Newly acquired Sixers guard Seth Curry should have a career year in 2021.
When it was announced that the Sixers would be acquiring Seth Curry in a draft-night trade with the Dallas Mavericks, it honestly felt like a match made in heaven. People have been screaming for Philadelphia to surround the likes of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid with floor spacers – and Curry just happens to be one of the best pure sharpshooters in all of basketball.
However, outside of Curry’s perceived ability to open things up for Simmons and Embiid, he himself should also benefit quite a bit from an expanded role with the Sixers in 2021. While he played big roles for Dallas in 2017 and 2020, he was never viewed as a traditional “starter.”
In Philadelphia, that should change.
While Doc Rivers is yet to officially name a starting five for the 2021 season, Daryl Morey has repeatedly alluded to what he thinks it’ll end up being. The combination of Simmons-Curry-Green-Harris-Embiid feels most likely, and that’s obviously super good news for the before mentioned Curry.
Curry had the best year of his career last season with Dallas, however, it was in a relatively small sample size. He averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting 49.5% from the field (45.2% from three), but he only played 24.6 minutes per night. In Philly, he could see his minutes per game rise up to the 34/35 minute mark, as he embraces that starting role alongside Simmons in the backcourt.
Using Curry’s per 36 minute average from last season as a reference point, this increase in playing time would see his PPG average climb to 18.1 – by far a career high.
Additionally, Ben Simmons has established himself as one of the better “three-point manufacturers” in all of basketball. Simmons ranked third in three-pointers assisted last year (226), just 18 behind the league leader Luka Doncic (244).
With Curry set to receive a healthy boost in playing time this year, combined with the role that Simmons will play in terms of facilitating open looks, the conclusion that Curry will have the best year of his career in 2021 is a pretty easy one to come to. Seeing his points per game average climb up to that 15-18 range feels pretty appropriate.
Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
