This is the continuation of a new series by Sixers Wire to pass the time for everybody for the All-Star break. We’re going to take a look back at the 3 goals series from the offseason and see how each player has done in achieving those goals as well as give them a rating on how their season has gone. The rating will be based on a scale of 10 with 10 being how their season has gone based on the goals.
Much like what we did with Glenn Robinson III, we’re going to give Alec Burks his 3 goals for the final stretch run of the season rather than review his season. Burks was acquired with Robinson III from the Golden State Warriors on a deadline day deal and will be looking to give the team help on offense.
With that said, let’s give him 3 goals to help the Sixers succeed:
Provide shooting
Much like Robinson III, Burks was having a terrific season shooting the ball. He shot 37.5% from deep with the Warriors and he was averaging a career-high 16.1 points. Again, he will not average that many points in Philadelphia due to a lesser role so Sixers fans should pump the brakes on what they really expect out of him. What Burks should do is give Philadelphia a shooting and a scoring presence off the bench and be able to get to the foul line to get some easy points.
The Sixers have struggled to find a reliable scoring option off their bench. While Furkan Korkmaz has certainly taken steps forward, he is not a guy who’s going to get to the basket or the line or anything. Burks got to the line 4.7 times in Golden State and if he can continue that in Philadelphia, it will be big for this team.
Provide ball-handling duties
This is probably one of the biggest things that coach Brett Brown will want out of him. He has been trying to make Ben Simmons more of a roller in the pick-and-roll game on offense and Burks’ ability to make plays off the screen will be a big help to this team off the bench.
While Josh Richardson has stepped into that role in the starting lineup, they have not been able to find that guy off the bench. Shake Milton has definitely taken strides forward in that department, Burks is a guy with more experience and he averaged 3.1 assists per game on a bad Warriors team. He should have no trouble doing the same in Philadelphia.
Get defensive
While Burks is projected to be one of the bigger offensive options on this team now, he also has to give something on the defensive end. Raul Neto was the primary backup point guard option for a while, but his inconsistent offense combined with his below-average defense began to push him out of the rotation. Burks has a chance to fill a big role on this team if he can play a little defense and make sure the team doesn’t fall off a cliff on that end of the floor. [lawrence-related id=25936,25916,25910]