This is the beginning of a new series by Sixers Wire to pass the time for everybody for the All-Star break. We’re going to take a look back at the 3 goals series from the offseason and see how each player has done in achieving those goals as well as give them a rating on how their season has gone. The rating will be based on a scale of 10 with 10 being how their season has gone based on the goals.
Friday midday’s edition is focusing on Raul Neto who was brought in to help run the offense off the bench in the offseason on a veteran’s minimum deal. Neto has had his moments, but at this current point in time, he has been pushed to the far end of the bench with the emergence of Shake Milton and the new additions.
We now review Neto’s season based on the goals we laid out for him in the offseason:
Leading the second unit
Neto is the prototypical Brown point guard in the sense that he is a pass-first type of guard with an outside shot. He is not the most athletic nor is he the best defender or anything and that has hurt him with the recent roster changes. Guys like Milton, Josh Richardson, and now Alec Burks can handle the ball and they are also helpful on the other end of the floor so Neto no longer really has a role.
In terms of what he has done on the season, he’s averaging 3.9 points and 1.5 assists while shooting 38.1% from deep on the season. His highlight of the year was scoring 19 points in the first half of a win over the Golden State Warriors and he had some solid run for a bit off the bench after that.
Holding off Trey Burke
The Sixers also brought in Burke in the offseason to compete for backup point guard minutes. Clearly, Neto has won the “tournament” as Burke is now no longer with the team in order to create space for the new additions. In this case, Neto has achieved that goal in a big way. He just no longer is really playing any minutes.
Bringing spacing
This is another area where Neto has succeeded with this group. His 38.1% shooting from deep has been very helpful, especially for this team. He only attempts 1.4 3-pointers per game, but when he does get an open look, he normally knocks them down. It’s on the other end of the floor where he has his issues and that’s why he has not played much recently after averaging 14.3 minutes in games from January 17 through February 3.
Overall, this has been a season you’d expect from Neto. He will hit free agency at the end of the season and will most likely not be coming back to the Sixers considering they now have other options.
Rating: 5/10 [lawrence-related id=25760,25742,25754]