Arizona basketball: Will T.J. McConnell get playing time with the 76ers?

T.J. McConnell has made a 15-man roster but will he actually have a chance to contribute?

I was more than likely the most excited person in all of California when I heard the news of T.J. McConnell making the 76ers 15-man roster. While making the team is a huge accomplishment, I think we all know he can do more than make a 15-man roster.

The 76ers have some serious injury issues. Joel Embiid is out for the season, and is the most publicized injury, but that won't impact McConnell's possible playing time. However, the 76ers have two guards with a torn ACL (Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall). Nik Stauskas has a stress reaction in his right tibia and his return is unknown.

Philadelphia opened the season Wednesday against Boston and will likely only dress10 players at most in the early going (depending on Stauskas). The only other viable option at point guard is Isaiah Cannan (assuming Stauskus doesn't play). So, with all that being said, T.J. is more than likely the back-up for the first week of games. As we all know, he has a way of impacting games, and with the return dates of Wroten and Marshall unknown, McConnell could play his way into some valuable minutes.

Prediction: T.J. doesn't win the starting job over Cannan before the ACL duo comes back. I think T.J. will see considerable minutes but I'm not sure if he can do enough offensively to crack the starting line up. But, if he finds a little more offense, I think he can beat out all three point guards.

Personally, I see some similarities with T.J. and Rajon Rondo. Both look to pass first, play stingy defense, and neither are very good shooters. While Rondo is more flashy than T.J., the similarities are still there, and if Rondo can make it in the NBA, McConnell can too.

Update: T.J. McConnell, in his first game with the 76ers played 28 minutes had 4 points on 2/5 shooting and led the team with 4 assists.

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