February 11, 2016
The all-star break is upon us and the Philadelphia 76ers are through the second of three trimesters that Brett Brown likes to break the season into. At 8-45, the Sixers still have to do a little work over the final third to avoid being the worst team of all-time. With that level of futility, you kind of have to grade on a small curve.
After some serious procrastination from the professor, midterm grades are finally in. Oh, and there will be no extra credit. So without further ado, here are grades for the wings:
Leading this group is someone you might not necessarily expect, the longest-tenured Sixer in terms of on-court time (Nerlens Noel sat out the entire 2013-14 season). The quiet Thompson is a one-trick pony offensively, but that trick is pretty good. Let the world’s foremost Hollis expert tell you all about it:
If Hollis ends the year over 40% from deep, he would be the 6th player in NBA history to shoot 40% on 3's in each of his first 3 seasons.
— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) January 28, 2016
The company Hollis would be joining: Steph Curry, Ben Gordon, Hersey Hawkins, Anthony Morrow, and Klay Thompson. RESPECT HIM, YOU SAVAGES.
— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) January 28, 2016
Thompson probably has a lower ceiling than all of the players here, but for that reason, I believe he has done the best job of raising his floor. At 27 minutes per game in 50 games played, it’s clear that he has earned Brown’s trust.
As I’m currently writing this, Grant has four blocks in a little over 16 minutes of action on my television. Statistically, the defense is worse when he leaves the floor, and there are a lot of things to like about Grant. He’s a jumping jack (11th-highest block rate in the NBA) that consistently plays hard, which has made him one of Brown’s favorite players on the roster. “He has a spirit about him” is how the coach often describes Grant.
There is one problem: 22 percent three-point shooting isn’t coming close to cutting it, especially for a small-ball 4. Grant needs to spend all summer working on his jumper, particularly the corner three.
After a breakout season in 2014-15 that saw him carry a heavy scoring burden at a high level, Covington has regressed offensively. He battled a few injuries at the start of the season and never has been able to get into the type of groove he found last year:
| 2014-15 | 2015-16 | |
| 3P% | 37.4 | 32.6 |
| ORtg | 104 | 92 |
| TOV% | 13.1% | 17.7% |
| WS/48 | .097 | .028 |
He’s rebounding like a legitimate power forward and has continued to force steals at a high rate, but Covington’s inability to build on last year’s offensive success has to be one of the biggest disappointments for the player development staff. I still think there is a valuable player in here on a great contract, but RoCo has to get back to making jump shots at a higher rate.
If this grade were solely for his work on the jumbotron, JaKarr would get an A:
Oh my god keep Jakarr forever @Sixers pic.twitter.com/W8HA5H65jE
— Niko (@NikoReg_) January 5, 2016
I don’t believe Sampson should be viewed as a major disappointment. He’s still a great locker room guy, but over the past three weeks, Sampson has seen his playing time take a big hit. We all know about his defensive prowess, but it’s really hard to play an 18 percent three-point shooter major minutes in today’s NBA.
It was all downhill from the opening Vine for Sauce:
Stauskas’ shooting numbers are pretty much identical to last year’s, which isn’t a good thing. Early in the season, many of his misses weren’t even close, either. For a limited defender like Stauskas to make positive contributions, he needs to be shooting close to or ideally above 40 percent from deep. 32 percent definitely won't get the job done. The Sixers are close to seven points per 100 possessions better when Stauskas leaves the floor.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
