Is Shake Milton back on track for the Sixers? | Off the Dribble

The 76ers have lost three in a row, but it’s not time to panic. Thursday’s 124-117 loss in Milwaukee wasn’t as close as the final score, but the Sixers might deserve a pass for playing a back-to-back against a Bucks team that had been sitting at home since last playing on Monday.

Plus, Ben Simmons missed his third straight game because of an illness. Any coincidence that the Sixers lost all three?

There are some things that need work, including three-point defense, after the Bucks put up a clinic, shooting 20-for-40 from beyond the arc.

Looking for a silver lining after Thursday’s loss? Possibly the return to form of Shake Milton.

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

After Wednesday’s 116-113 home loss to Phoenix, Sixers coach Doc Rivers didn’t spare any words when talking about Milton’s play.

“He just has to play better,” Rivers said after Milton shot 2-for-10 and was a minus-17.

Rivers then said that he believed in Milton, but ...

“I know he’s going to help us out, but this is a long season and when you’re struggling, we have other guys who can come in to help us, and that was tonight.”

Milton is averaging 13.4 points while coming off the bench for all but three games. Yet he has been up and down. Before Thursday, in his previous nine games, Milton was averaging 9.4 points, 2.3 assists, 2.0 turnovers and a minus-2.8 rating.

The Sixers needed a spark Thursday because they were playing the second in a back-to-back and the Bucks were well rested. Milton responded with 20 points. He shot 8-for-14, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and added four assists and just one turnover in 26 minutes, 20 seconds.

Milton said it was business as usual.

“Nothing changed,” he said. “Shoot when you are open; pass when you are not,” he said after Thursday’s loss. “The game is always going to tell you what to do. Just locked in and make plays.”

Milton likes to keep things simple, so the last thing on his mind was thinking about coming out of a slump.

“If you start thinking [too much], it all snowballs,” he said. “Just play basketball.”

Milton might not want to acknowledge it, but with the addition of George Hill, the backup minutes that were readily available might not be there if he gets into a prolonged slump.

In addition, rookie Tyrese Maxey has seemed to have a rebirth. After being a “DNP-Coaches decision” during the Sixers’ 123-117 win over Brooklyn on April 14, Maxey has averaged 11 points in four games.

The final 13 games, beginning Saturday in Milwaukee, are crucial for Milton to establish himself as the No. 1 option off the bench. He took a step in the right direction Thursday.

David Murphy writes that the NBA hung the Sixers out to dry by scheduling them with a back-to-back against a well-rested Milwaukee team, but Joel Embiid salvaged the night with his grit.

Keith Pompey reported that Simmons didn’t make the trip to Milwaukee for Thursday’s game, the third straight he has missed because of an illness.

Pompey writes that Maxey prepares for each game the same way, whether he has played the game before or not.

Pompey offers his best/worst awards after Wednesday’s loss to Phoenix, including a stellar defensive performance by Matisse Thybulle.

After the Phoenix loss, Murphy wrote about George Hill’s impact and how it might affect Milton.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is the two-time reigning NBA MVP, and even though he is a major underdog to make it three in a row, the “Greek Freak” would be in select company if he pulls it off.

The last NBA player to win three consecutive MVP awards was Boston’s Larry Bird, in 1984, 1985 and 1986. In those three seasons, Bird averaged 26.2 points. 10.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists, shooting 39.2% from three-point range. He missed a total of just five games in those three seasons.

Bird also added NBA Finals MVP awards in 1984 and 1986 as the Celtics won the championship both years.

Here are the players who have won three straight regular-season MVP awards:

The NBA MVP was first awarded for the 1955-56 season and won by Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks. Since then, nine players have won it twice in a row. LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar each won it twice in a row on two different occasions. The players who have won two in a row besides James, Abdul-Jabbar and Antetokounmpo are Stephen Curry, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone.

Saturday: Sixers at Milwaukee Bucks, 3:30 p.m., Fiserv Forum, ESPN

Monday: Oklahoma City Thunder at Sixers, 7 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Wednesday: Atlanta Hawks at Sixers, 7 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Next Friday: Atlanta Hawks at Sixers, 7 p.m. Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

May 2: Sixers at San Antonio, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Question: When will Doc realize Shake is a way better player when playing off the ball opposed to playing point guard? — Mars MrGabagoo from Facebook

Answer: Thanks for the question, Mars. I think the reason Milton was playing so much backup point guard was that the Sixers didn’t have a viable option. Now with Hill, that changes.

I agree that Milton is much better off the ball, when he can just concentrate on scoring. To illustrate your point, he is averaging 3.0 assists compared to 1.8 turnovers, which isn’t the greatest ratio. So I think he will be playing more off the ball and I look for Hill to get even more playing time. In his first three games with the Sixers, Hill has averaged 20.5 minutes, and I look for that total to go up to possibly 25 per game.

Send questions by email to mnarducci@inquirer.com or @sjnard on Twitter.