Evaluating The Philadelphia 76ers Point Guard Conundrum

Contrary to popular belief, the Philadelphia 76ers point guard situation isn’t quite the dumpster fire it’s portrayed it to be. Sure, it became easy to label it as such after the Sixers dealt reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams during the 2015 All-Star break and consequently entered a revolving door of marginal talent and 10-day contracts.

But between a duo of returning Sixers matched by a pair of offseason acquisitions, the point guard situation at hand in Philadelphia will surprisingly have its fair share of depth and competition.

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Although the starting job is anything but set in stone, the nod will quite likely be given to Philly’s soon-to-be third year combo guard, Tony Wroten, upon his return from a partially torn ACL; at least initially.

Known much more for his paint-penetrating prowess than setting his teammates up, Wroten isn’t exactly considered your stereotypical floor general, even in today’s NBA, where bulk-scoring guards reign supreme. But this isn’t to indicate that Wroten is incapable of producing as a point guard, by any means.

Something to consider: Wroten handled the starting point guard duties in eight of his 30 games last season, which came due to Carter-Williams’ injuries. In those eight outings, Wroten compiled 22.5 points per game, along with 6.8 assists, and although it’s a staggeringly small sample size, the numbers nearly rival Stephen Curry’s 2012-13 averages of 22.9 points and 6.9 assists.

Of course, ball security and efficiency is crucial when orchestrating an offense, and Wroten’s 1.45 assist-to-turnover ratio over that same eight-game sample doesn’t bode well, considering he coughed up the rock 4.6 times per.

But also to be considered is the current landscape of the Sixers roster: from a sheer talent standpoint, Wroten is unquestionably the most gifted guard on the roster, and with the Sixers sure to slow their offensive pace down with rookie center Jahlil Okafor as the focal point, Wroten’s inability to space the floor on the wing as a consistent shooter could would hinder the offense as a whole as a two-guard.

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On the other hand, with the Sixers’ offensive output last season – 92 points per game, which was laughable enough for second to dead last in the NBA – Wroten pushing the pace more often as the primary ball handler could prove to be beneficial for a team that will likely struggle to score yet again in 2015-16.

And it’s not as if Wroten is merely an explosive scoring option around the rim. In fact, Wroten took a significant step forward as a distributor last season, increasing his assist percentage to 34.9, up from 20.9 in 2013-14, and generating 12.2 points by assists per game (366 total), compared to a scanty 6.6 in 2013-14.

For simple comparison, look at the points generated by assists from Carter-Williams during his 25 games in Milwaukee – 314 total, or 12.5 per game.

Bearing in mind Wroten’s primary responsibility as a Sixer has been to provide a scoring punch – often off the bench, the numbers suggest Wroten is more than capable of manning the offense, and with Brett Brown’s emphasis on player development, it’s a transition that could go much smoother than expected.

Ultimately, several factors will come into play to decide whether not Wroten begins the season as the starting point guard: Has Wroten improved his perimeter touch over the offseason enough to become a consistent outside threat, thus, landing him a starting job at shooting guard?

Would Wroten be best utilized coming off the bench to aid a slew of youthful prospects with unproven scoring abilities? And arguably the most important factor…will Kendall Marshall, a true point guard with pure court vision, be healthy in time for the season opener?

There’s really no telling which role Wroten will find himself in for the upcoming season; but there’s no denying that his talent certainly begs for bulk minutes, if not a starting job.

March 24, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown (left) instructs guard Isaiah Canaan (0) during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the 76ers 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Canaan stands as the only other point guard on the roster who was with the Sixers last season, but his skill set provides more value outside of the starting point guard role. This isn’t to imply he’s out of the question to start the season as such for Philly, and he did so last season in 12 of his 22 appearances, but he’s much more likely to come off the bench, and/or play off the ball.

Out of the Sixers available options at point guard – Wroten, Canaan, Marshall and Pierre Jackson – Canaan is the most ideal option to run alongside either of the other guards, considering his perimeter touch – .364 percent from deep; jumped to .444 percent during Canaan’s spot-up corner attempts with Philly – will be pivotal for spacing and assuring Okafor can go to work with room down low.

Playing off the ball isn’t technically an area of comfort for Canaan, who played only 13 percent of his court time as a shooting guard for the Sixers last season, as opposed to 87 percent at point guard. But that’s still a drastic improvement from his 1 percent as a shooting guard with Houston in 2013-14 over the same 22-game period.

Although there’s a convincing case to be made for Canaan to receive minutes on the wing, it quite likely won’t be where he sees the majority of his time. That is, unless Wroten does ultimately assume the starting point guard role, or Marshall pans out and occupies bulk minutes as the leading floor general upon his return from a torn ACL, which he suffered in January.

At the moment, Canaan owns 21 career starts at point guard, which is second most on the team, behind Marshall’s 51 starts. But in reality, experience won’t play much of a factor in determining the minutes distributed between the point guards, at least in regards to Wroten, Canaan and Marshall, with the three owning a mere 92 collective career starts.

While Wroten and Canaan’s versatility will provide them minutes at point guard, as well as on the wing throughout the season, Marshall, the latest Sixers guard acquisition, will likely be limited to facilitating strictly as a point guard.

Dec 27, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Kendall Marshall (5) during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Atlanta won 90-85. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to his ACL tear in mid-January, Marshall was tremendously misused in Milwaukee, playing 88 percent of his court time as a shooting guard.

This, in addition to Marshall’s minutes being reduced to only 14.9 per game as a Buck, as opposed to 29 per over the course of 54 games with the Los Angeles Lakers, resulted in a significant statistical step backwards during his third NBA season, where Marshall’s per game stats were reduced to a modest 4.2 points and 3.1 assists.

In 2013-14 with the Lakers, Marshall averaged 8.8 assists per game, which was good enough to tie for second in the NBA, alongside John Wall and Ty Lawson. Marshall’s total assists – 477 – also slotted him at No. 10 overall that same year, despite being sidelined 28 games.

If Marshall would have played an entire 82-game schedule at that same pace, he would have concluded the season as the NBA’s leading distributor with 723 assists, placing him ahead of Wall’s 721.

There’s no way around it: When given the opportunity, Marshall is a damn good facilitator and makes the lives of his teammates easier.

Marshall’s eyes are virtually always up-court, he makes the smart, simple passes, and they’re usually the right passes to the right guys at the right time. In terms of a pure floor general, there’s no better option in Philly at the moment. If he’s 100 percent healthy for the regular season opener, it will be difficult to keep him away from securing the starting job.

Lastly is the rookie-by-default, Pierre Jackson, who was set to kick off his NBA career with the Sixers last season prior to rupturing his Achilles tendon in the first quarter of his first Summer League appearance.

Jackson’s role for the upcoming season will likely be one resembling Canaan’s, with the exception of the potential to start, barring injuries to Wroten, Marshall or Canaan. A streaky scorer that can rack up points in bunches, Jackson is an exciting prospect that could provide a much-needed scoring boost off the Sixers bench, regardless of which guard position he’s slotted in.

During the Las Vegas Summer League, Jackson contributed 10 points per game in 25 minutes of action, but it came by way of some notably inefficient shooting — .318 from the field. It’s apparent by simply watching Jackson compete: the 5’10”, 176-pound guard oozes confidence and has the scoring prowess to support it.

Of course, Jackson isn’t a guy who will come in and average 20 next season, but 10-12 points a night off the bench would go quite a long way for a Sixers team that struggled to score so mightily in 2014-15.

Jackson will likely be the guy to see the fewest minutes of each guard mentioned, but with such little hesitancy to heave the rock, Jackson will still prove to be a valued asset off the bench for Philly.

All-in-all, the point guard situation in Philly isn’t as doomed as it may initially appear. Despite still being devoid a proven guard capable of shouldering the load of a competitive unit, there will at least be competition for minutes between a handful of guys that are actually NBA-caliber talents.

At this point, that’s all the Sixers can really ask for.

Stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com, NBA.com and ESPN.com

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