Maybe I’ve got some biases that are showing through right now, but T.J. McConnell does not seem like the type of player who would be shooting 53% from the field. Being low-volume and taking only good shots only gets you so far in the NBA. You don’t instantly become a 50% shooter by being careful with your shot selection unless you’re a big man. Point guards almost never shoot 50% from the field, not even backups, even in this era of increased offensive efficiency.
But the fact of the matter is, McConnell is shooting that well, and he’s averaging more than ten assists per 36 minutes, so I’m pretty sure he’s one of the best backup point guards in the league right now. He’s definitely the best third-stringer if you consider Malcolm Brogdon and Aaron Holiday to be ahead of him on the depth chart. He’s like this year’s Monte Morris: high efficiency, sick assist-to-turnover ratio, helping lead his team to a high playoff seed, but nobody really notices because there a bunch of flashier players on the roster scoring more points.
While McConnell was on the Sixers, my oft-repeated plea was “stop marginalizing T.J. McConnell”. Since McConnell is currently averaging a career low in minutes played, the plea must be repeated once again: Nate McMillan, please stop marginalizing T.J. McConnell right now.