It’s fair to write that Isaiah Joe has been the pleasant surprise of the Philadelphia 76ers during the preseason. The development of the second year wing has been unheralded, to say the least. Now head coach Doc Rivers has a tough decision.
It’s clear that Joe is one of the 10 best players on the roster and arguably the second-best shooter on the team behind Seth Curry. Joe needs playing time, but the question becomes who does he leap-frog in the rotation.
Who’s spot does Joe take in the Philadelphia 76ers rotation?
During the preseason, he averaged 16.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals on 59.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line, per RealGM. Granted Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris barely played in the preseason, while both Ben Simmons didn’t play a single minute.
That shouldn’t take away from the fact that Joe was one of the most consistent preseason performers outside of arguably Andre Drummond. Joe’s performance wasn’t a fluke and it even made Christopher Kline of this site make the bold prediction that at some point this season that Joe will start.
However, before he starts, Joe will have to be in the rotation. Who’s spot he takes in the rotation will depend on who’s healthy and the team’s substitution patterns. If Rivers does let Simmons play as Giannis Antetokounmpo does with the Milwaukee Bucks in Philly’s second unit, then that opens up the door wider for Joe as that would require more shooters on the floor.
The injury to Shake Milton and the return of Simmons also makes playing time more affordable to Joe as well. With Milton still some time away from playing according to Rivers, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, it opens up a natural spot for Joe.
When Milton is healthy, Joe could easily keep Milton out of the rotation or Rivers may elect to sacrifice Furkan Korkmaz in the second unit in favor of Milton and Joe. Joe has already proven to be a more consistent defender and shooter than Korkmaz at this point, despite Korkmaz having a more balanced offensive game.
It comes down to Korkmaz or Milton as being the odd man out in the Philadelphia 76ers rotation this season for Joe minutes. However, with Milton being injured, he seems to be the prime candidate for Joe to leap-frog.