The 2021-22 NBA season is still young. The Philadelphia 76ers have only played seven games and they have gotten off to a good start at 5-2 amid a lot of adversity to begin the season.
They are still working through the Ben Simmons situation while also trying to build chemistry and be the championship contender they expect to be. They have also been dealing with some injuries as well and that has been tough to go through as well.
Shake Milton, for example, missed the first four games of the season with an ankle sprain, and that caused some disruption to Philadelphia’s rotations. Since his return, Milton has given the Sixers a spark off the bench and he has connected with new big man Andre Drummond for a couple of lobs and the bench unit has had success.
“It’s fun,” said Milton on Wednesday. “He’s definitely easy to play with. He sets screens, he’s big, and he’s fast too so he’s able to get behind the defender and it makes my job easy because he puts so much pressure on the rim.”
On top of Milton throwing him lobs, Drummond has been able to make an impact passing the ball as well. The big man is averaging 2.5 assists off the bench and he had seven assists with zero turnovers in Monday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I’ve seen it since preseason,” Milton smiled. “If you’re cutting, he’s looking to hit you so he’s skilled and he can see the floor. He’s got a really good feel for the game. Every cut you make has to be a live cut because that ball could be coming.”
Milton and Drummond played key roles in Monday’s win. With the Sixers missing Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris and then losing Danny Green midway through the third quarter, that was an impressive win for them to get the job done despite being so shorthanded.
“I think that’s been our motto the whole preseason and this season, too, just next man up,” said Milton. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup. As long as we’re staying strong in our principles and being very detailed about what we do, I think we have a good chance to win every time we step on the floor.”
The Sixers will be shorthanded again on Wednesday when they take on the Chicago Bulls where they will be missing Harris and Green in this one.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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