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

4. Reduce turnover rate

While it can be chalked up to being a part of a rookie transitional process, Saric is certainly going to need to cut down on his turnover rate. Overall, Saric averaged 2.3 turnovers per game last season. On a per 36 minutes basis, Saric averaged 3.1, which was the third-highest rate among all forwards who played at least 2,000 minutes for the season.

Considering Saric has the ability to both post up and face the basket, this naturally opens up the possibilities for turnovers to arise. Take the extreme example of Saric’s debut year, where he committed a season-high six turnovers against the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

Of the six turnovers Saric committed for the game, five were in an isolation situation, either just inside or just outside the 3-point line. On four of these instances, the clock was winding down, forcing Saric to decide whether to create a shot for himself or a teammate.

As can be seen here, Saric is forced to put the ball on the floor, and as a result is faced by multiple Warriors defenders in the middle of the lane. He attempts to force an off-balance pass to a teammate under the basket, which results in a turnover and the Sixers having to foul in oder to stop the fast break.

Granted, circumstances are likely to be different in Saric’s second season. Assuming center Joel Embiid is healthy, he would more than likely be the No. 1 option will the clock winding down. Furthermore, there is the exciting addition of two legitimate shot creators and ball-handlers in Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons.

So while Saric is unlikely to find himself in this situation on a regular basis, it is nonetheless an area that certainly needs refining.