The Whiteboard: J.J. Redick must be sick of hearing about the 76ers Big Four

The Philadelphia 76ers got better by adding Tobias Harris to their squad, but JJ Redick is playing like he’s pissed off not to be included in the Sixers’ big four.

The Philadelphia 76ers filled out their starting five in dramatic fashion before the NBA trade deadline by adding Tobias Harris to take Wilson Chandler’s place. Immediately, Harris, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler were ordained as a big four.

There are five players in the 76ers starting five, though, which leaves one member of that strong group of starters out. That one member is J.J. Redick, who has led the Sixers in scoring since the debut of the so-called big four.

In the two games Harris has been on the team, Redick is averaging 27.5 points, 4.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting an incredible 67.9 percent from the field, 69.2 percent from 3-point territory and 88.9 percent from the free throw line. Those do not seem like non-big four numbers.

Aside from simply having two nice games, Redick’s everyday importance to this starting group is significant. He’s the only member of the five that is optimized by working off of the ball and not handling it. Harris and Butler are good enough shooters to do some catch-and-shoot work as well, but having an elite off-ball player in Redick makes the whole thing work.

He probably won’t average nearly 28 points and shoot 67/69/88 the rest of the season, but J.J. Redick’s place on the team should not be undersold. Even if he doesn’t create offense like his teammates in the starting five do, he’s vital to this Sixers team.