It’s been a rough season for Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. He came on strong at the end of last year, putting up big games in bunches and looking smooth as heck while doing so. But things have changed in Philly Town. Minutes aren’t freely available for every half-competent bozo who walks through the doors of the practice facility. Wins are not only encouraged, but expected. Mistakes aren’t as readily tolerated. There are legit playoff aspirations for the 76ers now, not just aspirations for some of the players on the team becoming part of a playoff team at some point in the future.
What that means for TLC, in short, is that he doesn’t get to play because he isn’t that good and he isn’t that good because he doesn’t get to play. If that sounds unfair, it is, but there’s no one to blame in this case, unless you want to blame TLC for not magically becoming a really good player over the offseason.
There are a bunch of players on the 76ers facing a similar issue to varying degrees. Dario Saric for one. He’s rounding back into last season’s form at least, maybe this game will be the start of a similar process for our favorite Frenchie? Let’s hope J.J. Redick stays injured for a while longer, and that Jerryd Bayless accidentally wanders into the cargo hold of a ship bound for a months-long journey to Antarctica.