In the second leg of a back-to-back, the Philadelphia 76ers eventually lost steam and lost a close game to the visiting Detroit Pistons, who fell to 6-4 on the season. With Joel Embiid out for scheduled rest, the team’s main gunners simply couldn’t get enough buckets to lead them to victory, with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combining for just 12 of their 33 attempts.
However, the bigger storyline of this game – at least for 76ers fans – is the fact that Jared McCain suited up, albeit barely. The coaching staff thought it best to reserve him for the second night of their back-to-back set, which was sensible. Unfortunately, he prowled the field for just under nine minutes of gameplay.
To make matters even more confusing, Nick Nurse called Eric Gordon’s number before his own. Although the 18-year veteran ultimately played just six minutes, that decision was disapproved by many fans – and rightly so.
After all, that bizarre choice could indicate that something is not quite right for the young guard.
76ers may have just hinted that Jared McCain isn’t ready for real rotation minutes yet
As in his season debut, McCain went scoreless, missing all three of his shots. But that being said, this level of rusty play from McCain is to be expected. After all, he missed almost an entire calendar year while recovering from his torn meniscus and a thumb injury.
However, if the coaching staff isn’t ready to give him significant playing time even with Gordon playing for him, then that could mean McCain isn’t as prepared as fans think when it comes to handling the minutes he’s expected to.
For now, the 76ers have more than enough ammunition to wait for McCain to get his mojo back, but if he’s really ready to start soaking up those minutes, the coaching staff needs to force him to take the field more often than he has or there’s something fishy going on regarding his liquidation.
Hopefully this is just an overreaction, because there is simply no way that a 36-year-old Eric Gordon, who should already be out of the league, gets on the hardwood first before Jared McCain, who the 76ers strongly believe is part of their core moving forward.
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