Philadelphia 76ers: Richaun Holmes needs more minutes

Richaun Holmes has played some of the best basketball of his career for the Philadelphia 76ers over the last four games. Here’s why he needs more minutes

After failing to find a consistent spot in head coach Brett Brown‘s rotation over the first two months of the season, Richaun Holmes, aka Catch 22, aka the Rich Homie, has really come into his own over the Philadelphia 76ers recent stretch of games.

Holmes, one of the best finds of the process era, came to the Sixers as a second-round pick out of Bowling Green. A two-time Mac All-Defensive player and the 2015 Mac Defensive Player of the Year, many talent evaluators wondered how well Holmes’ game would translate to the pro level, being a bit undersized to play center and not having the desired athleticism of a starting power forward, but then-general manager Sam Hinkie saw potential in the 6-foot-9 forward and selected him 37h overall in the 2015 NBA draft.

And this otherwise menial investment has paid major dividends for the Sixers over the past few seasons.

After showcasing his still-developing skillset in his first season with the team, and again in the summer league, Holmes emerged during his sophomore campaign as a legitimate contender for the 76ers backup center position, with a skill set that mirrored Joel Embiid in the number of ways.

While considered a raw offensive player in college, Holmes has developed into a solid all-around score, which when paired with his athletic, full-court defense help to make the decision to move on from former sixth overall selection Nerlens Noel and third overall selection Jahlil Okafor much easier for the Sixers brass.

But even after showing immense potential during the previous season, Holmes has struggled to find consistent playing time over the first two months of the 2017-2018 season, often getting minutes behind veteran acquisition Amir Johnson and recent addition Trevor Booker. This, however, changed when Robert Covington, another process prize, hurt his back during the 76ers blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and would remain inactive for the foreseeable future.

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Though Holmes didn’t exactly replace Covington in the rotation per say, Brown started utilizing Dario Saric at small forward and gave Holmes a chance to play some power forward alongside Embiid.

And the results have been great.

Over the said four-game stretch, Holmes saw his average minutes-per-game increase from 12 to almost 26 and went on to average over 13-points and 7-rebounds against some of the best teams in the NBA, easily the best stretch of games in his still young career.

These games have shown us that Holmes deserves more playing time, both as a foil to Embiid and as a compliment. His ability to lock down opposing defenders, three-through-five, is incredibly useful in the modern game and could make Holmes an ideal late-game defender in tight contests, especially against teams like the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors.

Furthermore, his consistent improvement personifies a player who’s constantly working on honing his craft, while also having a noticeable upside that Johnson and Booker simply do not possess.

Next: Trevor Booker has made an instant impact with the depleted Sixers

When Covington eventually returns from his injury and the Sixers roster finally returns to some form of normalcy, granted still without first overall pick Markelle Fultz, it will be interesting to see if Holmes returns to his role as third-string center, or if his recent game film has determined that he deserves a bigger role in the Sixers rotation moving forward