It is never easy to play without your best players and that is what the Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with at the moment. They are missing Ben Simmons at the point guard spot who is one of the more dynamic players in the league regardless of position.
So whoever fills that position has huge shoes to fill and that’s exactly what Shake Milton has done.
After scoring 20 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, he put up 19 points in a 115-106 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday. He shot 6-for-7 from the floor and he was a perfect 5-for-5 from deep as he showed off a lot of his skill package.
“His fearlessness on the floor,” said Tobias Harris. “Shake’s a really good player, but he has the confidence in himself and his game to go out night after night and just play. He goes out there, he plays, he makes shots, he’s improved his 3-point shot, so any time we see him open we try and get him the ball.”
Speaking of trying to get him the ball, when a guy makes all five of his 3-point attempts, he should get more looks and Harris acknowledged this mistake.
“I didn’t know he was 5-for-5,” he said with a smile. “If I knew that, I would’ve tried to get him a couple more shots from three, but he’s been shooting it really well. He puts in a lot of work, he works really hard, so I’m happy for him. Every time he gets an opportunity he takes advantage of it. Tonight he was huge for us.”
Tobias Harris praises Shake Milton after a big night #Sixers pic.twitter.com/AK8Yn8skGZ
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) February 28, 2020
Milton will face a stiffer test in the team’s upcoming 4-game west coast road trip starting on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Facing off against a guy like Patrick Beverley is a lot different than facing off with a guy like Elfrid Payton. It will be interesting to see how he responds. [lawrence-related id=26674,26662,26655]