It's no secret that Jared McCain has struggled since returning from injury, but it's important to note the circumstances surrounding his poor play and not overreact to a situation that is entirely justifiable.
After missing the first five games of the season for the Philadelphia 76ers, Jared McCain has struggled to find his rhythm, going scoreless in each of his three games played this season. Due to this struggle to find his groove with the Sixers, he was sent down to the G-League to play with the Delaware Blue Coats to get some more playing time.
Unfortunately, his first game didn't quite go as well as he would have hoped, shooting just 3-10 from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arc. With the poor shooting, McCain scored just 10 points in 20 minutes.
Due to this continued poor play, even in the G-League, fans have become very concerned with McCain, wondering if he's the same player that he was before. While it's not necessarily unfair to have this reaction, as he has been playing poorly, it's important to remember the circumstances.
After going down with a knee injury in December last year, McCain missed the rest of the season and played just 23 games in his rookie season. Then, as he was ramping up to play for the first time in months, he suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb, making him miss the Sixers' training camp.
It's understandable for a player to struggle shooting the ball if they missed the time dedicated to getting back into playing shape and had a significant injury to their shooting hand. It's worth noting that McCain actually looked really solid aside from his shooting issues, as he's made some great moves to get shots up and played some solid defense already within his first few games.
He is also clearly still Philly's best backup playmaker, as Quentin Grimes becomes a liability once he puts the ball on the floor. This is also why it's so important that the Sixers get McCain back as soon as possible, and why it's a good thing that he's shaking off the rust in the G-League.
If he can put together a couple of solid performances with the Blue Coats, Philadelphia will likely bring him back to the main roster, and he should be in a better position to help the team by the time he's back.
With Joel Embiid on a day-to-day and Paul George in the final phase of his recovery, the Sixers could be getting fully healthy soon. Kelly Oubre Jr. did leave their last game against the Detroit Pistons with a hyper-extended knee, so there's certainly concern there as he's been incredible this season. That said, it shouldn't be anything too serious, and if he only misses a couple of games, Philadelphia could be playing with their full roster within the next few weeks.