Should Mbah a Moute Still Be Starting?

It's hard to watch a team as poor as the Sixers trot out the same lineup each and every night. It's even more painful when there are in-house options to make the team more aesthetically pleasing they simply will not make. This team as a whole is a disaster, and Luc Mbah a Moute is only contributing to that. Once considered one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, the former second round pick is a shadow of his former self on the defensive end, and not much help offensively. And while Mbah a Moute starts night in and night out, K.J. McDaniels, the ACC defensive player of the year, is proving himself to be the better player despite coming off the bench.

In 27 minutes last night, McDaniels post a modest six points on just four shots, but more importantly posted a +/- of +4. Mbah a Moute was -9 in 25 minutes. While head coach Brett Brown has said they'll re-evaluate things after the first third of the season, starting Mbah a Moute while bringing McDaniels off the bench isn't helping this team. The numbers back it up too.

Compare the opponent's numbers when Mbah a Moute is on and off the court.

Other than the fact that opponent's field goal percentage is down when he's off the court (large in part to McDaniels), the disparity in +/- when Mbah a Moute is off the court is pretty significant, it shows how much more the Sixers score when he's off the court and McDaniels is on.

While the former Clemson standout doesn't see the ball often, he has been much more efficient with his touches than his counterpart from UCLA. Mbah a Moute, averaging 45.5 touches per game, is scoring just .176 points per touch, as opposed to McDaniels, who is scoring .330 points per touch on just 26.9 touches per game.

Simply put, the 21-year-old McDaniels is a better player on both ends of the ball, and the fancy stats back it up. The sooner Brett Brown realizes It, the better.