Philadelphia 76ers: Could Marial Shayok be the missing piece?
The Philadelphia 76ers have lost three straight games and are lacking bench scoring. Could Marial Shayok be the answer to spark the bench?
Philadelphia 76ers’ fans are obviously passionate; they rally as the team wins big games, but also may overreact from time to time as the team loses.
The past few days have been full of three straight losses to the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, and Dallas Mavericks. In these games, the Sixers bench got drastically outscored by opposing team benches.
Fans are urging the team to look at free-agent options such as Jamal Crawford and J.R. Smith, however, there is one name who is dominating the G-league. Marial Shayok has consistently overpowered opposing defenders, en route to his G-league second best 24.1 points per game average.
More from Philadelphia 76ers
- 3 Reasons the 76ers Should Poach Blake Griffin From the Celtics
- 3 Most Overpaid 76ers Heading Into the 2023 Season
- Ranking Daryl Morey’s 3 Biggest Mistakes with 76ers
- 3 Teams Crazy Enough to Trade for James Harden
- James Harden Putting Career in Jeopardy With Holdout Threat
The crazy part? Shayok missed about a week of games and still stands atop the G-League best scorers.
The Delaware Blue Coats have surged to a 10-4 record, winning five-straight games going into the Christmas break. Boasting a shooting clip of 46/35/90, Shayok has made a name for himself in the minor leagues.
That leads to the pressing question…
Should the Sixers Give Him a Shot?
Should they? Yes, definitely.
Will they? No chance.
We already saw Shayok suit up for Philadelphia as Josh Richardson missed some time with a hamstring injury. He did not see a single minute on the floor, however, it was certainly a step in the right direction.
Philadelphia is in need of a scorer of the bench. Shayok fits that mold, but quite frankly, it does not make much sense. His two-way contract essentially makes him a “sixteenth” play for the 76ers. This only allows him to see up to 45 days on the NBA roster.
Shayok should definitely see some minutes later in the season, comparable to Norvel Pelle’s usage so far this season. There is no need to rush it, as the 6-foor-5 swingman seemingly has the perfect combination of speed and strength and finds his way to the rack with relative ease in the G-League.
Utilize him with caution, and save him for a real rainy day (i.e the Richardson injury).
Next. The Philadelphia 76ers just can’t get in the zone… literally. dark
Let his development happen, and don’t rush him to the league. His energy will impact the Sixers’ roster before we know it.