Philadelphia 76ers Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot Perfect Fit
That unbridled raw energy of Philadelphia 76ers rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is channeling in all the right ways now. In fact, he is literally a perfect shot in his past three games
Raw. That’s how the scouting report of Philadelphia 76ers rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot read heading into the 2016 NBA Draft. Raw, unbridled energy, huge upside. In fact, he was so raw, he barely got playing time.
He was the 24th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, in a draft many projected him as e a top-ten prospect. He was raw, yes. But he is a 3-and-D specialist. A tall, wide-wing-spanned young man who plays incredibly well off-ball. Defensive instincts. No fear. He does not back down from anyone.
He played 59 game minutes in the month of November 2016 for an average of 9.1 minutes in each of the nine games he played. In that period, he scored a total of 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
But he took minutes with the Delaware 87ers when he could. TLC watched shooting guard Gerald Henderson constantly. And he kept at it. And kept at it. In fact, he just kept at it and at it.
2017 Was A Very Good Year
In his past three games in January 2017, he has played an average of 12.3 minutes in each game, scored a total of 19 points, pulled down two rebounds, dished out 3 assists. Oh. and he shot 100 percent from the floor (8-8), 100 percent from the three-point line (2-2), and 100 percent from the foul line (3-3).
More from The Sixer Sense
Call it what you will, but the fact that a sparsely played rookie is shooting on the bulls-eye is worth discussing. Not a large enough sample you say? Well then, let’s expand it for the month of January 2017. For the month, he is averaging just 15.3 minutes per game (least on the team), but he is scoring 5.5 points, pulling down 2.0 rebounds, handing out 1.1 assists, and stealing .3 and blocking .1 times per game.
Where it gets rather interesting is his shooting accuracy. In January 2017, he is shooting 51.2 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from three point range, and 81.0 percent from the foul line. For a rookie who is getting the scraps of playing minutes so far, that’s incredible impressive. He is improving on his own, without a great deal of help from playing minutes.
Simmons Is Coming
The curious surge of TLC’s production is synchronizing with the anticipated return of one Ben Simmons to the team. In fact, TLC’s chance of playing with Simmons at the same time hinges upon his ability to prove that he deserves a chance.
So far, he January 2017 performance commands the coaches to give him that chance.
We analyzed the three players who would be given an audience to join Simmons in the back court, and each of the group: Nik Stauskas, Gerald Henderson, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, have positives to offer that back court.
But we’d be lying if we said that TLC was our first choice. He isn’t. But he is the most intriguing of the three choices. Let’s see what we said in the article:
Team chemistry is so very important for a team. Players must play, and play together, to work out the details of running plays. On paper, the skillsets of TLC are virtually a perfect symbioses with those of Simmons. Simmons has great handles and pinpoint passing. TLC has great off-ball moves and can separate from his defender when he drives to the basket.
Simmons can shoot rebound pass and block . TLC can shoot steal and block, if he gets playing time.
Suddenly, TLC is playing like a young man screaming for more minutes. Hopefully, head coach Brett Brown starts feeding him some.
Still Playing For Tommorrow
Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers are stuck. Right now, the team is winning too much to have a realistic chance at a top -five 2017 NBA Draft pick Iwithout insurance, that is). At the same time, the team has lost too many games to have a reasonable chance at the 2017 NBA playoffs.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
With the arrival of Ben Simmons, the fans and team should expect a “blending period”. He will have games where he “shines”. But there will be games where he will struggle. From the moment he joins the starters, the pace will change. Changing rhythm changes tempo changes defense changes transition changes offense. It’s a spider’s web of connectivity.
But that connectivity is also an opportunity. Since the team will need to adjust to a new starter in the backcourt, why not give some starts to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ? Pair him up with Ben Simmons on back to backs, and let Nik Stauskas start with T.J. McConnell on the other night. In fact, the McConnell/Stauskas backcourt is a finely oiled machine right now. Why not let the pair stick together and roll Henderson/TLC with Simmons?
The future of the team is still forming. We know the pairing of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons is a given. All other rooms have a “vacancy” sign for now. If we know what Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has this season, that defines how we draft in the 2017 NBA Draft. Playing for tomorrow makes tomorrow all that much more certain.
We’ve had three seasons of questions. Let’s not stop until we have as many answers as possible.