CAMDEN, N.J. — As the Philadelphia 76ers leave another second-round playoff exit behind them and move forward, they will need Georges Niang to step up. Specifically, they need him to be in the playoffs the player he was in the regular season.
Niang was a good free-agent addition. He shot 40.3% from deep in the regular season and then 66.7% from deep in the first round. But he shot only 16% from deep in the second round.
Niang was dealing with a knee injury toward the end of the season and that may have affected him in the playoffs.
“Obviously, my left knee had been bothering me toward the end of the year and then into the playoffs and that’s something that we’re going to address with imaging and see what’s going on there,” Niang explained.
The good thing is, he doesn’t believe it’s something that will require surgery.
“I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it’s something I need to get under and then take care of, so that I can be 100%,” Niang added. “It wouldn’t be fair to my teammates if my health isn’t something that I’m taking care of over the offseason to get back and be better for next year.”
Niang was a terrific piece off the bench or next to Joel Embiid and James Harden as a guy always ready to catch and shoot. The biggest offseason issue for him is to work on other parts of his game. He will be a big part of this team for the immediate future, so he has to be able to add more to his game.
“The biggest thing is just contributing in the small ways, whether it’s rebounding or defending and, obviously, this series, the lack of shot making is something that needs to be better on my end,” Niang finished. “I think that’s something you got to look in the mirror, and I’ll do that over the next week or so and draw out a plan of how can I can be better and help this team grow in the future.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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