The Philadelphia 76ers are about to embark on a season full of changes and full of hope and optimism. Led by Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, they will certainly be one of the better teams in the league, but for them to truly take the next step, others will need to step up.
One of those other players is Shake Milton who is expected to fill a role as the team’s 6th Man. In Tuesday’s preseason win over the Boston Celtics, Milton hopped off the bench and he poured in 19 points and he made it really look easy out there.
“It’s huge especially when I’m out [of] the game and he’s running the point,” said Ben Simmons. “He’s able to take over and get buckets, get everybody in line, and the experience he’s had been in the bubble and then starting later in the season, he’s been great. He just keeps getting better and better which is great for us.”
For Rivers, this is a good start for him to realize that he can turn to somebody off his bench and feel comfortable about throwing them out there. Milton has been something that he can count on, but he’s not doing anything wild. He’s just being Shake Milton.
“He was great and that’s what we need from him,” Rivers said. “We need him to be Shake every night. I tell him, literally every day ‘Be Shake, be Shake’. Probably I’ve said that 15 times already. I thought tonight he did that, he’s very comfortable, and controlled, he didn’t force a lot of shots. It was fantastic.”
There has been a history of great 6th Men under coach Doc Rivers, such as Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams, but at the end of the day, Milton just wants one thing and that is to win basketball games.
“I want to win,” Milton said. “Whether that be me coming off the bench or me starting, it doesn’t really matter. I just like to play a part in winning. Coming off the bench definitely has its perks. Obviously, everyone wants to start and stuff like that, but coming off the bench can definitely be a good thing.”
For the moment, he has found a role of coming off the bench and if he can be able to fill that role to the best of his ability, then it will be a big difference for a Sixers team that is in need of somebody to come off the bench and contribute. [lawrence-related id=40256,40248,40245]