Philadelphia 76ers: Get well soon, J.J. Redick

After losing two close games due to ineffective fourth-quarter shooting, the Philadelphia 76ers could really use their best shooter, J.J. Redick, back asap.

Man, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ shooters are cold.

While the team’s production from three-point range has never been as prolific as, say the Golden State Warriors, Brett Brown‘s squad has made a serious point of surrounding their dynamic duo, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embid, arguably league’s best young one-two punch, with outside shooters who can open up interior lanes, but when their shots aren’t falling, oh boy, can things get ugly.

And I don’t think the team has looked worse from outside than on their recent trip to Wisconsin.

In the Sixers’ second game of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks, this time with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcolm Brogdon in the starting five, the team only connected on two of their 26 shots attempted from outside the arch, good for an abysmal seven percent completion rate.

Seven percent.

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Even though the team went into halftime only down by two, an impressive feat without a single made three, their lack of an effective deep ball ultimately came back to haunt them going into the fourth quarter and resulted in yet another double-digit loss for the 76ers, their second in as many games.

Now, some may chock this loss up to yet another game without Embiid, who ultimately was inactive after much speculation following the OKC game, but this loss was 100 percent on the team’s shooter’s shoulders. If the 76ers would have even made a quarter of their attempted threes, way below the leagues’ 35 percent average, it could have been an easy win, but unfortunately, this simply wasn’t the team’s night.

While Robert Covington once again struggled to find the basket, a consistent issue since he returned from his December back injury, he more than made up for his offensive inefficiency by going one-of-one against legitimate MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo for much of the even.

Though Antetokounmpo still got his, finishing the night with 31 points and 18 rebounds, Covington mitigated what could have been an easy 50 point game from the Greek Freak into something that the 76ers could have overcome.

But they didn’t, and yet again, the team’s lack of NBA experience was on full display in the second half.

While Justin Anderson once again shined as a reserve at shooting guard, scoring 10 points in 24 minutes of action, the combination of Dario Saric and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot only connected on nine of their 26 attempted shots, whiling missing all twelve of their three-point shots.

Ouch.

The Sixers are in serious need of a professional, veteran shooter to calm down their young core in a tight game, and maintain that killer instinct in the waning minutes of a tight game.

Which brings us to J.J. Redick.

Now much has been written about the emergence of Luwawu-Cabarrot as a legitimate force at the two-guard, but on a team as young as the 76ers, one cannot overstate just how much Redick brings to the table, from his almost 18 points a game to his 40 percent shooting, as the former Dukie has proven himself to be one of the league’s best pure shooters over his 11 year NBA career.

While there’s no way of knowing if Redick’s presence over the last seven games would have resulted in any more wins, there’s no doubt that adding an outside sharpshooter couldn’t have hurt.

Honestly, the team could use two a pair of Redick’s caliber shooters, but at this point, the former Blue Devils’ triumphant return to their starting five with the All-Star game, and NBA trade deadline looming just over the horizon will be a welcomed addition to a team desperate for points.

If the team can continue to play high caliber basketball in Redick’s absence, and through his eventual return, it could be the final straw to convince Bryan Colangelo and the Sixers front office to go all in on this season, and bring in another legitimate, NBA-caliber shooter finally push the team over the edge in their eventual playoff push, but the team will have to keep up the intensity, and remain competitive regardless of who’s on the court.

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Though Redick’s only on a one year deal, he’s already expressed interest in finishing off his career in the City of Brotherly Love, surrounded by young, ascending talents like Embiid, Simmons, and Saric, but that all could change if the team can’t continue to make strides both on and off the court. While the Bucks’ game was definitely winnable, it only highlights that the 76ers aren’t there yet, and need to take one more step away to go from NBA basement to marquee attraction. And hopefully, Redick sticks around for the ride.