Ersan Ilyasova: The Stretch-4 The Philadelphia 76ers Needed
Ersan Ilyasova has proven to be a key piece to a Philadelphia 76ers team that’s in The Process of becoming playoff bound.
The Philadelphia 76ers must have made a New Year’s resolution to become a playoff contender.
The Sixers have gone 9-3 since a 124-122 win over the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 30th. The team was 7-24 heading into the game. They have now reeled off the fourth-best winning percentage since that night.
Philadelphia is now 16-27, 13th in the Eastern Conference and 5.5 games out of the eighth seed. The 76ers improved their record with a 121-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. They have to bounce back Wednesday night for a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the current ninth place team in the East.
Discussion about the 76ers’ turnaround has to begin with Joel Embiid. Sixers fans have waited two seasons for his arrival. He has not disappointed, averaging 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. He is second on the team in win shares (2.0) and first in the team’s rotation in Player Efficiency Rating (24.4). Embiid will almost certainly be the 2017 Rookie of the Year.
After Embiid, players such as Gerald Henderson, T.J. McConnell and Robert Covington have also made sizable contributions to the team’s current success. However, none of them have been as consistent as starting power forward Ersan Ilyasova.
Ilyasova arrived in Philadelphia from the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 1st. He was acquired, along with a 2020 top 20-protected first round pick, in exchange for Jerami Grant.
Ilyasova averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his 40 appearances so far with the Sixers. He’s shooting 45.6 percent from the field, bolstered by his 39.0 percent shooting from three-point range.
He has been a very consistent scorer, scoring single-digits only five times all year. His last single-digit output was seven points in a 104-88 loss to the Orlando Magic on Dec. 2nd.
For his effort, Ilyasova is the team leader in total win shares (2.7). His 16.6 PER is the best he’s had since the 2014-15 season, the last of his seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ilyasova is the stretch-4 that other teams constantly search for in this perimeter-oriented age of the NBA. His presence is part of a series of acquisitions that helped the 76ers improve their outside shooting.
The 2015-16 76ers, who went 10-72, ranked 24th in the NBA in three-point percentage (33.9 percent). This season, they’re ranked 19th, shooting 35.3 percent from outside.
Ersan Ilyasova’s useful production has also been integral to the team’s most successful lineup of the 76ers’ recent stride.
The lineup, which also features Covington, Embiid, McConnell and Nik Stauskas, has appeared in eight of the team’s 12 games since Dec. 30th. The 76ers are 7-1 over that span.
The lineup averages 25.1 points in 11.6 minutes per game, and has a plus-minus of +5.8.
Embiid’s two-way ability and McConnell’s relentless defense and playmaking are crucial to this lineup working. However, it’s Ilyasova’s ability as a stretch-4 to space the floor and hit shots from anywhere that makes him so valuable to this lineup.
Since Dec. 30th, Ilyasova has averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 40 percent from three over this span.
Ilyasova’s presence is also important for the development of rookie forward Dario Saric. Saric and Ilyasova have quite a bit in common. Both of them are 6’10” stretch-4s that came to the NBA from overseas. Ilyasova is most likely sharing his experiences and helping Saric learn how to develop as an NBA player on and off the court.
Ilyasova is a rental for the 76ers that has paid dividends for them this season. The team acquired him on the last year of a five-year contract he signed before the 2012-13 season. Chances are his standing with the team will be dependent on the development of Saric and how much they’re willing to pay a man who will be 30 years old next season.
While his future with the team is up in the air, Ersan Ilyasova has been a difference-maker in the present. His abilities as a stretch-4 help to give the 76ers offensive depth that they haven’t had in a long time.
If the Sixers keep playing well, his continued production could play a sizable role in helping Philadelphia contend for that final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
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