The 76ers’ sneaky advantage comes to the fore as Jared McCain finally returns to the mix

Their night may have been spoiled by a furious comeback from the hosts that led the Philadelphia 76ers to just their second loss this season, but fans shouldn’t lose any sleep over this. An essential part of their positive outlook, despite the crisis in the fourth quarter, is the fact that Jared McCain finally made his long-awaited return of an injury.

After missing almost an entire calendar year, McCain made a successful return against the Chicago Bulls. In the fifteen minutes he was playing, he looked quite rusty, as expected. He went scoreless, missing all four of his field goal attempts and both of his three-point attempts, although he did score a pair of assists. It was an unremarkable performance, but that is far from the most important thing on this course.

McCain’s return not only gives the 76ers another talented guard to add to their already radioactive backcourt of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, but it will also provide the coaching staff with some much-needed relief when it comes to dealing with the minutes of the aforementioned players, especially Maxey and Edgecombe.

Thanks to Jared McCain, the 76ers can now reduce the minutes of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe

Maxey is currently averaging 42 minutes per outing, while Edgecombe is seeing the hardwood 38.8 minutes per game. And as you may have already concluded, they are both first and second respectively among all players, in minutes per game.

Sooner or later, Nick Nurse will have to change that attitude – and McCain will certainly encourage him to do just that.

Between McCain and Grimes, the 76ers have a pair of starting-caliber guards who are more than good enough to pick up some of the minutes currently earmarked for both Maxey and Edgecombe. As long as the sophomore remains healthy, there is literally no reason for the coaching staff to continue feeding those two with eye-watering amounts of court time, which obviously increases the risk of injury and burnout.

Depth in the backcourt is perhaps this team’s biggest advantage over their opponents on a nightly basis, and it will be up to the coaching staff to capitalize on that advantage and better manage those minutes. After all, this team is all too familiar with injuries resulting from boys’ adultery.

Jared McCain is so talented that with a few more burns on the hardwood with his teammates he should be able to shake off the rust. And once he gets his mojo back, 76ers fans will enjoy even more the abundance of talent the team has in the backcourt.