RealGM

Milton mania
For his career, Shaquille O'Neal shot 58.3 percent on 2-point attempts. That's an impressive number. It just happens to look a bit small compared to this one: over his past nine games, Philadelphia 76ers guard Shake Milton is shooting 60.4 percent... on 3-pointers. That's right, when the NBA shut down, Shake Milton was a safer bet from behind the arc than Shaq was within it.

Now, was that sustainable? Absolutely not. But it's not like Milton was a one-trick pony. Across that nine-game stretch, he averaged 17.8 points per game on 57.4 percent from the field as Philadelphia's starting point guard. Not many specialists can do this:

The elephant in the room here is that other 76ers point guard. Ben Simmons played a grand total of four minutes and 44 seconds during Milton mania. Had the season continued unabated, we would have gotten a far greater sample of Milton on his own, but when the season picks up at Disney, Simmons is going to be healthy enough to play.


That poses a problem, because, in the admittedly limited 476-possession sample available, the 76ers were terrible offensively with Simmons and Milton on the floor together. They scored a paltry 104.2 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass, and the most used five-man lineup that the two of them shared was limited to only 86.8. Again, we're dealing with very little data here, and if Milton can shoot anywhere near as well with Simmons as he did without him, the two are going to fit together beautifully.

But Simmons' absence created a star. Philadelphia's offense functioned far more cleanly with that star than it ever did with Simmons, as the 76ers scored an absolutely staggering 121.9 points per 100 possessions when Milton played without his more famous teammate. Simmons' playoff issues are well-known. The 76ers are not going to win a championship with him planted in the dunker's spot. How long a leash will Brett Brown give Simmons before turning the offense back over to Milton? Can the two find any sort of chemistry together? The Milton-Simmons debate that didn't exist until nine games ago is going to define Philly's postseason, and if Milton plays well enough, potentially its entire future.

M2J wrote:I've definitely thought Shake should be there starter. He's got the size to be less of a defensive liability, and probably a bit more handles and playmaking than Seth, ability to finish around the basket, while still having great shooting ability.

But, I will be happy with which ever performs better in the starting lineup. I think there is enough of a role for both to be satisfied though. We'll see who finishes

LloydFree wrote:

M2J wrote:I've definitely thought Shake should be there starter. He's got the size to be less of a defensive liability, and probably a bit more handles and playmaking than Seth, ability to finish around the basket, while still having great shooting ability.

But, I will be happy with which ever performs better in the starting lineup. I think there is enough of a role for both to be satisfied though. We'll see who finishes

The tweet is misleading. It made it seem as if Doc said he's now starting, but he didn't. He said he switches up combos daily and today Shake ran with the 1st group. Considering Danny Green hasn't played at all, it's a huge assumption that Shake is starting.

LloydFree wrote:

M2J wrote:I've definitely thought Shake should be there starter. He's got the size to be less of a defensive liability, and probably a bit more handles and playmaking than Seth, ability to finish around the basket, while still having great shooting ability.

But, I will be happy with which ever performs better in the starting lineup. I think there is enough of a role for both to be satisfied though. We'll see who finishes

The tweet is misleading. It made it seem as if Doc said he's now starting, but he didn't. He said he switches up combos daily and today Shake ran with the 1st group. Considering Danny Green hasn't played at all, it's a huge assumption that Shake is starting.

Sixerscan wrote:Re that clip, the last 9 games were wild. #2 offense and #28 defense over that stretch. Just a completely different team than the rest of the year.

LloydFree wrote:I think Shake Milton's evolution could have the biggest impact on the team's ceiling going forward. Every year teams have guys that nobody considered, breakout and change the trajectory of their teams. I have a feeling Shake is going to be one of the breakout players in the league this season.