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Philadelphia 76ers: Seth Curry does what T.J. McConnell don’t

By Matty Breisch

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for life after T.J. McConnell, could their perfect backup point guard be 28-year-old Splash (literal) Brother Seth Curry?

As the Philadelphia 76ers transition into the 2019-20 season, the team’s roster is in dire need of a facelift.

Sure, most people will point to the fact that three of the team’s five starters from last season are scheduled to hit free agency, but how the team chooses to address their forthcoming absences well tell volumes about the team’s forthcoming ceiling. The Sixers also have basically their entire bench hitting the open market this July, with no guarantees of who will come back in and what role.

While one could argue that some players’ futures have already all but been decided by their playing time, or lack thereof, in the playoffs, like fan favorite small ball point guard T.J. McConnell, the team still has to replace these players with viable alternatives; upgrades if wherever possible.

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Enter now-former Portland Trail Blazers‘ backup point guard Seth Curry.

For those who slept through Golden State‘s four-game sweep of the Blazers, Curry may not be a household name other than, you know, sharing a last name with one of the most popular players in the league (Steph), but despite the designation of being Dell‘s other son, Seth still has a skill set that virtually every team in the NBA needs: deep ball accuracy.

A career 43.9 percent shooter from 3, Curry finally received a chance to play serious minutes in this his fifth season in the NBA, and at 28-years-old, it’s safe to say he ran with the opportunity.

Brandishing a solid stat line in the regular season of 7.9 points, .9 assists, 1.7 rebounds and a slightly depressed line in the postseason (5.8, .8, 1.6), Curry played very well as the Blazers’ third guard off the bench, at times spelling both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum at either guard position.

Really, do I even need to say more as to why the Sixers should be interested in his services?

I mean pretty much all season the Sixers were looking for an offensive answer to their backcourt scoring problems, with only one guard on the team shooting 3s at even a reasonable clip (J.J. Redick).

Things got so dire that come playoff time, Brett Brown largely bypassed his backcourt entirely and shrunk his bench down to feature only one player shorter than 6-foot-6 (Redick again).

No matter how you slice it, that trend can’t continue into 2019-20.

While Curry is far from a three-level scorer that can step in right away and become the Sixers’ answer to James Harden, a player they initially thought they drafted in Markelle Fultz (I digress), Seth can certainly shoot the ball at an impressive clip as a guard, and provide some much-needed parody and optionality for Brett Brown when constructing sets.

Furthermore, while Seth doesn’t share his brother’s gifts as a passer or ball-handler, younger Curry can still be used effectively as a small ball point guard, a role they’ll need to fill if the ill-fitting McConnell leaves town for a better situation.

Though no one can knock McConnell’s heart, effort, or willingness to pick up full-court, he’s much more of a playmaker than a scorer, and really can’t play effectively without the ball in his hands. Factor in the 27-year-old’s inconsistencies as a defender when facing off against more athletic lead guards (which is most of them) and McConnell has quickly found himself a man without a role.

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If the Sixers were to swap McConnell out for a similarly sized guard with almost the exact opposite skill set (i.e. basically a small shooting guard), it would without a doubt make the team better, and allow Brown to craft even more potent formations that rely more consistently on his team’s strengths. Simply put: Seth Curry does what T.J. McConnell don’t, and that should be music to Philadelphia 76ers fans’ ears when July 1st rolls around.