Since making his return from a couple of injuries that sidelined him for almost an entire calendary year, Jared McCain has become the subject of numerous discourses surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, a bulk of those discussions have veered into the side of pessimism, with fans now having mixed sentiments about his future with the franchise.
Obviously, it is silly to make a sweeping pronouncement that McCain’s footing on the roster has become shaky. After all, he needs a lengthy wind-up before he can truly regain his rhythm as a scorer-first guard. However, Nick Nurse and the coaching staff seems to have deployed him in funky ways, as his minutes early on were sparse at best.
Fortunately, the worm seems to have slowly turned for the sophomore guard in that regard. In the last 12 games, he has averaged 22.8 minutes per outing — a significant increase from his first six apperances in which he normed a lowly 10.5 minutes a night without factoring in the one DNP he racked up.
The 76ers are finally giving Jared McCain a real chance to get his mojo back
With Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe solidly entrenched as the franchise’s starting backcourt moving forward, McCain will have to prove that he can play third fiddle to the 76ers’ two-headed monster at the guard positions. After all, that role is currently manned by Quentin Grimes, who is a flight risk in the offseason due to his contract quirks as a free agent.
McCain has to make the most of his ample court time. There have been great signs during that 12-game stretch where he has tallied nightly averages of 10.1 points and 2.6 assists per outing, although his 38.9 percent shooting from the field leaves a lot to be desired.
Still, this is the kind of opportunity the 76ers have to hand to McCain. He is most certainly not the kind of player who does not need a lot of reps to get into the flow of the game. With more chances to showcase himself on the floor, he will surely get back to being the potent scorer he was last season when he was still a rookie learning the ropes.
This upcoming stretch will definitely have a huge part in defining what Jared McCain’s future could look like with the 76ers. Hopefully he can make his newfound opportunities count. After all, he is way too talented to just toss to the side on the sole basis of post-injury trials.