This season has been [absolutely brutal for sophomore guard Jared McCain](https://thesixersense.com/philadelphia-76ers-jared-mccain-situation-getting-harder-explain-quentin-grimes). After missing nearly an entire calendar year due to a couple of injuries, he managed to make a successful return for the Philadelphia 76ers. However, as expected, his rust has been too much to handle. As a result, he suddenly finds himself having a shaky footing with the franchise.
McCain’s court time has gone up as of late, but hs is still struggling to find his rhythm in the offense. In 19.2 minutes per outing, he is averaging just 7.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists a night while draining just 35.5 percent of his shots and 31.7 percent of his three-point tries. Those figures are unmistakably bad — there is no arguing that.
But beyond the numbers, the 76ers are quietly sending the eccentric guard a strong message which he simply cannot ignore. Nick Nurse and the coaching staff have deployed him in a different way so far this season, and the trends that can be observed point to a reduced degree of trust reposed on the sophomore.
The 76ers are quietly sending a strong message to Jared McCain
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McCain has always been a score-first guard, but he showed enough passing chops in his rookie season that warranted belief that he can eventually function as a lead guard. However, it seems like the 76ers are not exactly thrilled about handing him the keys to the offense just yet.
Seven of the 10 most-used lineups featuring McCain so far this season have him slotted next to Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers have mobilized him almost exclusively as a shooting guard, although the bigger thing goes beyond the positional variable at play.
His usage rate, which was at 24.7 percent last season, is down to 19 in this campaign. The 76ers are not trusting him with the rock as much. Sure, while this fact can be tossed up to the team being more conservative about the way they want to use him after his injury, there are factors that also prevent him from getting back to that kind of a prominent role.
For starters, Philly now has VJ Edgecombe alongside their troika of established stars. Quite frankly, there is no reason for the coaching staff to give him a lot of leeway for individual creation, which is where he is at his best. Suffice to say that his current usage will subsist moving forward which begs the question — what can McCain even do to reclaim his spot in the pecking order?
Well, shooting better will be a good start. So is making better reads on the floor when he is handling the rock. But even so, until he gets back to the level where he was in his rookie season, it is hard to envision Jared McCain having the kind of pull people expected him to have, even after his injury.
Fortunately for him, the ball is still in his hands. Question is, what will he do with it?