Sixers' Richaun Holmes biding his time
"IT'S JUST, there's not enough positions." For the second straight day, rookie Richaun Holmes found himself a towel-waving observer from the 76ers bench, Sunday's effort during a 95-85 loss to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. He did the same thing less than 24 hours earlier when the Toronto Raptors laid loss No. 35 on the Sixers.
"IT'S JUST, there's not enough positions."
For the second straight day, rookie Richaun Holmes found himself a towel-waving observer from the 76ers bench, Sunday's effort during a 95-85 loss to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. He did the same thing less than 24 hours earlier when the Toronto Raptors laid loss No. 35 on the Sixers.
It has fans scratching their heads a bit as to why Holmes, the 37th pick in last year's draft, sits in clumps like he has the past couple of games. But the explanation above, given by coach Brett Brown, is one of the reasons why, and also leads to more questions. Particularly, is winning or development more important?
When Brown looked out on the court Sunday, he saw Cleveland's Kevin Love, the quintessential stretch four in the NBA. He also knew that, at times, Cleveland coach David Blatt likes to go with a small lineup that includes LeBron James at the power forward spot, so getting someone quick enough to cover him meant more time for Jerami Grant and Carl Landry. So while he started the game with his two bigs - Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor - Brown knew that his small-ball lineup was going to have to rule the day. While Holmes is probably best-suited in this league as a power forward, Brown chose for him to watch from the bench over the weekend.
It's that battle that Brown often has to deal with - trying to win a game vs. trying to develop younger talent. Landry probably gives the team a better chance to win, but at 32, where does he fit into the future of the program?
There lies the dilemma.
Holmes went a stretch of nine consecutive games without getting on the floor earlier this season, but had played in 19 straight before Saturday. He had 17 points in 18 minutes in a win last Monday against Minnesota and really seemed to be finding himself. But this is what the Sixers are about right now, and really have been the past three seasons - a roster filled with imbalance and injuries and no sort of stability.
"I'm in a situation where we've never been in here, where you have healthy people and you really have a legitimate bench," Brown said. "We've always had just an abundance of unhealthy players so rotating 10 or 11 guys is easy. When you start getting into the volume that we are now, something has got to give. The curveball through all of it ends up (being) small ball. So if LeBron goes to a four (power forward), or if Patrick Patterson or Rudy Gay goes there, it blows up the bigs quite quickly. So you've got Carl Landry who has shown he can help us. That's a veteran man. And then Jerami (Grant) goes to like that mobile four spot. So Richaun took a hit. It's part of 82 games. It's part of matchups. It's part of a rookie. The thing that I do know is, as a coach, you want to keep guys warm. You never want them dying. You got to find ways to keep them alive. Sometimes that happens when the game is lost in the fourth period with the margin. Sometimes that happens because somebody gets in foul trouble."
Through it all, the 22-year-old Holmes smiles and absorbs and hopes Brown's finger gets pointed his way, but truly understands when it doesn't.
"I try not to concentrate on it and just try to focus or do what I can to help the team win, whether that's cheering from the bench or doing something well at practice," Holmes said. "I just try to focus on bringing a positive energy to the team and try to help us in any game any way I can.
"Development is extremely important. They invest a lot of time in the players here and try to get us better and make us longtime NBA players. I just have to continue to have the mindset of working hard every day in every situation and try to get better. We work on a lot of things, from shooting to putting the ball on the floor more and post moves. We work on every aspect of the game to make me a complete NBA player."
Of course, there is the logjam that is the big man spot for the Sixers, with Okafor and Noel, along with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric waiting in the wings. Again, that doesn't concern Holmes, who already has stuffed a highlight reel with eye-popping dunks.
Before games, you'll see him shooting threes, trying to correct the sideways rotation that accompanies his shot. His most effective offensive play right now is following shots with rattling slams. He has proven a very good weakside shot-blocker and has the ability to take the ball to the basket off a dribble (but no more than one). He has shown enough so far to warrant excitement, just not in the past two games.
"I knew from Day 1 that he was going to be a good player in this league," Landry said. "He's a competitor, has a good basketball IQ, understands the game and spacing. He's athletic and can run the floor, can shoot. For a big, he can post a little bit and all those things will get better over time. He's a guy that I see running in this league for a long time.
"It's hard for everybody (not playing), even myself. But you have to realize that it's a marathon. The goal is to play in the NBA. You've just got to overcome situations. That's what I put in the ear of guys like Richaun."
And the 6-10, 245-pound rookie soaks it all in and keeps the smile, even if playing time isn't on his side lately.
On Twitter: @BobCooney76
Blog: philly.com/Sixersblog
