Contrary to popular belief, the heart and soul of this rather limited, yet unquestionably scrappy Philadelphia 76ers team doesn’t beat through their young reigning Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams, the box-top sensation, Nerlens Noel, or even the infamous Twitter God, Joel Embiid.
The pulse and passion this Sixers club carries with them onto the hardwood on a nightly basis – regardless of how competitive they may or may not be – stems from the palpable play of a guy whose tenacity and toughness reflect The City of Brotherly Love itself: Tony Wroten.
"“He was such a kamikaze, attacking fearless, competitive player that the city just fell in love with.” –Brett Brown"
As you likely know by now, that fearless, competitive heartbeat of the team is now out indefinitely after evaluations over the past 10 days have concluded that Wroten suffered a partially torn ACL, which very may very well keep the explosive combo-guard sidelined until the 2015-16 season.
Sixers’ general manager Sam Hinkie released the following statement Friday night after the severity of the injury was revealed.
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“After this extensive process, it has been determined that Tony sustained a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and that the best course of action for Tony’s basketball career is to repair his ACL surgically. While the precise timing and details of the procedure are still being finalized, what has been determined is that the ACL will need to be surgically repaired.”
It’s apparent that the loss of Wroten for the foreseeable future is news that’s going to help an already sparse Sixers’ backcourt win very many games, especially considering Wroten was without a doubt their most aggressive and leading scorer at 16.9 per game in his second season as a pro.
But as unfortunate as it may be for a Philadelphia team that’s dead last in the NBA in scoring per game at 90.1 to lose their leading point producer, injuries are a part of the game and in a next-man-up sports world, Brett Brown will have no choice but to rely upon the not-so-glamorous trio of MCW, newcomer Larry Drew II – who’s currently on a 10-day contract – and JaKarr Sampson.
So where does this leave the Sixers?
They could reach out to free agent guards in hopes of finding their next hidden jewel in an undiscovered talent looking to make a name for himself, but that may not be to high on the priority list of the rebuilding Sixers, as seen by Max Rappaport of Sixers.com.
“I don’t feel the need right now,” he told reporters. “Some of that is because of Larry ’s performance and just the overall desire to have available minutes to grow our current crop.”
With the facilitation role off the bench Drew has played, which includes five assists per game during his first five as a Sixer, coupled with the Wroten injury, it’s very probable that the first-year guard will continue to sign minimal contracts until he proves his worth to the franchise.
This isn’t necessarily a bad option, especially as a backup floor general, as he’s only averaging 0.2 less assists than MCW in 10.3 fewer minutes per night. But Wroten was a tremendous scoring option off the bench, which, after connecting on only seven of his first 19 attempts for 4.3 points per game, doesn’t appear to be a void Drew will be able to fill very successfully.
But it’s also worth noting that Drew isn’t expected to come in and become that scoring option off the bench and fill Wroten’s shoes while he’s recovering.
With that said, that production has to come from somewhere, and in a situation that doesn’t feature many solid second options, here’s whose shoulders the weight of Wroten’s absence will fall upon.
Primarily, there’s MCW. Over the duration of the previous five games with Wroten out, Carter-Williams has only scored 16.6 per game, which is a single point above his season average. As expected, his facilitating numbers have taken a dip also over this stretch, as he’s dropped just under his season average of 7.1 to 6.8 per.
With Wroten out, MCW is the Sixers best scoring option, but with such a huge role to fill to make up for the loss of Wroten, now more than ever, his efficiency as a scorer and ability to limit turnovers and get his teammates involved will grow increasingly pivotal when the usual Sixers’ scoring droughts come into play.
There’s K.J. McDaniels and Hollis Thompson available on the wing, but the two have combined for an average of 15 points per game over the last five, but where they lack tremendously comes with the impact Wroten had as a facilitator, as well as a scorer.
The Wrecking Ball is a fairly underrated passer and what comes with his reckless drives toward the basket is wide-open teammates in scoring position. That’s something neither McDaniels nor Thompson can provide.
And then there’s “Big Shot Bob,” or more popularly known as Robert Covington. The undrafted rookie had made a name for himself as of late with the Sixers, and his value to the team resulted in Philadelphia making the 6’9” forward “largely unavailable” for trade.
He’s built his home in Philly on his knack for connecting on crucial shots and providing a much-needed scoring edge on a nightly basis, which has led to Covington being the Sixers’ third leading scorer this season at 12.5 per game.
Over the last five games with Wroten out, Covington has amped that number up to 14.4 per game, but his two most recent efforts have been an 18-point outing against Toronto and a 17-point game against New York.
Although it’s a small sample size, Covington has proven in his short time in Philly that if there’s one thing he can do well, it’s fill up the stat sheet at he’s dropped at least 16 points in 14 of his 32 games.
Additionally, when you consider he’s scored in double figures in 20 of his last 25 games, the signs start to point to Covington being the guy the majority of the Sixers’ scoring load will fall on in wake of Wroten’s injury.
Of course, Covington will be assisted with the help of McDaniels and Thompson is trying to ensure the Sixers’ current 12.5-point scoring differential doesn’t become an even more vast obstacle to overcome.
Ultimately, the Sixers will be relying heavily on the offensive outputs of some significantly inexperienced options. In reality, there’s no replacing Wroten on this team. Not his scoring, his ability to open the floor for teammates, nor his heart and passion every time he laces up.
All quotes courtesy of Sixers.com.