Before the season began, the Philadelphia 76ers took on the mantle as one of the must-watch teams in the NBA. Thanks to their lavish largesse during the past offseason, particularly in free agency, what was initially pegged as a poignant cast suddenly rose into one of the most talented teams in the entire association.
An ugly start would give the impression that their moves have not fared well just yet, but notable is the fact that the 76ers have not played a game at full strength yet. For now, the team is making do with whatever it has on its available deck, which varies from game to game thanks to the injury bug’s continuous infatuation with Philly.
However, one of the most surprising developments for the franchise so far this season has validated an uncharacteristic gamble they surprisingly took during the offseason, as it is currently paying off in a huge way for the club.
The 76ers are reaping the rewards of an uncharacteristic gamble in the form of Jared McCain
Jared McCain, whom the 76ers took with the 16th overall pick in this year’s draft, has been off to a rousing start in his rookie season. In just 15.9 minutes per outing, he has averaged 10.2 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field. In the team’s most recent outing, he led the team in scoring with 27 markers en route to a big skid-snapping dub.
The Duke alum has been a tremendous boost in the scoring department for what has largely been an offensively inept 76ers team (thanks to its hobbled state). This is a bit of a pleasantly shocking development, especially in account of his previous struggles shooting the ball during the summer league and the preseason. Heck, even LeBron James took notice of the rookie.
Instead, McCain is quickly proving that the 76ers made the right gamble with drafting him — a bold move at that time as Philadelphia was widely believed to be to be heavily shopping its lone first-round pick to clear up even more cap space and/or chase a star with the selection as a pot sweetener.
With Tyrese Maxey out for quite some time, McCain’s explosion in Year 1 could not have come at a better time. The 76ers are only just welcoming Joel Embiid in their next game, and they would still need to have that scoring jolt in the backcourt for a more well-rounded attack on the scoring end.
Rookie guards often have a steeper learning curve in the NBA, but so far, Jared McCain has been a massive success story for the Philadelphia 76ers despite their early season struggles.