To begin the month of March, the Philadelphia 76ers have gotten a lot of help from their bench. The unit received a lot of criticism in February after a tough stretch where the ball just was not moving and it led to a lot of stagnant offensive possessions.
However, to begin March, the bench unit has been terrific averaging 53.3 points per game. No other team is averaging 50 bench points and that is due to the return of Shake Milton who missed some time with an injury and Furkan Korkmaz who has broken out of his slump.
“I’ve always been a big fan of those two guys,” said veteran Danny Green. “When they’re playing well, it’s hard to beat us. I just want them to play their game, be aggressive, not think about it too much. I think there’s times where they’ve been thinking and not actually just playing basketball, and just letting themselves you know be free within the system.”
In four March games, Korkmaz is averaging 15.3 points and he is shooting 48% from deep compared to 7.3 points and 27.8% from deep in February.
Over the @sixers four March games (4-0 record), the team’s bench is averaging an @NBA-best 53.3 points per game. No other team has averaged more than 50.
h/t @nbastats https://t.co/ocXpz3iPnj
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) March 13, 2021
As for Milton, he is averaging 16.5 points and 3.5 assists to begin March as the Sixers want him getting more aggressive going to the basket. He had 18 points in Friday’s win over the Washington Wizards mostly by getting to the basket and being aggressive.
“We’re trying to get him to go downhill,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Shake sometimes lives up to his name if you know what I mean. So what we’re trying to get them to do more is that straight line drive. I thought he did that tonight. It was very effective.”
At the end of the day, the Sixers are going to have to rely on Milton and Korkmaz in order to lead the second unit when it comes to offensive production. They are their two best options when it comes to bench scoring and they need the two of them to remain consistent.
“We’re gonna need that from them for the rest of the season and especially in the playoffs, because right now that’s where we’re kind of struggling,” Green added. “When the second group comes in, it’s not just offensively, but defensively, we can continue to get some stops defensively and then score like that offensively. It’ll make our total more dangerous team, and a much deeper team.”
The Sixers will host the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday as they continue to come together as a team.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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