J.J. Redick again displayed his immense importance to the success of the Philadelphia 76ers, as the team broke its five-game losing streak.
Losers of five straight, and nine of their past 10 games, the Philadelphia 76ers used their appearance on the Christmas Day to get back on the winners list. In the process, veteran J.J. Redick again underlined just how important he is to the success of the franchise.
Missing the past two games with hamstring tightness, Redick’s return to the starting lineup was simply invaluable as the Sixers overcame the New York Knicks, 105-98.
Redick went down his hamstring injury in the midst in the midst of the Sixers’ home loss to the Sacramento Kings. At the time of the injury, the Sixers led 65-54 with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter, after which the Sixers were outscored 47-30 to suffer a demoralizing loss.
During his brief time on the sidelines, Jerryd Bayless and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot were the primary options assigned to fill in for Redick at the shooting guard spot. However, their contributions left a lot to be desired.
.@JJRedick returns and scores 24 points knocking down 4 of 8 from beyond. https://t.co/gHfYlrQaKt
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 25, 2017
During Redick’s two-game absence, Bayless and Luwawu-Cabarrot shot a combined 4-of-22 from 3-point range. Over the course of the season, the lack of reliable shooting coming off the bench has been a real Achilles heel of the Sixers as a whole.
But with Redick back in the starting lineup, the Sixers again realized the vital importance of having an elite marksman on the perimeter to accommodate the likes of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Playing 27 minutes, Redick posted 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals while hitting on 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Following the game, Redick expressed his thoughts on his return:
"“I couldn’t tell you the stats, but I could just tell you we played hard, there was an incredible effort throughout the game….I thought our group energy was tremendous tonight.”"
While Redick spoke generically about the team as a whole, his presence cannot be underestimated, recording an equal team-high of +25 while on the floor. In fact overall, the Sixers were 83.3 points per 100 possessions better off when Redick took to the floor against the Knicks.
You only need to turn the clock back a few months to training camp, when head coach Brett Brown outlined just how important he feels Redick will be this season:
"“J.J. from a leadership standpoint, from an intellectual standpoint, he’s fit in great. I am so happy he’s in this program. Adjustments he has to make, I don’t know, I’m sure he’d tell you some. But from my vision line, not many, he’s been absorbed well.”"
Over the course of the season, Redick has been possibly the steadiest of all players on the Sixers’ roster. With Embiid having already missed eight games with various ailments, Simmons enduring the daily challenges of being a rookie and Robert Covington having somewhat cooled off in recent weeks following a scorching start to the season, Redick’s consistency, combined with his veteran nous, has been critical.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition
Currently placed 10th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-18 record, the Sixers now face a three-game West Coast road trip to finish the calendar year. But as they’ve learned as the season has progressed, the sheer presence of Redick in the lineup can have a significant influence to the psyche of the team.