October 28, 2016
It’s Friday afternoon, which means the Sixers have finished up preparations for a rare Saturday matinee against the Atlanta Hawks. But much more importantly, it’s time for another Sixers mailbag. To the questions!
@rich_hofmann Does stauskas need the ball in his hands a la Evan Turner for him to succeed? If so, is it worth it for team to make that happen?
— humkae (@humkae) October 27, 2016
Stauskas may have played his best game in a Sixers uniform in the opener, scoring 13 points on 5-6 shooting and pulling down four defensive rebounds. More than the stats would indicate, Sauce really did look good attacking the basket, even crossing over Victor Oladipo pretty darn good on one possession! As a result, I saw my most viewed Vine resurface on the timeline quite a bit (R.I.P. Vine):
Stauskas has some decent hops, and if you paid close attention, there were moments last season when he looked good driving to the rim. But they didn’t happen nearly enough for a three-point specialist who only made 32.6 percent of his threes. Stauskas’ offense is his calling card, and if he’s not making threes at a high rate, I’m not sure he’ll be able to stick around.
After a poor preseason, I was mildly surprised to see Stauskas in the rotation the other night. The Sixers picked up his 2017-18 option for about $3.8 million, and he responded with an excellent performance against OKC. But moving forward, Stauskas needs to make threes at a higher clip to carve out a role.
@rich_hofmann that was a horrible play Brown drew up or was that on Henderson?
— sam mcclafferty (@camashta4) October 27, 2016
Looking back, you can probably start by going somewhere else for blame on that play: Joel Embiid. Henderson caught the ball near the three-point line on the left wing and drove middle, getting a ball screen from Embiid at the elbow.
The only problem? Embiid didn’t make any contact on the screen, and a good defender in Andre Roberson was allowed to stay connected to Henderson’s hip. From there, Henderson didn’t read Russell Westbrook, who aggressively swiped at the ball and threw off his timing in a major way. The best move for the Episcopal Academy product probably would’ve been to kick the ball out to Sergio Rodriguez (Westbrook’s man), but even then, the Sixers weren’t in a good spot. To me, it all goes back to Embiid not making any contact with Roberson.
Brown works a ton on out of bounds plays in practice, and the Sixers got some impressive looks throughout the game. Down the stretch and on the previous possession, he was running the offense through Embiid a ton. At the time, I probably would’ve given the rookie one more shot on a post-up.
@rich_hofmann will embiid and simmons put butts in seats as much as ai?
— Christopher Deibler (@mrcrockpot) October 27, 2016
If they build a contender, you bet. Derek Bodner and I talked about the fan support a little bit on yesterday’s Sixers Beat. Remember how crazy the 2001 playoff run was? The Sixers are never going to compete with the Eagles in terms of 24/7/365 interest, but if they build a legitimate contender, even one without the unique force of personality A.I. truly was, that arena will be rocking every night.
@rich_hofmann why does Embiid never do a pick and roll or another play with him rolling to the basket?
— omachoomar (@omachoomar) October 27, 2016
He does run some pick-and-rolls, but yes, he’s primarily being utilized in the post. As for why? Well, I’ll try to tackle that subject in a post for tomorrow. How is that for a tease?
(Yes, I’m the worst.)
@rich_hofmann How many more weeks of Okafor/Noel arguments do we have in store for us?
— Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) October 27, 2016
@rich_hofmann Can you play out the Nerlens scenarios? Can he sit out the year and refuse to sign QO? Is a 12/15 deal already in place?
— Marty Teller (@mwteller) October 27, 2016
With Embiid and Jahlil Okafor on the court (even if they’re both on minute limits), Nerlens Noel is by far the biggest question mark looming over this team. Will he get traded this season? Will he even play another game for the Sixers?
To both of those questions, my best guess (key word there) is yes.
As Marty mentioned, the NBA trade season truly kicks off December 15th, the date when players who signed in the offseason become trade eligible. Noel is expected to miss 3-5 weeks, which would put his return to the court slightly ahead of that date. Even if he does sit out until the 15th, I’m skeptical that any team would consider trading for him until they see Noel play in an NBA basketball game.
After voicing his concerns about the frontcourt logjam at media day, Noel underwent elective surgery and will be rehabbing away from the team in Alabama. Brown has recently heard less questions about all of the centers, but the Sixers haven’t solved that situation yet. The controversy just might be pushed back a few months.
If Noel comes back to the rotation, this could be a very awkward situation.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
