Things were looking great for the Philadelphia 76ers and Justin Edwards heading into the season. Unfortunately, it seems like the sophomore forward’s slump has already driven him to a point where he will no longer be accommodated in a way people expected after the impressive campaign he had in his rookie year.
No player on the 76ers roster has seen his role waver more than Edwards. Some nights, he will play nearly 30 minutes. Often, he will hover around the 20-minute range. Unfortunately for him, it appears that there is no tempered ground. During their recent game against the Lakers, he never even saw the floor. The outing before that, he sniffed the hardwood for just 50 seconds.
Nick Nurse’s faith in Edwards has gotten as little as it can be, and it definitely shows. Still, the coaching staff is not helping anyone by adopting this kind of disposition toward Edwards. At some point — and assuming the team intends to keep him in some capacity — they will have to define his role.
The 76ers have to define Justin Edwards’ role this season
The 76ers are no longer penciling Edwards in as a prominent part of their rotation — that is pretty apparent. But when the variance he is seeing with his role is this mercurial, the team is only making his current situation worse.
Edwards is already on a season-long shooting funk, having canned just 40.7 percent of his shots and a pedestrian 36.7 percent of his three-point tries. However, he is clearly a rhythm player, and it is difficult to envision him raising his shooting splits when he barely even sees the floor when the 76ers have their preferred options at forward (granted, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford are still out due to injuries).
It would be an exercise in prudence for the coaching staff to at least hand him consistent minutes. Realistically speaking, he should still see the floor around 12 to 16 minutes a game, and even that would allow him to foster some rhythm as to how he should approach the game when his number is called without being cold for the most part.
The 76ers need all of their moving parts to be in optimal playing conditions, and that likewise applies to Justin Edwards. After all, he is still young, and there is definitely a lot of room for improvement for him to regain the mojo and fire he played with last season.