Sixers have a lot of young talent. Naturally, Doc Rivers has been predisposed to focus on the vets. The vets have been around longer, and the Sixers are trying to win games. Vets know how to win games.

That is true, broadly speaking. Veteran teams tend to win more games than young teams. That said, no contender is without productive young talent. Even the Lakers, who are notoriously old this season, will rely on Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk, and Kendrick Nunn to guide the second unit.

In Philadelphia, Rivers had to learn to trust Tyrese Maxey. It took him a while to learn to trust Matisse Thybulle. Now, they are two critical pieces of the Sixers’ championship pursuit. Without Maxey at point guard, and without Thybulle’s perimeter defense, this Philly team — in the absence of Ben Simmons — would crumble like a days-old cookie.

Next in line is Isaiah Joe. It’s time for Rivers to trust Isaiah Joe.

Isaiah Joe is the next member of the Sixers’ young core primed to contribute.

Joe was a bright spot — arguably the bright spot — in the Sixers’ preseason opener, scoring 18 points in 26 minutes. He swished four of eight 3-point attempts, and provided stable, consistent team defense on the wing. It’s time for Joe to get 20+ minutes on a regular basis.

This is not a reaction to one preseason game. It’s not even a reaction to Summer League, where Joe shined in his limited exposure. It’s about last season, when Joe almost beat out Furkan Korkmaz in the rotation before the opportunity was inexplicably ripped away. It’s about his time in college, at Arkansas, where Joe was a historically prolific shooter. Joe earned a first-round grade on my 2020 draft board, and he has done nothing to dissuade me from that perception.

Paul Reed has been widely proclaimed the second-round steal of last year’s draft, but Joe is not far behind. In fact, Joe might be ahead of Reed in that respect. Whereas Reed’s path to minutes in convoluted and complex, Joe’s case is simple. He’s a quintessential 3-and-D wing, arguably the most valuable non-star archetype on the planet. He can fit into different lineups, at different positions. He has one elite NBA skill. One elite NBA skill that can keep his career afloat for the next decade.

In college, Joe averaged over 10 attempts per game from 3-point range. Last season, per 36 minutes, his volume was comparable. Joe is an absolute gunner, made more valuable by his context on the Sixers’ roster. Philadelphia’s best offense for years has been dribble-handoffs centered around Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, or Ben Simmons. Joe is the best off-movement shooter on the roster, and he’s totally unafraid to let it rip. The Sixers desperately crave quick decision-makers, and Joe doesn’t take long to compute. If he has a sliver of space, he will gladly let it fly.

The only question is, who does Joe replace? Doc Rivers will only go 10-deep in the regular season, and the Sixers’ second unit seems locked. It becomes even trickier if Ben Simmons returns, which would move Maxey back to the bench mob.

Does Joe replace Korkmaz at last? There’s a strong case for it — Korkmaz isn’t as sturdy on defense, and Joe is an even braver, even better shooter. Does Joe replace Georges Niang? He’s a more versatile shooter and defender. Does Joe replace Matisse Thybulle? He can, you know, contribute on offense.

The answer is no to all three. It doesn’t have to be any of them. The Sixers can run lineups multiple high-level shooters. In fact, units with Joe, Korkmaz, and Niang next to Embiid will probably break analytic calculators on offense. The answer to who Isaiah Joe should replace is simple. It’s Shake Milton.

I already know the pushback here. Shake is a point guard, and the Sixers need a backup point guard. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Shake Milton is not a point guard. He’s a wing who has been asked to play the part of point guard, often very unsuccessfully. Milton is not a good primary initiator. He doesn’t create separation off the bounce, he doesn’t see the floor at a particularly high level, and he doesn’t defend the point of attack well at all.

Shake Milton is a wing in the same way Isaiah Joe is a wing. Joe is more efficient, a much more dynamic 3-point shooter, and miles better on the defensive end. It’s really not a hard decision. You heard it here first: Isaiah Joe is a flat-out better NBA player than Shake Milton right now. Not long term, not in a few years time, not in a few months time. Joe is better right now.

The Sixers can make do with ball-handling by committee. Stagger Tyrese Maxey, Seth Curry, and Tobias Harris, and make do. It’s not the ideal setup — ideally Ben Simmons comes back, or you trade him for a real point guard — but for now, with the poor hand Doc Rivers has been dealt, Shake Milton is not the answer. The Sixers would get much more out of Joe’s off-ball movement and underrated defense.

This has been a long time coming. Joe was on the verge of rotation-ready last season, if not already there. He should have been a first-round pick last year, and had he been, there probably wouldn’t be so much hesitation to put him in the rotation and trust him fully. It’s time for Doc and Co. to get on board. It’s time for Isaiah Joe.