One might be tempted to take this game as evidence that T.J. McConnell is no longer being marginalized in Philadelphia. “15 and 13, how could a player who is being marginalized put up those kind of numbers?”, you ask yourself. “The only reasonably conclusion is that the 76er’s coaching staff is now giving McConnell the amount of minutes he deserves, and he is no longer being held back in favor of players who were higher draft picks”.
Wrong. T.J. McConnell is still very much being marginalized. The coaches BEGRUDGINGLY allowed him to start tonight and get minutes, only because Ben Simmons was injured. That is the ONLY reason. As soon as Simmons comes back, he will go back to his butt-imprint on the bench and work at making it deeper and more uniquely his. That is the truth, and it makes me sick to my stomach. McConnell is the best pure point on the roster, and they are marginalizing him in favor of a gimmick bigman PG experiment that doesn’t even make the team better.
Stop marginalizing T.J. McConnell right now.