The Philadelphia 76ers may have seen their winning streak get finally snapped, but it does not change the fact that they have had a very encouraging start to their season. Beyond what their 4-1 record indicates, the team has no shortage of silver linings even at this early juncture, signifying that great things are coming for them sooner than later.
That being said, there has also been some red flags. And while this one has come a tad unnoticed due to the other household names touting some points of concern of their own, a certain front that has been lacking thus far for the squad is the play of Justin Edwards, which has been perplexing to say the least.
Last season, Edwards seemed like he was going to be a fixture for this franchise for a long time. After all, despite being undrafted, he turned out to be a high-impact, rotation player for the 76ers. Sure, his minutes climbed up due to him filling out the available minutes left by the injured players, but he nonetheless looked solid as a young player on the three-and-D mold.
However, things have been wildly different for him this time around, at least for now.
The 76ers should have seen this sophomore slump from Justin Edwards coming from a mile away
Through five outings, Edwards has averaged just 11.6 minutes per contest. His shooting splits have likewise been meager. While he is canning 35.7 percent of his attempts from three-point territory, his overall field goal percentage of 38.9 percent is emblematic of his ongoing sophomore slump.
Really, the 76ers should have seen this coming, Even when Edwards played during the Summer League and in the preseason, he never really looked right. He played varying roles in both of those mini-tourneys, yet the common denominator was his failure to put the ball into the hoop with consistency.
Previously being touted as an elite prospect out of high school, Edwards had the makings of a reliable shot creator. However, the team’s attempts to extract that skill out of him has not panned out at all, and it has probably affected him in the other facets of the game as well.
To make things more strenuous for him, the 76ers now have more options to man his role. Kelly Oubre Jr., the man he was once tabbed to usurp in the rotation, has played really well to start the season. And with Paul George looking like he is getting close to making a return, those already-sparse minutes could further dwindle for Justin Edwards, especially if he does not snap out of his continuous struggles.