After losing Wednesday night to the Milwaukee Bucks 113-100, the Philadelphia 76ers’ record now stands at 1-30. Recently, the 76ers made moves in the front office, coaching staff and now the roster. On Thursday night, the 76ers acquired point guard Ish Smith from the New Orleans Pelicans for two future second round picks, according to Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears.
The Sixers are acquiring guard Ish Smith from the Pelicans for two future second round picks, a source told Yahoo Sports.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 24, 2015
To make room for Smith on the roster, the 76ers released guard Tony Wroten. Spears also noted an hour later that the 76ers offered Wroten in the trade to New Orleans but there was no interest.
With Smith in and Wroten out, it signifies the type of point guard the organization wants. Which is a pass-first, setup the offense, shoot second type of point guard. Wroten did not fit that mold at all but definitely brought excitement to the game.
It was shocking to see the 76ers move on from Wroten, who was one of the biggest proponents of the “Trust the Process” movement. Wroten missed the first month of the season as he was returning from a torn ACL in his right knee. He eventually made his season debut on Dec. 5, against the Denver Nuggets. Against the Nuggets, Wroten scored four points, dished out three assists but had five turnovers in 13 minutes played.
After his season debut, Wroten improved slightly, scoring in double figures against the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and New York Knicks. But also in those games, he had 13 combined turnovers. You cannot win basketball games with your point guard turning the ball over multiple times. It is not a recipe for success.
In three seasons with the 76ers, Wroten averaged 19.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
With Wroten gone, enter Ish Smith, who is the complete opposite as a point guard.
Smith, the five-year veteran out of Wake Forest, spent this season with the New Orleans Pelicans, after signing a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Washington Wizards in the offseason. Smith was then waived by the Wizards before the regular season began.
This season with the Pelicans, Smith averaged 8.9 points, 5.7 assists and only 1.7 turnovers per game. Smith had five games, where he put a double-double. He isn’t a scoring point guard but is showing this season that he can put the ball in the basket. Smith’s best game this season came on Nov. 25 against the Phoenix Suns. Against Phoenix, he had 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, 11 assists and only two turnovers.
Smith should be able to help the 76ers with their turnover problems as they are last in the NBA averaging 18.7 turnovers per game.
But this not Smith’s first stint with the 76ers as he was with the team last season. Last season, he averaged 12.0 points, 6.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 27.1 minutes per game. The 2.8 turnovers per game last season was Smith’s highest number of turnovers in his career but it is expected as he received a lot of playing time.
Smith will be able to step right in and run Brett Brown’s offense with no problem. Just like last season, expect to see him and Nerlens Noel running the pick and roll with ease.
Finally, with Smith now in the fold, what does that mean for the other point guards on the roster?
For Kendall Marshall, T.J. McConnell and Isaiah Canaan, they have to continue to show that they can run the offense and not turn the ball over. Easier said than done, right? Marshall, who is still working himself into game shape, has played in six games (started in five) and averaged 4.8 points, 4.8 assists but 3.2 turnovers per game. Sixers fans should not be alarmed about Marshall’s high number of turnovers as it is a small sample size. We should have a better judgement on Marshall after 20 games.
In terms of McConnell, he has to limit his turnovers as he is averaging 2.4 turnovers per game. The Sixers do not need scoring from him but it helps as he is averaging 6.6 points per game. In the 76ers’ last five games, he has turned the ball over three times in four of those games. Once again, you cannot have that from your point guard on a team that is struggling to take care of the ball.
Lastly, Canaan, who unlike Marshall and McConnell, provides a scorer’s element to the point guard position. This season, Canaan is averaging 10.9 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 26.8 minutes per game.
The issue for Canaan is not the turnovers as in the last five games, he has only turned over the ball three times twice. The issue at hand is scoring. Canaan needs to be more consistent as he is only shooting 35.3 percent from the field. From the three-point line, he is doing okay shooting 36.8 percent. But when it comes to two-point field goal percentage, he is shooting a horrific 31.9 percent. That isn’t good at all and he must improve that aspect of his game to keep himself on the floor.
To wrap-up, Smith should help the 76ers’ offense immensely and hopefully lessen the team’s turnovers. Will his acquisition help the 76ers win 20-30 games? Probably not, but it will help the 76ers get a few more wins and make them look like a more cohesive basketball team on the floor.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
