Sixers Best BREAKOUT Candidate…

Sixers Best BREAKOUT Candidate…

So, one of the biggest mysteries heading into the Sixers season is who will start at the fourth position. I think it’s going to be UB due to continuity. I think Nick Nurse is going to go with that. But I wanted to see if Trendan Watford and Jabari Walker are capable of putting up production if they get a chance to start. And honestly, I was really impressed with Trendan Watford. Based on the production and the numbers, it seems like he has the capability of being a starter. That being said, I didn’t watch the game, so maybe he’s just putting up empty numbers and the eye test tells a different story. It turns out he started 30 games. Now, the thing is this was mostly early in his NBA career when he was with Portland. 27 of those 30 games were in Portland. And he ended up averaging 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field, and 35% from three as a starter. in that 30ame stretch. It also included four double doubles with points and rebounds. Last season, he averaged a career-high 20 minutes per game with Brooklyn. I wanted to know what his production looked like when he was getting Gershon type minutes. So, Yabu averaged 27 minutes per game with the Sixers and Watford last season, he only got 27 minutes or more seven times. He ended up averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 53% from the field and 43% from three when he got extended run. One thing I’m going to be keeping a close eye on is his rebounding because he has two games in this sevename stretch where he only grabbed one rebound. And I’m going to be real with his athletic ability, his size and length, he’s got to be grabbing more than one rebound on any given night. At least get me three. It just seems like he can go invisible in that category because as I mentioned, he’s a double double threat. But there are games where you look at the stats and he’ll end up with like two rebounds. Like what are we doing here? Overall, it seems like he’s going to be bringing more dynamic scoring to the starting lineup and also some playmaking ability at a spot where the Sixers usually don’t get any playmaking. But let me tell you, if you want a guy who’s gonna rebound that basketball, the Sixers actually do have an option on their roster, aka Jabari Walker. Over his short NBA career, he has started in 24 games. And get this, he has averaged 9.3 points, but 9.3 rebounds per game as a starter. One assists as well, but he shot 39% from the field and 30% from three in those games. Now, the odd thing about his recent season is he only played 12.5 minutes per game. The year before that, he averaged 23.6 minutes per game for the Blazers and played in 72 games. I think one of his issues in terms of getting lost in the shuffle is obviously his three-point shooting. Very, very inconsistent, but at the same time, he’s not very flashy. It’s very possible to watch a game and not even notice he’s on the court. I wanted to see what his numbers looked like when he got 20 minutes or more last season. It happened in 12 games and he ended up averaging 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. He also shot 56.5% from the field during the stretch, which is a huge upgrade over his 39% in his 24 games that he started over his career. Also notice the 40% from three, but that is very deceiving if you dig deep into the stats because he had one game where he went off. He went berserk against the Celtics. He had six three-pointers randomly. You take that one game away, in 11 games, he was shooting 25% from three. So once again, you can’t really rely on his three-point shot. It seems like it has improved. And in the season where he got more consistent run, the shot was way more consistent. So it’s pretty unpredictable. Well, who knows? He can come to the Sixers. He could have a career year from deep. Maybe he’s been working on it a ton because if he does improve in that aspect, he he’s so valuable because he can rebound that basketball. He hustles and tries defensively. Seems to know where to be as well. But his rebounding is special. Over his three-year career per 36 since he hasn’t really gotten consistent run every single year. He’s averaged 10 rebounds per game per 36. And I mentioned Watford kind of disappears in terms of rebounding. Well, Jabari Walker disappears in the points category. He’ll have games where he has five points, two points, five points when he gets above 20 minutes. I think it’s good that they are kind of different players because each and every game usually is kind of a different style. Sometimes it’s, you know, it’s a grind defensively and I think a guy like Jabari can really fit into that style. But meanwhile, if it’s a high-scoring game, insert Trendan Watford and he can do his thing. I just enjoy that they aren’t identical players. It feels like most role players during the process era have just been catch and shoot players offensively. And I’d say Jabari Walker fits into that to that mold, but definitely brings more offensive rebounding than other role players in the past. However, Trenan Watford is like the complete opposite. He really just brings a different dynamic. And I think that’s why I’ve kind of been like, “Oh, can he really start?” Because I’m not used to having a player like him. Also, in the back of my brain, I’m just like, “Why was Brooklyn not playing him more?” Or maybe that was because they weren’t really trying to win. So, just for fun, I decided to look into Dominic Barlo. Over his three seasons, he’s only averaged 12.4 minutes per game. With Atlanta last year, he only averaged 10.7 minutes per game. So, I wanted to see what his stats were like when he got 15 minutes or more. It happened 11 times. And for Atlanta, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 57% from the field, and 28% from three. You can tell through the numbers, he’s really good at play finishing. You see multiple games where he’s four of six from the field, three of four, five of eight, six of nine, four of six again. So, you can tell most of his buckets are coming off the gravity of others and most of these shooting opportunities will be layups or dunks at the rim. Once again, I will say the goal for him is to play the KJ Bonan role, but give the Sixers a little more size in doing so. Considering the minutes, those are super productive numbers from Barlo. I wanted to take a look at his per 36. So, last season with Atlanta, 14.2 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per 36. the year before that with San Antonio, 12.3 points, 9.7 rebounds per game per 36. So, it seems when he has gotten more minutes throughout his NBA career, he has produced at a solid role player level. As the offseason has gone on, I I feel more comfortable with the power forward spot. I wish we had a clear starter, but with the situation the Sixers are in, there wasn’t a ton of flexibility due to them, you know, signing Paul George last off season and just not having many tradable contracts on the roster that will get you anything. I wish they had the capability of trading for a guy like John Collins without giving up Paul George, but that just wasn’t possible. They didn’t have the matching contracts to do so. And then early in the offseason, I really wanted Trey Lyles. I still think he would be a good addition, but after talking with Trill Bro dude, after going over these statistics, I definitely feel Trendan Watford has way more upside than a Trey Lyles signing. Same goes for Jabari Walker. And think about this. If somehow everyone’s relatively healthy, Paul George and Joel Embiid along with Maxi, they will take care of the scoring. And as we went over in this video, based on the stats, they have shown that they can impact the game in the points category, the rebounding category, and a guy like Watford can even impact in the assist category. It seems like they have the potential to do the little things very, very well. And it’s also a situation where if they don’t do anything, who cares? They’re on cheap, cheap contracts for NBA standards. Definitely will be interesting to see where these three players are at in the rotation next year. I think the only guarantee is that Watford will get playing time. Walker and Barlo are extremely unpredictable considering they’re on two-way contracts. That’s all I got. Let me know your thoughts below in the comments section.

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