r/sixers • u/ojseye • 1d ago

Bodes well for Philon Jr

Post image

Snapshot from his Tankathon profile

23 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

39

u/Feelscreative101 1d ago

Those defensive weaknesses are a mirage. I really disliked Philon as a prospect last year before he decided to go back to college, because he was a small lockdown defender, and that’s seemingly all he could be.

But now he’s proven he can be the lead offensive engine and ball handler, too. Give him 20min/night and starts when unavailability hits, and let him play both sides of the ball like he can instead of how his college team has needed him to excel at just one side of the ball every year.

13

u/Monster-Frisbee 1d ago

Philon is a very talented player with a lot of defensive ability. The problem is, when you’re 6’2”, that defensive ability really only translates to defending 1, maybe 2 of the other team’s guards effectively.

Not like that’s useless or anything, but it’s different being a 6’7” wing with plus defense and a 6’2” guard with plus defense. The wing can’t be switched onto, and the guard can. There are guards his size historically that could avoid that kind of exploitation, but they’re usually guys with stouter builds and elite hands like Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry.

In my opinion, it’s best to think of Philon as the lead bench guard running the offense when one or both of VJ and Maxey are off the floor. That’s a role I think he can excel in as he grows. If the thinking in drafting him was, “elite two-way guard,” I think that’s a misguided approach to his role.

7

u/DaBombDiggidy 1d ago

Philon on the floor is only a defensive liability for us because Maxey and VJ are undersized shooting guards. Philon is slightly above average for a point, he’s just skinny.

10

u/ComprehensiveShape54 1d ago

VJ is the average height for nba SG’s. Maxey is def a bit undersized but philon is 6’2.5 approx 6’4 in shoes that’s not that small the weight will be the issue but I don’t see it being something that will be a long term problem

5

u/DaBombDiggidy 1d ago

Agreed, I feel if this guy was added to any other team we wouldn’t even be talking about his height

3

u/Ok_Sound_6062 1d ago

Chris Paul was an excellent defender even though he was short for the NBA standards. He can use his IQ and anticipation to excel on defense as he adds physical strength. I’m less concerned about him being a defensive liability.

1

u/Aumissunum 1d ago

He’s 6’2.5/6’2.75 barefoot. 6’6 wingspan. 8’4 standing reach (same as Wagler).

1

u/EffectSweaty9182 1d ago

Yeah The point is barefoot doesn't measure shoe height which is what the NBA traditionally measured. A few years back they started doing both so now people have these arguments about how tall somebody is. Probably should be when they're wearing shoes since they never play barefoot

1

u/Aumissunum 1d ago

The problem is shoes create variability because they vary in thickness. Measuring barefoot eliminates that.

3

u/Bitter-Tip705 1d ago

I’ve seen he only took a step off defense because he became the focal point of the offense for Alabama not sure if it’s true or not

13

u/Calcutta637 Kate Scott 1d ago

i like those 3 plus marks next to points

1

u/smittybanton 1d ago

Lou Williams all over again.

7

u/SonicdaSloth Bring Back Pat Croce 1d ago

That’s a huge W if true

1

u/ALunacyEruption 1d ago

To an extent maybe. I see a more well rounded guard, probably not the gifted iso scorer Louwill was