76ers' Jared McCain pulls off feat unheard of in franchise history

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Jared McCain is a transcendent talent for the Philadelphia 76ers.

How can you tell? Well, because McCain is so good that fans continue to tune in to watch his team take the court night after night despite an absolutely embarrassing 2-11 start to the season.

Now, sure, technically, the Sixers have never had all of their top players on the court together this season. Joel Embiid was out, Paul George was out, and Tyrese Maxey is currently out, too, but through it all, the team has found new ways to look bad, which, nearly 20 percent of the way through the season, is becoming more and more impressive to do.

In McCain, however, 76ers fans have a shining light to look to in the face of an uncertain present, especially while he’s producing at a level that no rookie has ever done as a member of the organization.

You see, through his first three starts as a member of the 76ers, McCain has scored at least 20 points, which is a line no one, not even “The Process” himself, Joel Embiid,  has accomplished. McCain has hit 53.5 percent of his shots from the field, 40.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and 100 percent of his free throws on the year, all the while averaging 15.8 points per game.

If the 76ers weren’t expected to be one of the best teams in the NBA, watching McCain transform from pick 16 into a Rookie of the Year favorite before fans’ eyes would be incredibly exciting. While it still is, the experience of McCain putting up 20 only for his team to lose by 20 is increasingly becoming a tough pill to swallow, as his success isn’t leading to much of anything in the wins collum, despite his best efforts.

Kyle Lowry explains the emergence of Jared McCain

So how, you may wonder, has McCain gone from a player unworthy of being selected in the lottery to a guard who will almost certainly start even when Maxey returns from injury? Well, Kyle Lowry weighed in on the situation while the Sixers were in Orlando, including his scouting report of the young Duke product.

“There’s been a lot of rookies that I’ve played with. I think the one thing he’s been so great at is just playing his game and being confident in what he’s doing. I think we need that right now. I think we need that extra pop. We need that extra energy, so it’s been really good for us to have a guy who’s coming in as a young guy giving us that energy and that confidence that he’s playing with right now, so it’s pretty good. It’s pretty cool to watch,” Lowry told reporters via Sixerswire.

“It’s a different time, so it’s a different place, but he’s taking full advantage of his opportunity, which is how you get better in this league. You take advantage of your opportunities. You play confidently, and that’s what he’s doing.” “I just talk to him throughout the game. I give him his space. He’s playing fantastic. I give him little tidbits I see from here and there, but he’s just making the right basketball plays right now. He’s making the right reads, and that’s all you can ask for.”

You know, you have to give Lowry credit; his evaluation is dead-on. McCain brings space, pace, and basketball IQ to the court for the 76ers, which instantly makes him a plug-and-play guard who can more or less play alongside anyone due to his very complementary skill set. If McCain can continue to look like a star in a starting five that also features All-Stars like Maxey, George, and Embiid, the 76ers really might be able to right this ship and get things back on track after all; you know, just like how Daryl Morey drew it up during the offseason, right?

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