Shake Milton was a second-round pick for the Dallas Mavericks and when brought in he was considered a “project” type of player, with a huge shooting upside if he can develop correctly. Shake has been in the mix the past couple of seasons with guys like Zhaire Smith and Furkan Korkmaz moving up and down when called upon.

Milton finally got his shot and has been taking full advantage of this opportunity, as he was not even a part of Coach Brown’s regular rotation a month ago.

Here are three aspects that Milton should continue to contribute to this Sixers offensive attack.

Shooting

As we have continued to see Shake step in while this team deals with adversity, his shooting ability has been featured in every game he has stepped in following these injuries.

After watching how he can run the floor, it’s clear that he is the backup point this bench has desperately needed. In his 28 games played this season, Shake has shot 49.7% from the field, on top of a whopping 46.6% from three. He clearly has a role on this team as a sharpshooting guard – this continues to be one of the Sixers biggest needs.

Shake could lead the second squad once Ben returns, or even sub in at the 2 to help with some spacing and with the pick and roll. Primarily this is a bigger need off the bench, but Shake is such a diverse player he could step into both situations and find a way to help the team.

Defense

One of the biggest issues any NBA team faces is finding well-rounded role players. The Sixers, for example, have seen success from Furkan Korkmaz this season, but his bread and butter is his jumper. On the other side of the floor, Kork doesn’t give you much defensively.

Now, problems like this could be solved by coaching and throwing someone like Thybulle in there to dominate defensively. Having a guy like Shake to give you a little bit of both helps the Sixers depth as they try to find the perfect role for all players of this caliber.

Shake held his own defending against the Clippers and always gives effort on either side of the floor. With the right guidance and coaching, all of our bench players can thrive, it’s on Brett to help them all succeed in their given roles. He really seems to be the “3 and D” player the team needs.

Floor Spacing

One of the biggest problems that have come from the acquisition of Tobias Harris and Al Horford is floor spacing. Having Embiid, Horford, Simmons, and Harris all on the floor at the same time just clogs the lane too much for anyone to dominate it.

Obviously, the team has figured out this may be an issue when Brett Brown moved Horford to the bench prior to the Embiid injury. Having the ability to get Shake more involved would help the offense flow much more smoothly, as he fits the archetype of what the starting offense is desperately missing, a sharpshooting guard.

Moving Shake and Richardson around the starting lineup could help fix some of the offensive woes when Embiid and Simmons return. Either way, Milton gives this team even more to work with while they continue to find themselves offensively.

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