Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
The Sixers are back in South Philadelphia! The Sixers played their first home game of the preseason tonight, once again facing off against the Toronto Raptors. Here’s what jumped out to me, Pros and Cons style.
Pro: Everything about Isaiah Joe
Doc Rivers spoke at length pregame about Joe’s impressive training camp and preseason performance. With Matisse Thybulle out tonight nursing some shoulder soreness, Joe received the opportunity to play as part of the regular rotation.
Joe once again showed flashes of his shooting prowess that has made him a dark-horse candidate to crack the rotation. As he’s shown at every level, he is an excellent shooter with a beautiful and lightning-quick trigger. Joe likely won’t challenge Furkan Korkmaz for minutes just yet, but he is of a similar archetype -- and it's one that the Sixers need surrounding Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Joe is not a unitasker, though -- while his frame is suboptimal and he likely needs to add some muscle down the line, his defense is surprisingly effective. He’s an instinctual player who can disrupt passing lanes, and he’s proving that it’s a matter of when, not if he joins the Sixers rotation.
Con: Shake Milton in the starting lineup
Milton got a surprise start in place of Tyrese Maxey tonight, and aside from a few sloppy turnovers, he played an okay game. It was his best performance of the preseason, though that isn’t saying much after his clunker in Toronto earlier this week. Hopefully he can continue to gradually trend towards being the high-level combo guard he once was.
His performance itself wasn’t worthy of being a Con. My issue, however, lies with Milton starting in a lineup that -- I don’t know if you’ve heard -- doesn’t include Ben Simmons. Milton is then tasked with being the primary ball-handler, which is simply a role he is not equipped for. Milton can run the offense in short stints, but handing him the keys would not be a prudent decision.
As a tall guard who can knock down shots, Milton should primarily be used in an off-ball role where his creation duties are much decreased. Shake still can be the kind of useful reserve the Sixers are desperate for in the backcourt. But in order to reach that point, he needs to be reassigned as an off-ball scorer.
Pro: This bench looks significantly better
The Sixers’ bench last season was very much hit-or-miss. Heading into the 2021-22 season, it seems like much greener pastures are ahead for Sixers reserves.
The most pivotal upgrade is at the backup center spot. Dwight Howard had his moments last year and was a funny character, but Andre Drummond -- who I wrote about on Monday night -- is clearly the better player.
Drummond and Howard share some of the same strengths and weaknesses. But Drummond is a better rebounder, more mobile, and less foul-prone. He’s been solid in both preseason games.
Another upgrade has shown itself in the exit of Mike Scott and arrival of Georges Niang. Niang is an excellent shooter who can also move the ball as a connecting piece of the offense. He’s almost certainly going to be in the rotation to start the year, and he should -- his reliability is of massive importance, especially for a team that previously was using a version of Scott that borderlined on unplayable.
Between these two acquisitions, plus the year-to-year growth of young players like Maxey, Milton, Joe, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle, I believe even without Simmons, the Sixers bench could surprise some this season. Famous last words, I know.