Philadelphia 76ers: Passing on Ben McLemore already looks like a mistake

If Furkan Korkmaz keeps playing like he has in the Philadelphia 76ers’ last two wins over the OKC Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, Doc Rivers’ playoff rotation appears more or less set.

I mean, think about it, the team already has one of the better, high-usage starting fives in the NBA, a pair of impressive young bench guards in Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle, a veteran point in George Hill, and two rotational bigs who could see alternating action depending on the matchup in Dwight Howard and Mike Scott. Toss in a knockdown outside catch-and-shooter who doesn’t need many dribbles to get the job done, and suddenly, the Sixers look downright potent.

But what if Korkmaz’s hot streak is just that, and he turns back into a pumpkin after his Cinderella run? What then do the Sixers do when they need additional firepower coming off the bench? Simply play Scott, Hill, and Milton a few minutes more? Hope “BBall” Paul Reed convinces Doc Rivers he’s a player and then subsequently recaptures his G-League form with the big club.

*sigh* the decision to pass on a Ben McLemore reunion already looks like a mistake for Daryl Morey and company.

The Philadelphia 76ers can never have enough Ben McLemores.

More from Section 215

If you’ve only watched Ben McLemore play with the Houston Rockets during the Victor Oladipo-era, you may not be particularly surprised that he was waived by the club mid-season without much fanfare.

In 29 games of action – plus nine more DNPs – McLemore only averaged 7.1 points in 16.8 minutes of action a night, all the while hitting 34 percent of his shots from the field and 30.2 percent from beyond the arc. McLemore at times looked disinterested, unengaged, and just generally bummed out by the fact that his team’s title hopes had migrated East on a one-way ticket to Brooklyn.

For a player known as a 3-and-D wing, McLemore wasn’t doing either particularly well when his number was called, making the Rockets’ decision to shift their attention to playing youngsters like Kevin Porter Jr and Jae’Sean Tate rather obvious.

For McLemore, the Rockets’ decision wasn’t particularly groundbreaking. The former Kansas Jayhawk was already on his third NBA team in seven seasons and has been moved multiple times For one reason or another. After turning in a solid enough showing as a shooting specialist alongside James Harden one season prior, McLemore was a borderline lock to latch on somewhere in time to play for the playoffs; he’d just need to settle into the right organization where his talents could be on full display.

Thus far, Los Angeles looks like all of that and then some.

Now I know the sample size is relatively small, and the Lakers are missing most of their best players. Still, McLemore has already recaptured his pre-Harden trade form, picking up 17 points in only his second game with the Lakers, despite having to learn a new scheme on very little notice. Playing off of Alex Caruso, Dennis Schroder, and fellow midseason acquisition Andre Drummond, McLemore drained 5-10 from beyond the arc, brought in a rebound, and even recorded a steal in only 22 minutes of action. While McLemore’s second-half workload may have been ever so slightly inflated due to Schroder’s ejection, it’s beyond encouraging to see the former Lottery pick show out when given the opportunity.

Now, again, if Furkan Korkmaz can continue to shine as a second unit 3-and-D winger alongside Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, Mike Scott, Dwight Howard, and eventually, George Hill, adding a player like McLemore becomes incredibly superfluous, but can we really count on that to happen? Korkmaz has hit 0-9 points in 25 games in 2020-21 versus 20 games in double digits and can get really out of wack if his shots stop falling and he starts to over-dribble.

If that happens, who do the Sixers turn to next? Their quintet of rookie performers and two-way contract players have primarily been relied on to play in garbage time and back-to-backs, while the team’s 15th man, Anthony Tolliver, is only signed to a 10-day contract and isn’t even available to play in the postseason. Having a player like McLemore at least would have given the team yet another option to turn to if need be, which is now an option the team can no longer afford.

Next. Be aggressive, be be aggressive. dark

So Furkan Korkmaz, please let this hot streak be more of a leveling up, as the Philadelphia 76ers are flying loose without a parachute and only have so many options to turn to if you can keep up this current clip. If that happens, and Ben McLemore continues to play well, Daryl Morey’s decision to pass on his services will look rather questionable, to say the least.