NBA Philadelphia 76ers

Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten Should Not Play In Same Starting Lineup For Philadelphia 76ers

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By @Greg_Sacidor

Howard Smith - USA TODAY Sports

Howard Smith – USA TODAY Sports

Now that Michael Carter-Williams is healthy, his return to the starting lineup is inevitable. But should it be alongside Tony Wroten? The answer is simple, no!

Last Thursday in Dallas, the Philadelphia 76ers welcomed back the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Carter-Williams to their lineup. But since he is coming off of offseason shoulder surgery, head coach Brett Brown has tried to ease Carter-Williams back in to game action by bringing him off of the bench in his first two games back. Brown may continue this approach for a few more games, but it is only a matter of time before Carter-Williams reclaims his role as the team’s starting point guard. When this move is ready to be made it will raise a big question for Brown. Does he move Wroten, the 76ers’ leading scorer, to the shooting guard position or does he move Wroten back to his previous role as the team’s sixth man? The answer to this question is simple: When Carter-Williams is healthy enough to start at point guard, Wroten must move to the bench.

As the starting point guard for the first nine games of the season, Wroten has averaged 20.3 points, 6.3 assists and 2.22 steals per game. However, Wroten has also averaged 4.4 turnovers per game, and the team has lost all nine of these games. Of course, all nine losses are not solely on the shoulders of Wroten, but when he is at the starting point guard position, the 76ers do struggle.

In order for Wroten to succeed, he needs to have the ball in his hands, as is apparent through his play in the first nine games this season. Wroten needs to act as the proverbial straw that stirs the drink; the ball needs to first be in his hands in order for the offense to run. If he is placed alongside Carter-Williams, he will not be able to have this success because Carter-Williams will overtake this role. Both players need the ball in their hands if they want to have success offensively. Neither one is a particularly good spot-up shooter, so they overcompensate by trying to drive to the basket for a layup or a trip to the foul line. If both Carter-Williams and Wroten are on the floor together, one of them will have to play off of the ball, which will not play into their strengths.

Moving to the bench may be seen as a demotion for Wroten, but it isn’t. By coming off of the bench as the sixth man for the 76ers, he will be able to control the ball and play to his strengths. Although it may come with a lesser amount of minutes, this is a role Wroten should relish.

A few years ago, when the 76ers were led by Doug Collins as head coach and guys like Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young were in the starting lineup, Lou Williams had a hard time finding a role for himself on the team. He was clearly the most gifted scorer on the roster, but similar to Wroten, he needed the ball in his hands in order to shine. That was not going to work when guys like Holiday, Turner and Iguodala needed the same thing. As a result, Williams became the 76ers’ sixth man and led the team in scoring as the captain of the team’s “night shift,” the nickname he gave to the second unit.

Moving to the bench would not only benefit Wroten, but it would also benefit Carter-Williams. With no other player demanding the ball, Carter-Williams will be able to play to his strengths, the strengths that won him last season’s rookie of the year award. Like Williams, Wroten could then thrive in the role as sixth man as long as he embraced it.

The separation of these two talented guards is the right move going forward for head coach Brown. A starting lineup doesn’t consist of your best five players; it consists of the five players who fit best with each other. Just because Carter-Williams and Wroten are two of the 76ers’ best players doesn’t mean that they have to start together.

Greg Sacidor is a Philadelphia 76ers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.

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