Philadelphia 76ers: Is Shake Milton’s best long-term fit at shooting guard?

Is a position change in order for the Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff PG?

Shake Milton is, like, really good at basketball.

Was he perfect in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Round 1 series against the Boston Celtics? No, I’d actually venture to say Milton’s play was rather underwhelming versus the sky-high expectations many had going into the NBA Bubble, but objectively, what more could you have asked for from a 22-year-old second-round pick on the first year of a rookie minimum contract? A 40-12 double-double? Come on man, that’s not Milton’s style.

While Brett Brown‘s decision to insert Milton into his starting five in place of Ben Simmons served as a minor stroke of genius for a head coach grasping at straws for any tangible difference-maker, it was always a rather unusual decision. Why? Because Milton isn’t really a point guard, not in the NBA at least.

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Now before you protest, yes, I know Milton played point guard for Larry Brown/Tim Jankovich at SMU. Yes, I know those teams were pretty darn good with Milton at the helm, averaging 24 wins per season, and even made an appearance in March Madness as an 11th seed in 2017, but that more has to do with Milton’s scoring ability than his distribution skills. Even in his best season at Southern Methodist, Milton only averaged 4.5 assists per game in 35.4 minutes of action.

Fun fact: Ben Simmons averaged more assists in his lone season at LSU, 4.8, than Shake Milton did in 2015-16, 2016-17, or 2017-18 despite playing power forward alongside starting guards Tim Quarterman and Antonio Blankney.

At the NBA level, Milton’s inability to facilitate auxiliary offense has been on full display over his final 31 games of action. Despite having the ball in his hands more often than not when on the court, Milton didn’t record a single double-digit assist game, with his high watermark (eight) coming in an August 8th win over the Orlando Magic.

That isn’t really a bad thing per se, as the Sixers have only had one double-digit disher since February 20th – weirdly enough, in a near-triple-double by Kyle O’Quinn – but when your starting point guard is throwing bricks to a starving Joel Embiid in the paint, it’s going to be near impossible to keep an offense purring like a finely tuned machine.

So, with the winds of change descending on the City of Brotherly Love for an unprecedented fall offseason, maybe the Sixers shouldn’t continue to push round pegs into square holes. That clearly didn’t work in 2019-20 and is a big reason why the franchise is straddled with a bloated salary cap and very little hope for the future. No, if the Philadelphia 76ers are smart, they’ll put their young, ascending talents in the best possible position to succeed, and for Shake Milton, that means a position change.

That’s right; maybe Milton isn’t an old-school point guard after all but a modern-day NBA shooting guard.

Woah, what a crazy assertion. It’s not like Milton isn’t already listed as a shooting guard by everyone from Pro-Basketball-Reference to 2k20 and even the Philadelphia 76ers’ darn website for crying out loud.

Yes, I know that. Personally, I thought the concept of Milton continuing on as a point guard died an ugly, irreversible death during the 2019 NBA Summer League, but you put up 39 on the Clippers in a flippin’ loss, and suddenly everyone thinks the Sixers have found the next Allen Iverson.

For the record, Milton isn’t A.I. He’s a solid scorer and holds the rare distinction of being able to create his own shot from literally anywhere on the court – a rare feat for the 2019-20 Sixers – but where Milton really shines is as a shooter from beyond the arc.

After putting up less than ideal numbers in 20 mostly garbage time games in 2018-19, Milton came alive from beyond the arc as arguably Philadelphia’s best outside shooter – knocking down 43 percent of his 3.4 attempts a game.

Now that number is certainly impressive, but what’s even more impressive is Milton’s shooting percentage from beyond the arc without a single dribble. According to the NBA’s advanced statistics, Milton knocked down 43.5 percent of his 2.7 3 pointers per game off zero dribbles, a number that drops to 35.7 off one dribble, and 33.3 on two dribbles. Granted, that number rises back up to 42.9 on shots taken off three-to-six dribbles but that accounts for roughly .2 attempts per game.

What does this all mean? Well, much like Embiid, Milton could really benefit from having another player run the show offensively.

Shifted into a secondary playmaking role behind Simmons or an external addition like Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Terry Rozier, or Patty Mills – maybe both – Milton could shine in a la Landry Shamet, Furkan Korkmaz, or even J.J. Redick as a shooter while providing whoever is holding the clipboard with an auxiliary passing option off the wings.

Milton’s average-at-best defense would similarly be improved by kicking over to an off-ball role in favor of a more traditional point guard (or Simmons), as his 6-foot-5 frame is big enough to match up against the less imposing of any most team’s backcourt guard. And hey, if the Sixers play a team like the Portland Trail Blazers with two imposing guards measuring in at 6-foot-3 or shorter, there’s always Matisse Thybulle coming off the bench to stop the bleeding.

Look, attempting to dissect what the Philadelphia 76ers are going to do in 2021 without knowing who will be the head coach, in the front office, or literally on the darn team is a fool’s errand. For all we know, the Sixers may trade half the team away in favor of a total rebuild, or trade Josh Richardson to the Clippers for Ty Lue disciple Patrick Beverly. But assuming he’s still around, it’s safe to say Shake Milton’s days running point should probably be behind him. If a guard looks like a shooting guard, plays like a shooting guard, and shoots like a shooting guard, playing them anywhere else is just goofy.