Philadelphia 76ers: Shake Milton is still here too, you know

Boy oh Boy, what a game for Tyrese Maxey.

In his fourth game paired up with James Harden, the second-year pro out of Kentucky turned in one of the best games of his career, banking 10 of his 15 shots from the field, 5-6 from beyond the arc, all the while rounding out his blue-chip night with five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.

After watching his backcourt get into foul trouble early, Maxey put the team on his back and scored a game-high 14 points in the third quarter alone while helping to trim an eight-point lead down to two in a little under 10 minutes of action.

But, for how great Tyrese Maxey played in front of the 20,000 fans assembled at the Wells Fargo Center, he wasn’t the only guard drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers who balled out in the team’s 125-119 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. No, after logging just 6:37 minutes against the New York Knicks after their first of two back-to-back games, Shake Milton played a pivotal role in the fourth-straight win of the James Harden era.

Shake Milton is working his way into the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation is rapidly coming into focus.

Sure, the frontcourt minutes distribution will change a bit once DeAndre Jordan comes to town, with Paul Millsap either headed to the bench or to the power forward spot, but when the playoffs roll around, it would appear the Sixers’ starting lineup will be joined by a backup center, Danny Green, Georges Niang, and potentially one more frontcourt player who can hopefully catch-and-shoot the ball.

For the longest time, that player appeared to be Furkan Korkmaz, who averaged the sixth-most minutes of any player on the team in the pre-James Harden era, but since “The Beard” arrived and even before, the “Turkish Delight” has consistently struggled to put points on the board.

Since missing two games at the beginning of February, Korkmaz averaged 5.2 points and 1.3 assists per game over the past 10 games, versus 9.0 points and 2.4 assists over the previous 45 games. Is it possible that Kork is simply in his second cold patch of the season? Or could this be indicative of a bigger problem that could keep him on the bench come playoff time?

Either way, since Harden’s arrival, Kork’s shot has been almost non-existent; literally, he made just one shot from the field since the Sixers returned from the All-Star break, and it didn’t even come in the 19 minutes he has shared the court with Harden.

Fun fact: Did you know Harden and Korkmaz have a Net Rating of -9.5? That is both the worst two-man pairing featuring Harden on the team and his only two-man lineup with a negative rating (min two minutes of action). That’s… not so good.

The pairing of Harden and Shake Milton, however, has been very efficient, with a Net Rating of 24.1, an assist percentage of 64.3, and a rebound percentage of 52.8, which ranks first on the team among “The Beard’s” two-man lineups. Theoretically, this makes a ton of sense, as, like Tyrese Maxey, Milton is a combo guard who can both get his own shot and benefit from a well-placed assist. When Harden gets doubled or needs a possession off, having a player like Milton who can handle the ball, drive to the basket, and either score an easy two or kick it back out for an open 3 is incredibly valuable.

Can Korkmaz do that too? Sure, “Point Kork” has been fun as Furk to watch at times this season, but Milton is just a different level player as a scorer, driver, and playmaker. While Milton hasn’t quite found his shot so far this season, potentially due to a back injury that robbed him of most of January, Korkmaz hasn’t exactly hit many 3s on the season either, as he’s well below the NBA’s Mendoza line too.

With his playing time waning since the arrival of Korkmaz, don’t be surprised if Doc Rivers is actually considering a change to his rotation, with Milton playing more and Korkmaz serving as moral support on the bench. Considering how well Harden and Milton have played together so far this season, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it.

Shake Milton has long been one of the Philadelphia 76ers’ most polarizing players. Since his prolific pre-Covid run came to a screeching halt due to the association’s suspension of play in March of 2020, Milton has looked great one game and then unplayable the next, with very little consistency in-between. If James Harden can work his magic and even out the highs and lows in Milton’s game, well, then the Sixers might just have that last rotation piece they need to make waves in the playoffs and finally break that second-round glass ceiling.