In the NBA, there is so much talent on every team that is can be hard to really nail down a rotation without overlooking anybody. The Philadelphia 76ers may have done that with Shake Milton.
The Sixers had to call upon the second-year guard out of SMU to start in place of the injured Ben Simmons and he has responded in a big way. After scoring a career-high 39 points in Sunday’s 136-130 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on the road, he is now averaging 26 points per game over the first three games since Simmons has been hurt.
At the All-Star break, coach Brett Brown had to decide what to do with his team. They had just acquired Alec Burks to provide some offense off the bench and then Josh Richardson also played a part in the backup point guard duties. That, understandably, left no room for Milton and Brown explained it to him.
“I put myself in a very private setting for about three to four days, and I lay all my paperwork and stuff on the table and spread out for about 72 hours to figure out what life looks like post-All-Star break and the run home,” Brown said on Sunday. “You sit down and you speak to every single player and very clearly that ‘this is your role’. My discussion with Shake is ‘You’re not playing. You’re not in the rotation. I’m going with Alec, I’m going with J-Rich, and Ben Simmons and you have to stay ready. This is your role so that we are nice and clear’.”
Upon hearing that news, Milton was understandably dejected. Of course, every player wants to play, but he also had to understand the role he was in on this team. There is a lot of talent ahead of him, he just needed to stay ready and that is exactly what he has done during his time since the break.
“It definitely sucked, everybody wants to play, everybody wants to be in the rotation all the time,” he explained. “I just control what I can control and I need to just keep putting in the work. So when an opportunity presented itself, I can be ready.”
Milton is also making NBA history. He tied an NBA record by making 13 consecutive 3-pointers to help the Sixers stay in the game on Sunday. He has gone 16-for-20 from deep over the previous three games as he has become a reliable player for this team despite hearing the bad news.
“For him to hear that and learn that life changes and things happen, he’s clearly ready,” Brown added. “It’s a credit to Tyler Lashbrook who is his development coach and deserves a lot of credit for keeping him on track. During his G League duties, he comes in and sits on a bench and swings a towel, and now it’s March, he’s the starting point guard on a pretty good team and just had 39 points on national television against a candidate to win the NBA championship. It’s all true and it’s one hell of a story.”
The road does not get any easier for Milton and the Sixers. They go from one championship contender to another in the form of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. [lawrence-related id=26908,26900,26891]