Shake Milton is ready to lead the Sixers’ bench out of its recent rut
The Sixers' bench has been the team's Achilles' heel lately, but Milton believes he can be a leader for the second unit.
TAMPA, Fla. — Shake Milton believes the ingredients for getting the 76ers’ second unit back on track are being aggressive, sharing the ball and encouraging teammates .
The reserves were the team’s Achillies’ heel while Milton was sidelined for five games. Nothing changed when he returned in time for Sunday’s 110-103 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the Amalie Arena. The Sixers (20-11) again face the Raptors (16-15) Tuesday night.
“Guys like Isaiah Joe, Furk [Furkan Korkmaz], it doesn’t really take much to get them going,” Milton said following Tuesday’s shootaround.
The third-year guard is confident that he can be a leader for the second unit. He described his teammates as guys who want to listen and play hard.
“I think that second unit can come in and bring a lot of energy and hopefully change the game,” Milton said. “So for us, it’s standing together, playing hard and being locked in.”
However, the Sixers unit has been prone to blowing sizable leads and lacking in the scoring production category.
They were outscored, 35-16, in each of their previous two games in bench points. On Sunday, Raptors reserve Chris Boucher single-handedly outscored the Sixers bench with 17 points.
Milton should be able to help provide a spark after knocking off some rust Sunday. He’s the team’s fourth-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game.