Philadelphia 76ers: The long road to Shake Milton 39 point game

The injuries of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have the Philadelphia 76ers searching for new heroes and it looks like they have found one in Shake Milton.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been able to win without Joel Embiid before, but they faced a different beast playing without Ben Simmons.

The Sixers have struggled to find a backup for Simmons, but if the game against the LA Clippers says anything, it says they can count on Shake Milton.

Milton dropped 39 points in the game Sunday. He had a coming-out party on the National TV stage.

Milton was drafted out of SMU in the second round 54th overall in the 2018 NBA draft. At SMU, Milton had to spend three years developing his game. In his final season, he averaged 18.0 points per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the 3 point line.

Like most second-round picks he was not able to play in the NBA right out of the gate. He had to hone his skills in the G League. He showed his ability in the minor NBA league.

For his G League career, he averaged 24.2 points per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from the 3 point line.

Milton has shown the ability to shoot efficiently at all levels. In the game against the Clippers, he took it to another level as the NBA requires you to do. Milton made 70.0 percent of his field goals while making seven of his nine threes. He shot 77.8 percent from the 3 point line.

Milton is a complete change of pace from Simmons. Simmons doesn’t threaten you with his ability to shoot. Milton, on the other hand, is a straight-up sniper as his Twitter handle suggests.

Milton can shoot the three of the dribble, off a screen and has a stop and pop mid-range game. The Sixers were looking for depth coming off their bench, and it looks like they have found it in Milton when Simmons comes back.

Milton has shown flashes of another former Sixers second-round pick. His name is Lou Williams. Williams has a similar game where he can get hot at any time and shoot lights out.

Williams has been able to make a name for himself even though he was drafted in the second round, and Milton looks to be on his way with the Philadelphia 76ers.