After becoming an impact piece for the Philadelphia Sixers during his rookie season, Jared McCain’s career took an extended hiatus due to injury; first a torn meniscus that ended his first year in the league, then a torn UCL in his thumb that caused him to miss the start of the current season.
Still, he is establishing himself as a vital part of the organization going forward, strengthening the young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe from the bench. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case since returning to the court, as he’s struggled in limited minutes and hasn’t looked like the player we saw in his rookie campaign (although his last performance against the Miami Heat was more than encouraging).
Last year in 23 games, he averaged 15.3 points and 2.6 assists while shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc on nearly six attempts per game. He’s only played 89 minutes since returning, but in those minutes he’s sporting a rather abysmal shooting percentage of 39 percent, making just 10 of his 35 shots.
His struggles highlight a bigger problem for the 76ers, not just this season but for the foreseeable future: guard depth.
The 76ers desperately need an end to Jared McCain’s sophomore slump
Through 16 games, Maxey comfortably sits atop the NBA minutes per game with a whopping 40.5 minutes. It’s been almost a decade since a player finished a season with more than 38.0 MPG (James Harden’s 38.1 in 2015-2016) let alone 40.
However, it was 40 minutes per game that Maxey needed; he is currently second in the NBA with 33 points per game, taking 23.4 shots per game, while still maintaining an impressive 61.5 percent shooting percentage.
Most recently in an overtime win over the Bucks, Maxey clocked just under 47 minutes of game action, filling the stat sheet with 54 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks while finishing a +18 in a nine-point win.
It’s safe to say that the 76ers need every bit of those 40 minutes per game that Maxey puts in, and for now, he appears to be up to the task. And what superstar player (yes, he is a superstar) doesn’t lead his team within minutes? So what’s the problem here?
Well, if you take a quick trip from the first slot in the minutes per game leader board, where Maxey sits, to… the second slot, you’ll find Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe at 37.3 minutes.
It’s troubling to say the least, but also understandable when you consider what Philadelphia’s backup guard options were like before McCain returned from injury: Quentin Grimes – great, 39-year-old Kyle Lowry – not great, 36-year-old Eric Gordon – really not great, and a two-way rookie named Hunter Sallis who may or may not exist.
For the current season, it’s easy to ask Maxey and Edgecombe to leave it all on the field. In fact, it could be a challenge they look forward to, especially with Maxey playing at an MVP level and Edgecombe competing for some rookie-related hardware. But what happens when the offseason arrives and the Sixers are inevitably priced out of the Quentin-Grimes lottery, leaving Jared McCain and a pile of dust where Kyle Lowry once stood as Philadelphia’s only backup guards.
What’s happening is trouble: careers turned into what-ifs by Tom Thibodeau’s rotations, stars (one in particular represented by Klutch Sports) asking teams for more help, and the franchise descending into a basketball hell where they’ll become neighbors with the Brooklyn Nets.
Is that going to happen? Probably not, but everyone would certainly feel a lot better if Jared McCain returned to his rookie year, budding breakout, or at least something resembling it.
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