Malcolm Miller
Starting with the least likely player to feature in this spot, let’s talk about Malcolm Miller for a second.
While Miller remains the least likely player to feature in the spot, he might be the one that makes the most sense.
The Sixers have a lot of length of their roster, and that includes on their bench. That length is causing the Raptors all sorts of problems on both ends of the court, with the smaller players like VanVleet and Powell finding it difficult to get off heavily contested shots.
Adding Miller into the rotation instantly negates that length and advantage that the Sixers would have over the Raptors.
A 6-foot-7 small forward who can play effectively as a spot-up shooter and an on-ball defender, Miller seems like the ideal candidate to take on the number seven spot. Even if it is in limited minutes.
Miller only featured in 15 games for the Raptors this year – his year was hampered by a torn labrum in his right shoulder – but he was a 47-percent shooter from three on two attempts per game in that stretch. A limited sample size it may be, but Miller proved to be an efficient shooter in the G-League, knocking down 38-percent of his threes in as many seasons.
The Raptors love to be able to switch between positions 1-4, and having Miller on the court allows them to do that without creating any stark mismatches. Sticking to the gameplan on defense has been key for Toronto so far, holding the Sixers to under 100 points in three of the four games so far.
Throwing Miller into the mix is the best way to keep on track with the plan.