It is pretty clear the Philadelphia 76ers are going to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this year, a presumption highlighted by the fact that they are the only winless team left in the league. At 0-7, things are not going well for Brett Brown’s squad.
This really is not that surprising considering Philly’s roster, which is about as bare bones as it could be. Also, injuries have been plentiful, meaning that star sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams (shoulder) and top 2014 pick Joel Embiid (foot) have yet to play.
Carter-Williams’ absence has allowed Tony Wroten, whom the 76ers picked up last season after he spent his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies, to shine while in the starting lineup at the point. Fantasy points aside, the University of Washington product has scored 18 or more points in all but one of his seven games on the year.
That results in a 21.9 point per game average, to go with 6.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Turnovers (4.4 per) and free-throw shooting (63.8 percent) have been pretty bad categories for him, but a .441/.364 slash line is not that bad for someone who was nothing more than a complementary player for the 76ers last season.
The question presented by Wroten’s hot start is what to do when Carter-Williams returns from his injury, which is probably going to be sooner rather than later. This is the age-old debate on whether to give the incumbent (MCW) his scheduled minutes right away or to keep going to the hot hand (Wroten) who has led Philly thus far.
Brown, in his second year at the helm of the 76ers, will have to make a decision soon, as his point guard could play as soon as Thursday against the Mavericks in Dallas. He will not be nearly at 100 percent game shape so Wroten will likely play a lot more but once Carter-Williams is back into the flow of things, Brown needs to choose.
He could play them together, which would only be problematic because having two almost-pure point guards on the floor at the same time for 30-35 minutes a game may not work well with floor spacing. He could return MCW to the starting lineup and stick Wroten on the bench, mirroring what was the case for much of last season. Or, he could do the reverse and keep Wroten starting.
In the beginning, Carter-Williams will probably come off the bench to get his rhythm back. But, when he does that, I would not be surprised if both guards continued to start at least for a little bit to see if it works. I do not think Wroten would fully supplant Carter-Williams and permanently relegate him to the bench. It will be interesting to see what Brett Brown does.
