Horrific stat proves veteran should have already played his last game for the 76ers

It was not too long ago when trying to put a governor on the free-fall the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves in seemed like a moot proposition. The team struggled mightily on both ends, their three All-Stars were in a musical chairs of nightly injury-related absences, and their biggest silver lining, breakout rookie Jared McCain, went down with a season-ending torn meniscus. It was as hellish of a start as it could get for the franchise.

But as kismet would have it, the 76ers suddenly found lightning in a bottle, stringing together a pretty solid stretch of basketball for nearly a month now. While they still are five games below .500 heading into their game against Phoenix, the team’s prospects have greatly improved, and at this point, it would be very shocking not to see this team slugging it out on the hardwood come April.

Philly does not have the luxury of relaxing, though. Alas, the front office has to ensure that the team’s engine continues to run smoothly by seeking upgrades as much as they can and also letting go of those with marginal contributions. Got an idea on which player the 76ers should drop? Well, here’s one stat that could paint the picture.

The 76ers should seriously consider dropping Kyle Lowry from the roster thanks to this stat

One player who has struggled in particular for the 76ers all season long is veteran guard Kyle Lowry. Following a rather impressive stint last season after coming over to Philly through the buyout market, the front office endeavored to re-sign him, hoping that his success as a secondary playmaker and spot-up shooter from the previous campaign would carry over.

Unfortunately, his sharp decline finally came this season. Despite still being a staple in Nick Nurse’s rotation, Lowry has been glaringly underwhelming, posting a career-low 4.2 points and 2.7 assists per outing on a horrid 35.6 percent shooting from the floor, which includes a measly 33.8 percent success rate on three-pointers.

Indulging in the theory that he still has it on the defensive end? Well, that would also be terrible guesswork. Just look at this stat care of Bball Index:

While not a definitive stat, this one clearly shows Lowry’s sheer lack of involvement in defending a scoring option as the primary defender. The 76ers already don’t trust him to be able to be competent enough as a stopper, and combine that with his steep decline offensively, is there still any reason to continue giving him nearly 20 minutes per contest?

At this point, Nick Nurse has to seriously contemplate letting his bias wither and drop Kyle Lowry from the rotation. To take thinsg up a notch, the Philadelphia 76ers front office itself should also explore the idea of trading him away or letting him test the buyout market.