Philadelphia 76ers: Dario Saric is the perfect sixth man

This offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers made several changes to sure up their starting lineup. With all of those changes, Dario Saric may have to come off the bench, but that might not be a bad thing.

After years of waiting for Dario Saric to make the jump to the NBA, he finally made his debut last season. At first coming off of the bench, Saric was able to play in short spurts without being completely overwhelmed. It wasn’t until Joel Embiid went down with a knee injury that Saric would be thrust into the starting lineup every day.

He took his opportunity and ran with it, eventually making his case for NBA Rookie of the Year by averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the season. These numbers don’t jump off the page, but they show that Saric was able to successfully transition to a completely different style of basketball.

With new players throughout the roster, the Sixers will have to make a tough decision and shift Saric back to the bench. While putting Saric back on the bench after an impressive run in the starting lineup may be seen as a punishment, it is better for the team in the long run.

The additions of Markelle Fultz and J.J. Redick are sure to play a large role this season, and neither of them are going to be coming off of the bench. Couple that with a healthy Embiid and the debut of Ben Simmons, and that leaves only one starting spot.

With Simmons playing power forward but acting as the point guard, the starting lineup would be better off with a good shooter occupying the small forward position. Since Robert Covington is a superior shooter along with the fact Saric is a more natural power forward, Covington should get the nod to start.

With a year of NBA experience under his belt, Saric can use what he learned this past year to improve his craft as a top sixth man in the league. There are so many different ways to use Saric off the bench. Whether it be going with a “big lineup” and using him at power forward and Simmons at point guard, or using him as a power forward with the range in crunch time.

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The Sixers are beginning to have an embarrassment of riches. Dario Saric is a good player, and bringing him off the bench doesn’t mean he isn’t good enough to start. Spreading a team’s best players throughout the rotation is how you win basketball games, and using Dario Saric as the sixth man will help the Sixers win games this season.