The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to maximize their lineup combinations as they pursue a championship. It all starts with Joel Embiid and James Harden but it takes more. The talent around them has to take advantage of their talent and impact the game. Enter Georges Niang. Although the 6-foot-7 power forward is not very well-rounded and suffers from the inconsistency that most role players do, he has been great off the bench for the Sixers this season.
With Embiid and Harden as the focal points and Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker as the key supportive defenders/shooters, the Sixers have tried both Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton off the bench. There are some new additions to mix in, too. As they look to find the right lineups, they can rest easy knowing that the seventh man in their rotation is solidified with Niang.
The box-score numbers are decent — 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 19.8 minutes — aside from his shooting efficiency. He shoots 57.5 percent inside the arc, 40.9 percent from outside of it and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line. Most of his field-goal attempts — 77 percent of them, to be exact — come from deep. His ability to light it up from downtown on spot-up and relocation plays makes him one of the Sixers' most important players.
Georges Niang's 3-point marksmanship and volume have put him in rare company. To this point in the 2022-23 season, only 19 other players have shot 40 percent from deep and averaged two made 3-pointers per game. Only one other player has done it while playing under 20 minutes per game (and Sixers fans will looooove to hear that it's none other than Isaiah Joe). Niang's 119 triples are tied for the 40th most in the league and no one in the top 50 has played under 1,100 minutes like he has.
The Sixers perform very well in the minutes Niang plays. The team's net rating with him on the floor is one of the best on the team and his +/- is fourth on the team behind only Embiid, Harris and Harden. While he is mostly used as a spot-up shooter, he has no problems putting the ball on the deck when the defense pursues too hard or gives him an opening.
Georges Niang gets some buckets in a 1-on-1 drill at Sixers practice pic.twitter.com/vte92Urtif
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) February 7, 2023
On defense, he moves his feet and contests shots well. He's not a lock-down player but he can be a positive contributor on that end of the floor. Add in the fact that he is a ruthless trash talker and you have not only an impactful player but a fan favorite.
In some of the Sixers' best wins of the season — such as Christmas Day vs. the New York Knicks and other huge matchups vs. the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings — Niang has provided some incredibly clutch shooting. In lineups with starters, he provides the type of shooting that makes it very hard to double Embiid or shade someone over when he and James Harden get into their two-man game.
There are some questions to be had about Georges Niang's ability in the playoffs, though. While his shooting is spectacular, his limitations as a defender and rebounder may hinder his ability to play for long stretches. Still, he makes a very real impact with his energy, floor-spacing excellence, defensive effort and sense of when to attack closeouts. With Niang coming off the Sixers' books this offseason, the front office will have to make sure re-signing him is one of their priorities.
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