Five biggest positives from Sixers’ 6-2 start: The Niang Gang
The main question all summer was did the Sixers do enough? With Ben Simmons’ holdout looming and a recent postseason defeat fresh on the mind, Philadelphia didn’t swing any major trades, or sign any big-name free agents. The only sizable “changes” were a new backup center in Andre Drummond and a new stretch four in Georges Niang. Safe to say, both have worked out so far.
Next to Drummond, the former Jazzman Niang has been the Sixers’ most effective bench player. He’s hitting 44.4 percent of his 3s, playing a career-high 21.4 minutes per game, and showcasing layers of his skill set hitherto unseen.
Niang was buried under a mountain of wing and forward depth in Utah. The Sixers have given him a featured role in the second unit. On top of his prolific spot-up shooting, Niang has proven surprisingly adept at beating closeouts, facilitating to teammates, and holding down the fort defensively. He is not only an upgrade over Mike Scott, but possibly one of the best reserves of the Joel Embiid era.
With both of the Sixers’ two biggest offseason additions outperforming expectations, it’s hard not to proceed optimistically. The bench looks like a genuine strength, which hasn’t been the case since before Brett Brown took over as head coach. Philly has been able to traverse early-season injuries in large part due to Niang’s wide-ranging impact. On top of that, he’s a world-class person and teammate by all accounts.