Post#948 » by tk76 » Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:14 pm
The Sixers are fortunate to have quick thinking, high natural BBIQ stars in Ben and JoJo. But other than Dario, all of their other role players tend to make bad mistakes when pushed out of their comfort zone (except Redick, who is likely is gone soon.) Saric is really growing into his tougher Kukoc role as a high level complementary player who fills multiple roles.
Look at all of the roles Saric is filling on this team (at only 23):
1. Shooter, cutter and secondary playmaker with the starters. On paper Saric appeared a poor fit with the starters. but he is so versatile and smart... and he continues to grow as a shooter. Now you have to wonder if they still should switch him to 6th man long term. Especially given Cov has such a low BBIQ when he tries to create. They need Cov's defensive versatility, but you have to hide him offensively by having someone like Saric out there who is making the right decisions when the ball swings.
2. Steps into Embiid's offensive role when he sits. This seems odd, given their athletic profiles, but Saric thrives as a passer/scorer in the post who also steps out and hits above the break 3's. Saric also can give you some minutes as a positional defender at the 5, but obviously offers zero rim protection.
3. Partly steps into Ben's point forward role when playing alongside TJ. You saw more of this the second half of last year, and I think with time Saric will be more aggressive as a creator as he adapts to his physical limitations and picks his spots.
4. Fills in as the team's designated shooter when he has a hot night. Saric is not a pure shooter, and is streaky... but he is also smart and not a chucker. So another part of his game that will just continue to grow. He can really become a killer offensive player once teams fear his jumper and he starts attacking off of close outs. He is just such an elite passer and has PG instincts in terms of knowing how passes can break down an overstretched defense. You see this with the quick decisions he makes, and will be magnified once he feels more comfortable creating off the dribble like he did in his youth.
5. Energy/hustle guy. Guys like Saric and TJ can really turn the momentum of a game as well as help maintain an edge game in and game out. Fortunately, Embiid leads in this regard like a lot of the true greats (AI, Westbrook, KG, Kobe, MJ all had that infectious intensity that Embiid exudes.)
Saric does have room for growth. I think he can learn to draw fouls (which is typically a Euro strength, but maybe he did not play enough soccer growing up?) I also think his positional defense is solid, and could grow into a strength. Physically, he will never be a plus defender at any position... but he has enough size/strength/mobility to be a versatile team defender who can at least switch between multiple positions without killing your defense. And obviously he needs to continue to gain consistency as a shooter. But his shot is looking so much more compact- which leads to consistency because there are less moving parts that can go awry.