The Philadelphia 76ers drafted guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the 22nd overall pick in this year's draft to further bolster their backcourt rotation. The Alabama product has delivered the goods in the Summer League numbers-wise, though his efficiency leaves a lot to be desired. Be that as it may, the team remains firm on giving him as many reps as possible to see what he is made of early on.
Through four Summer League games in Vegas, Philon has turned in 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. However, he has drained just 38.2 percent of his field goal attempts, including a mere 25.8 percent from beyond the arc. Simply put, he has struggled when it comes to shooting the rock efficiently, although the 76ers still have not shied away from letting him operate without inhibitions.
76ers are allowing Labaron Philon Jr. to struggle for a very good reason
Rookie guards typically face a steeper learning curve than their other counterparts, so it only makes sense for the 76ers that they are giving Philon a longer leash than usual in the Summer League. After all, this is his early and ideal chance to figure out where he can be the most effective on the floor and how to get to his spots without much at stake.
Scoring is Philon's bread and butter, and that will remain the case moving forward. But to best maximize his skill in that area, he will need actual reps to get a taste of what it is like to be a touted scorer in the NBA. As a result, his struggles with efficiency should be taken with a grain of salt and never at face value.
Summer League could help Philin find his footing sooner than later
The 76ers threw Philon into the fire by installing him as their featured scorer in the mini tourney right from the get-go, and that will only benefit him in the long run, given that he is expected to be one of the forces for the team off the bench, where he will enjoy more liberty to create for himself.
Things may look quite rough at the moment, but the Summer League has always offered a distorted view of a prospect's career trajectory. As such, while he is missing a ton of shots right now, those misses are going to be worth it when he suddenly cannot miss.
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