Shake Milton maintains self-starter mentality after shift to reserve role: ‘I’m going to find a way’

The sequence ended in a missed layup. But more importantly, it signaled to Doc Rivers that Shake Milton is maintaining his aggressive approach despite a recent decrease in minutes.

As Milton received an outlet pass from Montrezl Harrell during Sunday’s 76ers win against the Charlotte Hornets, superstar point guard James Harden called for the ball.

“And Shake went [up the floor himself],” Rivers said. “That’s what we want. We want to go.”

Before Joel Embiid got rolling en route to his 53-point onslaught, and before Harden got within one rebound of a triple-double in his best game since returning from a foot injury, Milton provided a bench spark to help stabilize a clunky Sixers start. The combo guard finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, three assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

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It was the latest indicator that, even though Milton has shifted back to a reserve role, he can still apply his mentality from a terrific two-week stretch as a fill-in starter.

“It just kind of confirmed some of the thoughts I already had” about his ability, Milton said of what he learned from that time with a larger role. “… I didn’t feel like I had to go out there and do anything [out of the ordinary]. We kept it really simple. Guys [were] moving the ball, everybody trusted one another and I feel like that helped elevate everybody’s game.

“I feel like it was just a good way to showcase all the work that we put in, from top to bottom.”

During Sunday’s win, Milton was the point guard of an all-bench unit and played off the ball while sharing the backcourt with Harden. In his first stint, Milton took a dribble-handoff for a driving and-one layup, then converted through traffic in the final seconds of the opening frame. Three times, he found Harrell for an authoritative finish. Milton’s brightest highlight arrived just before the end of the third quarter, when he juked Theo Maledon and flew to the basket.

“Just got right to it,” Milton told The Inquirer after the game. “Just tried to have a clear mind, [a] free mind, and play basketball.”

Sunday’s performance followed a nine-game run when Milton averaged 20.6 points on 54.3% shooting, six assists, and five rebounds in 37 minutes while Harden and Tyrese Maxey nursed injuries.

His recent play offers a glimpse at why, last preseason, Milton was in a legitimate starting point guard competition with Maxey during Ben Simmons’ holdout. Ankle and back injuries, however, derailed significant chunks of Milton’s season. By the time Milton returned to full health, Maxey was one of the NBA’s breakout players, and Harden had been added at the trade deadline. Consequently, Milton slipped out of the rotation. He entered the summer with an uncertain future before the Sixers picked up the team option in his contract for 2022-23.

Milton, though, is now reaping the benefits of an offseason when he “completely changed [his] body” by tweaking his diet and taking his weightlifting regimen “to another level.” At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Milton now feels more equipped to bump with defenders in the lane. And, even when his minutes soared while starting, he said he felt “pretty good” when he woke up each morning.

“That’s been one of the biggest things for me staying healthy and staying locked in,” Milton said. “It really was just intention — just being intentional about everything I was doing, and it kind of paid off.”

Those physical gains match a confidence and stay-ready routine Milton said he has always possessed. And teammates such as standout forward Tobias Harris agree, saying Milton “showed everybody what he’s capable of doing.”

“He’s probably not going to play 36 minutes a night [anymore],” Harris said, “but he can still come in, in whatever time that he gets, and utilize all his skill set of creating plays and getting downhill and making shots and just playing great basketball like he was doing.”

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Now while watching the game’s opening minutes from the bench, Milton studies the opponents’ defensive tactics — such as if they’re hedging or switching on screens or trapping the ball — and what types of foul calls the officials are making.

After entering the game, Milton said Rivers has been emphasizing “not waiting” to get into the flow of the offense whenever he gets the ball on a change of possession. Milton looks for his own shot but also aims to get teammates involved, like when he hit Harrell on multiple rolls to the basket against the Hornets.

Milton’s playing time could adjust again when Maxey returns in the coming weeks. But he has established his aggressive approach, which can now be applied to any sample size of minutes.

“You’ve got to find a rhythm. You’ve got your spot,” Milton said. “I’m surrounded by great players, so I’m going to find a way.”