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Every once in a while, a young guy fights through a lot of adversity and he becomes a major part of a team’s rotation and their success. For the 2019-20 version of the Philadelphia 76ers, that guy was Shake Milton.
Milton was expected to take on a much bigger role this season as the Sixers needed to find some shooting, but one could not expect him to become a starter for them in the playoffs. He fought through an early-season injury and some time in the G League to become an important part of this Sixers team.
2019-20 season averages
9.4 points
2.6 assists
2.2 rebounds
48.4% overall percentage
43.0% from deep
Milton was very much a part of this rotation in the early going before suffering an ankle injury in the third game of the season and that sent him to the G League as Philadelphia had found their rotation a little bit. Then, injuries to Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons opened up a big opportunity for him.
When Richardson went down on January 22, Milton was in the starting lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers in the next game and he was a regular starter from there up until the league suspension. He shot a ridiculous 51.2% from deep during those final 20 games including an impressive game of 39 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on the road.
In the bubble, the Sixers turned to Milton to officially run things at the point guard spot and move Simmons over to the power forward. After an initially tough start, Milton turned it around and he was a solid and clutch contributor.
In the playoffs, it was definitely a learning experience for the second-year guard. He had a tough time against Celtics star Kemba Walker and he had his issues with decision making, but he averaged 14.5 points and he was the one Sixer who shot the ball well shooting 40% from deep in the series. He did not get rattled in the playoffs and that is something he can build on for 2020-21. [lawrence-related id=37422,37419,37416]