Top 5 shooters on the Philadelphia 76ers' roster for the 2021-22 NBA season
The Philadelphia 76ers had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, finishing with a 49-23 record. Despite that, they were still eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The offseason drama started as All-Star Ben Simmons requested a trade and did not join training camp.
The 76ers are still a team built around All-Star and runner-up in last season’s MVP race Joel Embiid. The 76ers have tried to acquire shooters to flank both of their non-three-point shooting All-Stars, and have done a successful job at doing that. Here are the top five shooters on the 76ers.
#5 Isaiah Joe, Philadelphia 76ers, Shooting Guard
Isaiah Joe has been lights out this preseason and has really shone. This season will be Joe’s second in the NBA after being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft. His rookie season was uneventful, like most second-round picks.
Isaiah Joe just shot 16/27 (59.2%) from three in four preseason games. His ludicrous shooting efficiency doesn’t do his play justice, however. He also only had 1 turnover in over 97 minutes of play, to go along with an average of 1.75 steals-per-game.
Joe only appeared in 41 games, starting in just one to average 9.3 minutes a game. He only averaged 3.7 points taking 2.6 threes, making 37% of them. Yes, this is a small sample size, but Joe has come out and been dominant this preseason. In 24.4 minutes, he is shooting 57% from three on 6.8 attempts.
If Joe is given more minutes, he has proven to be a quality shooter already and should continue that pattern.
#4 Georges Niang, Philadelphia 76ers, Power Forward
This will be Georges Niang's first season with the Philadelphia 76ers, but playing for the Utah Jazz he showed he could be a trusted three-point shooter. In his career, he has averaged 2.8 three-point attempts, making them 40% of the time.
The crazy thing about Niang is that outside of his first two seasons in the NBA, where he took a total of 16 threes, he has never shot under 40%. Last season, he took a jump up forward, attempting 4.1 threes a game and shooing 43% on them. Most of his shots have come from behind the arc over the last few seasons. 99% of his threes have come off assists.
Good stuff from Isaiah Joe and Georges Niang here.
Joe takes the ball off the DHO and briefly attracts the attention of the second defender on Niang (Olynyk). Niang pops to the corner with more space and fires the 3 immediately. Gravity and quick-trigger shooting working well. https://t.co/43iq8v8EWd
Niang has become a solid catch and shoot threat over the last few seasons and will be a perfect fit for the 76ers.