Jared McCain has made his return for the Philadelphia 76ers on November. He has missed just one game since then.
The sophomore was one of the bright side that the Sixers had during the disastrous 2024-25 season but he had to be shutdown by January after just 23 games after suffering a meniscus tear on his left knee.
Fans felt excited about McCain’s short-lived first season but that excitement melted right away when he made this debut against the Chicago Bulls after scoring zero point in 15 minutes
He did not play the next game but was fielded in the next three by head coach Nick Nurse, all under 10 minutes. He failed to register a point in all those games.
McCain is aware of the catching up he needs to do.
“Yeah, it’s pretty tough,” he said.
“It’s just, you’re just trying to get back to how you used to play, and certain things are different, and so you’re trying to get used to that as well, and find the flow within the game, but I know it’ll come.”
Nurse takes the blame for the struggle his sophomore is going through.
“It’s pretty hard to judge. I think we were just in a situation where we were trying to get him in. It maybe wasn’t the greatest time, but that’s where we ended up,” the coach told reporters.
“I didn’t love the combination I threw him in there with. Pretty hard to judge.”
Jared McCain’s struggle and VJ and Grimes’ emergence
Increasing the minutes is one of the ways McCain’s performance can improve but will get that right now?
VJ Edgecombe, their third overall pick, and Quentin Grimes have been splendid this season. Nurse would not disrupt the momentum they have.
McCain thought those two are elite players and his job right now is gel well with them.
“Yeah, it’s going good,” he responded when asked about his dynamics with the two guards.
“I mean, they’re elite players, so just knowing their strengths, knowing what they what they go to, and trying to build off of that, and also use my strengths and to help with them, getting buckets and me as well.”
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