There are a few issues the Philadelphia 76ers must address as the 2019-20 season gets set to resume in the league’s “bubble site” set for Disney World in Orlando. One of those issues who does the team decide to start in place of veteran Al Horford.
The Sixers brought in Horford on a 4-year $109 million deal in the summer of 2019 with the vision that he and Joel Embiid would morph into a fearsome tandem down low. The vision worked on defense as Philadelphia has become a very good defensive team with the two of them down low. On offense? Not so much.
That has led coach Brett Brown to tinker with the lineup and he actually benched Horford in a game before the All-Star break. With the league set to resume, the question now becomes who should the Sixers start in his place?
The popular options have been Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle. Both players offer different needs for the team and they will be very important to this upcoming postseason run.
Case for Milton
Milton brings what the team needs on the offensive end, which is a deadeye shooter. He is actually shooting a scorching 45.3% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game and he was shooting a ridiculous 60.4% from deep in the final nine games heading into the league suspension including a 7-for-9 from deep performance against the Los Angeles Clippers where he tied an NBA 3-point record on March 1.
On top of that, Milton is shooting 44.2% on catch and shoot 3-pointers per NBA Stats and his ability to take a pass from Ben Simmons and knock down that shot efficiently would be welcomed for this team. His ball-handling ability will be very important for this team as well as Philadelphia continues to experiment with Simmons off the ball on offense.
Case for Thybulle
Thybulle is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league already. His defensive instincts and his ability to play the passing lanes is terrific and it’s something to behold. His 1.4 steals per game average in only 19.7 minutes per game is mind-boggling and his 80 total steals lead this entire rookie class. He also has 40 blocks which is fifth in his class this season. A trio of Thybulle, Simmons, and Josh Richardson would cause opponents to have nightmares on offense.
The issue with the rangy rookie is his lack of a consistent jumper. From October 23 through November 25, he shot 32.1% from deep. From November 27 through December 21, he shot a scorching 56.4% from deep. He then followed that up by shooting only 25.3% from deep leading into the league suspension. For a starting unit so predicated on floor spacing to have any success, that is a number that would worry Brown.
Final verdict
The Sixers should roll with Milton if they are going to bring Horford off the bench. That type of shooting and playmaking that Milton can offer is invaluable for this team, specifically. His ability to knock down the open looks and run a pick-and-roll with Simmons is going to be key during this upcoming playoff run. [lawrence-related id=33331,33324,33318]