Alec Burks made a strong case for an increased role during the Sixers‘ three scrimmages, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Burks continued his impressive play Tuesday, posting 15 points and seven assists in a loss to the Mavericks.
Burks averaged just 20.2 minutes per night in 11 games after being acquired from the Warriors at the trade deadline. Bodner notes that Burks’ ability to handle the ball gives the Sixers more flexibility in how they use Ben Simmons.
“I think that what we’re seeing is he’s got an innate gift to score. He can create his shots all by himself,” coach Brett Brown said after Tuesday’s game. “I didn’t play Ben in the second half. (Burks) had to assume a lot on that point guard responsibility, given that I didn’t really want to extend Shake’s (Milton) minutes. I thought he did that well and we learned a bunch of things from the minutes that he played.”
There’s more Sixers news to pass along:
- Joel Embiid, who is dealing with tightness in his right calf, sat out his second straight scrimmage, Bodner adds in the same piece, but Brown expects the star center to be ready Saturday when the Sixers play their first reseeding game. “I am always sort of receiving news from our medical staff,” Brown said, “but that is my expectation.” Glenn Robinson III, who has a left hip pointer, and Raul Neto, who is experiencing discomfort in his lower back, were also held out of the scrimmage.
- Simmons’ switch to power forward has been a hot topic of discussion in Orlando, but he insists he’ll play the same way regardless of position, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. The move was made to keep Milton in the starting lineup, while shifting veteran big man Al Horford to a reserve role. “I haven’t really been looking at the position,” Simmons said. “When I’m put in different situations, I’m able to succeed. These past two (scrimmages), I’ve been doing well. I can always do better. There’s a lot I need to work on. Overall, I’m getting that flow back and I’m feeling really good.”
- Bodner and Rich Hofman of The Athletic examine the new starting lineup and assess the Sixers’ chances of making a long playoff run in Orlando.
With so much talents 76ers have a chance to win the East
76ers would save around 90 million dollars if they completely dump Horford salary offseason
I am very interested in this
Cool story, bro. They’ve been such a successful franchise, their last championship season 1983.
Man get a life & please stop with your hatred.
BTW BOS has been irrelevant since 1987… so what are you harping all about? SMH
Didn’t the Celtics win a title in 2008?
Celts have 17 championship banners, last one in 2008. Learn to read.
All year long, I said get Alec Burks, Sixers problems would be mostly solved (for the money), and… it’s taken a long time but they’re getting there. Now Embiid is squirrelly for whatever reason, so I can’t say #1 EC, but, maybe #3.
Shake Milton emerged, which makes for the problem you want. I would rather have him than the more famous Kendrick Nunn, Delon Wright, Devontae Graham or any that emergent group.
Probably is will BB stick to using a rookie on the playoffs? He admitted this much himself that he doesn’t like using them in the playoffs. So will he keep this lineup when it comes time or change it again and ruin the consistency? He’s the wild card on this team. Horford is still a question mark for me. He was brought here for the playoffs and so Embiid can stop calling him daddy.