The Philadelphia 76ers have really been struggling lately, which… last win over the Nets all the more important for the sake of their sanity. While the game somehow caused the team to be hit by the injury bug again, there are still some good takeaways from this outing, especially when it comes to Jared McCain.
Playing in just his ninth game back from a pair of injuries that sidelined him for almost an entire calendar year, McCain delivered what was definitely his best performance yet this season. He finished the night with 20 points, four rebounds and five steals while converting seven of his 16 field goal attempts and four of his three-point attempts off the bench to boost the 76ers toward an NBA Cup victory. Even though they had already been eliminated beforehand, it was still a victory for their record.
Receiving much more playing time thanks to the gaping hole in the backcourt left by VJ Edgecombe, who has missed the last three games with a minor calf injury, McCain has played inspired basketball ever since. Slowly but surely, he is returning to his pre-injury form, and this development, without even realizing it, is itself a big statement to the 76ers.
Jared McCain is sending a powerful message to the 76ers without even realizing it
As long as McCain keeps this up – with his production coming in the context of having actual reps on the hardwood showing the likelihood of that happening – there should be no more reason for Nick Nurse and the coaching staff to milk Tyrese Maxey and, more importantly, VJ Edgecombe when he returns.
Edgecombe has averaged 37.3 minutes per appearance, which is second in the entire league, behind only Maxey. However, his drop in efficiency has become apparent in recent weeks, and it is likely that this is a result of him slowly becoming burned out from the baptism of fire he has been gifted with.
Clearly this is anything but a matter of caution, and his recent setback with his calf is already a sign they can’t ignore. And with McCain looking more than ready to take on his role as stabilizer off the bench, it would be malpractice to continue to give Edgecombe such a sky-high dose of minutes to his detriment.
McCain is clearly someone who does much better when he stays on the ground. While the 76ers don’t need to give him starting minutes, he should consistently play above 20 minutes on a nightly basis – and that’s while he’s still finding his feet.
Hopefully, this expected resurgence of Jared McCain will be taken as a useful tidbit by the coaching staff so they can finally put an end to overloading their core backcourt before it’s too late.
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