Philadelphia 76ers: 5 goals for Dario Saric in 2017-18

5. Improve hustle stats

While they certainly weren’t at the top of Saric’s “to-do list” for his rookie season, hustle stats are going to be more important for Saric and the Sixers moving forward.

One hustle stat that should be more of a feature of Saric’s game is the screen assist. Last season, Saric averaged 1.0 screen assists per game, good for eighth overall on the Sixers’ roster. In fact, the Sixers were a non-factor in this department, ranking dead last in the league at 7.4 screen assists per game.

To put this in perspective, Marcin Gortat of the Washington Wizards led all players with 6.2 screen assists per game. This is certainly an area in which Saric can improve, which will naturally be the responsibility of both the player and the coaching staff.

A further hustle stat that needs addressing from Saric’s perspective is deflections. Considering he’s not the most athletic or explosive player, Saric will therefore be further required to utilize his defensive instincts and nous in order to have a presence at the defensive end of the floor.

Last season, Saric averaged 1.1 deflections per game, ranking 12th overall for the Sixers on the season. Notably, the leader for the Sixers in this department, small forward Robert Covington, also led all players in the league with 4.2 per game.