The Philadelphia 76ers have always had a decision to make with their backup point guards behind Ben Simmons. They have two capable options in Raul Neto and Trey Burke and coach Brett Brown has to decide on a nightly basis who to roll with.
He explained recently his decision on the backup point guard rotation and why he makes the decisions he does. After rolling with Burke for a little while, he switched up and went back to Neto and Burke has not played much recently.
“It’s really the same conversation,” said Brown Monday morning. “We go Raul, Trey, what does Raul have to do? We all remember four days ago, Raul had 19 points in the first half. You’re not going to play those two guys together. It’s one or the other and it’s true that Trey has value. It’s always that type of decision.”
However, since the 19 points against the Golden State Warriors, Neto has scored one point on 0-for-14 shooting in three games. So it would make sense that Brown would eventually shift back to Burke who has not played any real minutes since January 9. He did not play until the fourth quarter in Monday’s loss to the Miami Heat and by then, the game was already decided.
Eventually, something has to give. Neto is the prototypical Brown point guard who focuses on passing first before looking for his own offense. However, his ineffectiveness on both ends of the floor really begs the question of why Burke has not received a call to play. He can give the team a spark on offense and he brings a different aspect to the floor.
The Sixers will look to get a win on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks to avoid a winless road trip. [lawrence-related id=24935,24922,24912]