Sixers Stock Up/Stock Down: Preseason Edition

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

We’re almost halfway through the Sixers preseason schedule, and with the team sitting at 2-1 and dreaming of Atlantic Division preseason championship glory, let’s take a quick look at which players have shined (and which have faded) thus far.

Stock Up

1. T.J. McConnell – The Sixers are 2-0 with McConnell playing, solidifying his status as the missing piece in the championship puzzle. Seriously though, McConnell has played very well while getting backup minutes at the point. His outstanding 41.7 AST% mark leads the team this preseason, he’s held his own on the defensive end (5 steals and a block across two games), and he hit huge shots down the stretch in the way against Brooklyn Saturday. More than anyone, McConnell has gone from a surefire cut, to someone the team will need to take a hard look at if he keeps this level of play going.

2. Isaiah Canaan – I love to rag on Canaan, but for the most part, he’s done a solid job through the first 3 preseason contests. He is second on the team behind McConnell in AST% at 35.3%, boosted by an 8-assist, 0-turnover effort against Brooklyn. Canaan has still shown little ability to penetrate, but he has done a nice job feeding teammates in the post or coming off screens on the perimeter. Of course, the reason he’s a borderline NBA player is the outside shooting, and he’s done a respectable job there as well, hitting 7-20 from three across 3 games. Canaan has more or less locked in his role as opening night starter at the point guard position.

3. Robert Covington – It’s safe to say RoCo has been the unquestioned star of the team at the halfway point for the Sixers. He has easily the best net rating on the team among players who have received substantial minutes at 11.1. As usual, the 3-ball has been a big part of his game, having shot 8-20 from downtown. However, it’s how well-rounded Covington’s game has looked that has me excited. He’s been finding his teammates, with a 22.4 AST% that’s well up from last year’s 9.7 mark. Covington has also been driving more, especially against Brooklyn where he shot 3-4 from the restricted area and got to the line 7 times. Big Shot Bob looks poised for another big leap in his 3rd NBA season.

Stock Down

1. Jahlil Okafor – After a solid debut against Washington, Big Jah has really struggled the last two games. Okafor has been unable to gain good position offensively, which has to led to his trying to force the issue with a lot of wild shots and turnovers. The last two games he’s shot just 5-18 from the field, while his 19.9% TO ratio this preseason has been much too high. It’s obviously much too early to panic, but we might be looking at a situation similar to Nerlens Noel last year, where it takes Okafor a good half a season to really find his footing in this league.

2. Furkan Aldemir – First off, I love the idea of Furkan. He seems like a fun guy and the many pictures out there of Aldemir posing with animals are tremendous.

@DangerGuerrero pic.twitter.com/1bDjMLpgcV

— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) August 5, 2015

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Yet, he’s been awful on the court this preseason. Aldemir has been a foul machine, with 10 fouls in just 42 minutes of game time. He provides no rim protection defensively, and the great stretch Fourkan experiment hasn’t shown any signs of happening, as Aldemir missed his only three point attempt of the preseason against Brooklyn. It’s Year 2 for Furkan and he still shows no discernible NBA skills aside from rebounding. If that continues through the rest of the preseason, it might be time for the Sixers to cut bait and go with a higher upside option.

3. Scottie Wilbekin – It might seem weird to slot Wilbekin here after he hit the game-winning three-pointer against Cleveland, but it’s pretty clear where he stands in the pecking order right now. Even in that Cavaliers game, he only received less than 3 minutes of playing time, and he never got in the game against Brooklyn. Brett Brown and the coaching staff aren’t liking something about what the former Gator is bringing to the table. With McConnell playing well, it looks like Wilbekin’s chances of filling the emergency point guard role are dwindling.

The Sixers are back in action tonight at Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. We’ll see if these trends continue or any new ones emerge with just a handful of games left before the roster is solidified.