Philadelphia 76ers: Marial Shayok needs to ball out against the Rockets

Marial Shayok’s chance to ball out has finally come, Philadelphia 76ers fans.

For the first time in the NBA bubble, Marial Shayok took the court for the Philadelphia 76ers in their Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

That’s right, despite the previous six games holding very little weight on the team’s future, as their playoff ticket was already punched and their seeding was more or less set too, Brett Brown opted against giving some much-needed run to his least experienced player, a move that now looks rather silly in hindsight.

Were the results amazing? No. In a little over 10 minutes of action, Shayok committed as many personal fouls (three) as he scored points while rounding out his stat line with a block, a turnover, and a pair of rebounds, but for the first time since February 7th, the former second-round pick out of Iowa State took an NBA court. For a player lauded for his G-League performances this season, and justifiably so, getting him some run against actual NBA defenses should have been a priority, especially since he’ll likely be joining the Sixers this fall on a shiny new four-year deal.

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Well, with their seed officially locked and the schedule of the first round of the NBA playoffs already posted, Shayok may very well get his chance to shine in the Sixers’ final game of the regular season against the Houston Rockets.

I mean hey, why not, right? While Coach Brown may give his starters a little run in the first half – even though that is a terrible, terrible, ‘worst idea ever’ idea – it’s hard to imagine Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, or Josh Ricardson seeing more than a handful of minutes against the Russell Westbrook-less Rockets. The same too could be said for crucial bench reserves like Alec Burks and (the still injured) Glenn Robinson III, who will likely take on a bigger role in Monday Night’s Game 1 against the Boston Celtics.

That leaves players like Raul Neto, Norvel Pelle, Kyle O’Quinn, and yes, Shayok with one final chance to showcase their skills in an extended look before being pushed into an emergency role this time next week.

And for Shayok, this matters more than most.

It’s not hyperbole to call Shayok the most impressive player in the G-League. He averaged 22.4 points per game on 18.8 shots, and held one of the highest usage rates of any player regardless of team or situation. He routinely outscored first-round talents, part-time NBA players, and veteran journeymen, and looked like the best player on a team that also featured a former 16th overall pick (Zhaire Smith) and a future playoff starter (Shake Milton).

Shayok was so good with the Delaware Blue Coats that Connor Johnson, his team’s head coach, would often run his (and the Sixers’) offense through the 25-year-old rookie, leading some (me) to label the Ottawa native ‘The Poutine Mamba’ for Kobe Bryant-esque usage. If he can roll that role over to the NBA, then yeah, the Sixers may be set their next great sixth man coming off the bench, but if not, Shayok may find himself with the dubious distinction of being an ‘AAAA player’ a backhanded compliment that dooms professional baseball players who just can’t translate their AAA dominance to the Big Show.

Will an admittedly pointless game really do much to define Shayok’s future either way? Eh, probably not unless it’s really good or really bad, but leaving fans with a good taste in their mouths could go a long way to cementing the former Cyclone as a viable player in the minds of fans in the 215.

No pressure, right?

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For better or worse, Marial Shayok will probably double his career NBA minutes in the team’s contest against the Houston Rockets. While some will argue that Brett Brown has seriously bungled a golden opportunity to give his youngsters a chance to check their stuff against actual NBA players, and he totally has in this writer’s humble opinion, a monster game by Shayok will put an exclamation mark on an otherwise ugly Philadelphia 76ers season marred by weird fits, poor play, and even more injuries. Buckle up folks, Shayok SZN is approaching for one night only.