After two successful trial runs, a new tactic being used by Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to solve the team’s woes in third quarters did not work. The Sixers have a 44-26 frame out of intermission to blame for their latest loss.
Adam Aaronson
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Friday’s NBA Cup Group Play battle between the Sixers and Pistons in Detroit should have been a chance for the Sixers to bank a win against a team devastated by injuries. Instead, it will be remembered as a 114-105 loss and a significant missed opportunity.
To be fair, the Sixers were far from at full strength themselves: Joel Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain were all down for this game; the first two players are dealing with knee issues and the third is on assignment in the G League. But the Sixers had considerably more manpower available than Detroit, whose five starters in this game are earning a combined $32.9 million in 2025-26 – a figure about $5 million lower than Tyrese Maxey’s salary this season.
But the Sixers learned the hard way just how tough-minded this Pistons team is, and a horrid offensive showing in the fourth quarter sunk them after a shockingly brilliant performance in the third quarter. It was a bizarre reversal of fortunes that initially appeared promising but later became crushing.
Takeaways from a loss that the Sixers would like to have back – and one that all but eliminates them from contention for the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds:
Barlow swung the Sixers’ season-opening game in their favor back on Oct. 22 as the starting power forward; he grabbed five offensive rebounds over the Boston Celtics and every single one of them led directly to points. He also had five assists in that game, and Barlow remained the team’s starting power forward for its home opener. But then, at halftime of the second game of the season, Barlow was ruled out with a right elbow laceration.
An ailment the Sixers did not believe was all that serious at the time turned out to cost the two-way forward nine full games. Barlow had to undergo a procedure and then wear a brace that kept his arm completely straight so the wound would heal. Barlow, at least for now, has lost the starting power forward job to Trendon Watford, but either one of them would be a placeholder for George regardless. Barlow surges toward the top of a crowded field of rotation candidates in the frontcourt that also includes Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker.
Barlow officially rejoined the action to begin the second quarter on Friday, and he immediately looked like himself. Barlow played six minutes and change before subbing out; he grabbed six rebounds with three of them coming on the offensive glass (one of them led directly to an Edwards triple). Barlow also knocked down a corner triple himself despite his suspect shooting mechanics being further derailed by his elbow:
Shortly thereafter, Barlow recovered after a turnover to block athletic Pistons wing Ron Holland II on a transition dunk attempt. Barlow was whistled for a foul and immediately called for a review; head coach Nick Nurse obliged and the call was overturned.
Barlow started the second half – more on this shortly – and the 22-year-old promptly assisted a Quentin Grimes triple, blocked a shot and then connected from beyond the arc again. He nearly threw down an emphatic put-back dunk, too, but the ball was just a bit too far away from the rim for even such an athletic big to pull it off. He flushed it and collected another two assists; he is beginning to show some serious chops in advantage situations. It was a stellar all-around showing for any player, let alone one returning from a prolonged absence.
Exactly what Barlow’s role will look like with Watford fully integrated and George eventually back in the fold remains to be seen. He closed the Sixers’ opener at center and found success, perhaps he could upend Adem Bona there. But Barlow remains a tremendous asset, two-way contract or not.
Asked about his team’s constant struggles in third quarters earlier this week, Nurse hinted that he was considering a practice that he has been unafraid to utilize before: opening second halves of games with a different starting five than the one on the floor when games begin. It is a strategy that worked for Nurse when he coached the Toronto Raptors to an NBA Finals victory, when Danny Green opened games and Fred VanVleet replaced him in that unit to begin third quarters.
On Friday, Nurse started Maxey, Edgecombe, Oubre, Watford and Andre Drummond. But with Oubre ruled out for the second half of action due to a left knee hyperextension, the veteran swingman was replaced by Grimes in the starting unit to open the second half. Barlow also took over for Watford, a sign of Nurse’s creativity finally taking over in a more serious way as he became desperate to solve the Sixers’ league-worst performance in third quarters.
Well, this experiment can be considered a success. The Sixers did not just play what was far and away their best third quarter of the season on Friday, but they came out of intermission with one of their single best quarters of 2025-26, period. After allowing Detroit to control the game’s physicality in the first half, the Sixers finally became the aggressors on both ends of the floor. They swarmed everything and caused chaos defensively while playing with determination and force on the offensive end.
The grouping of Maxey, Edgecombe, Grimes, Barlow and Drummond opened the second half on a 14-0 run that eventually extended to a 21-2 stretch. Barlow was all over the place during that stretch while Maxey shook off an inefficient first half to get going. Grimes knocked down some shots and had standout defensive plays, while Drummond flushed an embarrassing double-dribble violation on a 2-on-0 transition opportunity by knocking down two corner triples and stunning Pistons fans unfamiliar with that part of his game:
The Sixers were outscored by 10 points in the final 3:30 of the frame when their offense stagnated and Detroit got hot – and made a half-court bank-shot – but it was still a very successful 36-25 third quarter. Nurse has joked that he would rather his group thrive in fourth quarters than third quarters; it was the fourth quarter in which the Sixers lost this game.
Some additional notes:
• Drummond definitely appreciated the chance to flash his corner three-point shooting in front of Pistons fans. After the Sixers practiced on Thursday, the veteran center spoke glowingly of his relationship with Detroit and the Pistons.
“I mean, that’s home,” Drummond said. “That’s where I started. That’s the team that took a chance on me, an 18-year-old from Middletown, Connecticut, gave me a chance to play the game I know and love at the highest level. So it’s always respect and love for the city of Detroit.”
• After experiencing a brutal slump over his last handful of games, Edgecombe got off to a nice start in this one, connecting on two early triples and carrying 13 efficient points into halftime. But in the second half the rookie experienced major difficulty as a scorer, with Grimes superseding him in terms of on-ball responsibility. Edgecombe did once again knock down a crucial three in the fourth quarter despite his prior struggles, perhaps another sign of his strong mental makeup.
Edgecombe’s fast start was particularly encouraging given his back ailment. But he is still looking to find the sort of groove he enjoyed early in the season.
• Time will tell how Oubre recovers, but knee hyperextensions are never great. He struggled in this game and the one before it, but Oubre has been among the Sixers’ most consistent and valuable contributors this season. Their aforementioned crowded frontcourt picture is more valuable now that Oubre could miss time. Of course, George returning would be a major lift as well.
Up next: The Sixers will have another two days off before returning to action on Monday night when they host the struggling Los Angeles Clippers.
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Adam Aaronson
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In need of their first momentum-shifting victory of the 2025-26 season, the Sixers whipped out their throwback black jerseys for the first time on Saturday night. Some good fortune came in tow.
The Sixers defeated the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, 130-120, to improve to 6-3 on the season and avoid a three-game losing streak. While the stars were star-like – Tyrese Maxey managed 31 points to lead all scorers while Joel Embiid had the easiest 29 points of his season on 16 shots in 26 minutes – the story was Trendon Watford, who received his first start of the season and responded with a 20-17-10 line to mark the first triple-double by a Sixers player this season.
With those three stellar showings, another strong performance from Kelly Oubre Jr. and helpful efforts from VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, the Sixers had enough to overcome their disastrous defensive start, take control of the game and eventually land the knockout blow in the fourth quarter.
Everything that stood out from a night that most will remember for the jerseys, the court and the return of an old friend:
As if a three-game stretch averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists off the bench was not enough of a statement for Watford, the soon-to-be 25-year-old had the best game of his NBA career on Saturday in his first start as a member of the Sixers.
Inserted into the starting five ahead of Jabari Walker, Watford had his fingerprints all over this game from the start. He followed up a surprisingly strong scoring performance on Wednesday night in Cleveland with an even better one on Saturday; 11 of his 20 points came in the opening frame. Watford knocked down an early triple once again. He is shooting accurately and confidently from beyond the arc, and even on low volume that will be a major help.
“I’ve been putting in work all summer, all year on it,” Watford said after the Sixers held a practice on Friday morning. “…Obviously being able to do a lot of things on the court, I think that me shooting the ball at a high level can play to my advantage a lot. But I’ve got all the confidence in my shot, all the confidence in my game.”
But even at 6-foot-9, everyone has learned that with Watford it is the passing and playmaking to really watch out for. He collected a career-high 10 assists; a staggering six of them went to his close friend Maxey. The two of them predictably have already put together some stellar two-man work:
After a hamstring injury forced Watford to miss training camp and preseason, Watford has found a way to seamlessly fit into his new team’s offense despite a lack of familiarity and an unconventional style.
Watford looks like a significant weapon moving forward, especially enticing on top of the Sixers’ terrific group of young guards. On Saturday, what was just as notable as Watford’s scoring and facilitating was another career-high: 17 rebounds, rounding out the first triple-double of his NBA career.
Watford is generally not considered a particularly strong rebounder for a player of his size, but he certainly is one for a player with his level of ball skills. And time and time again, as he snares a defensive rebound and leads his team into transition offense, the value of having a jumbo-sized ball-handler is on display.
It certainly feels like Andre Drummond has officially taken the Sixers’ primary backup center job from Adem Bona. Drummond has just been better early on in 2025-26; the veteran’s rebounding has been a stabilizing force for a team struggling to string together stops. On Friday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse more or less acknowledged that things could be headed in this direction.
“Yeah, I think so,” Nurse said. “…I think it’s always something we’re looking at. More than anything, I’m trying to put the guys on the floor than can best help us, period. If that moves around a little bit, it moves around, and it’ll probably move around again and all that kind of stuff. Ride the guys who are playing well, ride the better matchups.”
Exhibit A: Saturday’s game. Bona checked in for Embiid halfway through the first quarter and the Sixers allowed Toronto to score 28 points in six minutes. Trailing 43-33 after one quarter, Nurse decided that once Embiid needed more rest it would become Drummond’s game. Drummond paid it off by going +8 in 18 minutes the rest of the way while Bona sat for the remainder of the action.
Given Embiid’s constant availability issues, Drummond and Bona are both crucial pieces to this puzzle. And if Bona is demoted to the third-string center spot, it will still be the most important third-string center spot in the NBA. Embiid will sit on Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons, and Bona very well may start. But it is hard to imagine that Drummond has not clearly separated himself from the player he has taken under his wing.
The Sixers have been better with Drummond manning the middle than Bona. It is not an inherent statement about their individual abilities; it is clear that Bona can hang in plenty of matchups in which Drummond’s lack of mobility makes him unplayable. But when Nurse has a chance to roll with his bruising big off the bench, for now that looks like the plan.
Some additional notes:
• Jared McCain was listed as available for the Sixers on Saturday, but ended up not playing. The guess here: Nurse planned on using McCain at the start of the second quarter, but after his team opened the game with a horrid defensive frame he opted to keep McCain on the bench in hopes of turning things around defensively and saving the 21-year-old guard for the second leg of this weekend’s back-to-back.
Nick Nurse says that Jared McCain was available tonight, but they decided to save him for tomorrow night.
McCain, who still has restrictions as he returns from the torn meniscus he suffered last year, has not been cleared to play both ends of back-to-backs.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) November 9, 2025
• Drummond’s quality minutes were especially important because with McCain not in the mix, the Sixers were awfully thin. Drummond (16 minutes) and Grimes (28 minutes) were Nurse’s only reserves to reach double-digit minute totals. Justin Edwards played seven minutes and Jabari Walker logged five minutes in addition to Bona only playing eight minutes. That forced Maxey into a 43-minute night, with Watford, Edgecombe and Oubre all surpassing 36 minutes.
• Edgecombe did not have a good scoring night; he is in a bit of a slump on that front. Edgecombe only made five of his 15 shot attempts in this game, but once again found other ways to leave his mark. Edgecombe grabbed seven rebounds, dished out four assists and nabbed three steals. Plus, he helped put the game away by finally finding some scoring juice and getting three consecutive buckets down the stretch.
• Embiid’s scoring outburst felt casual in a familiar way. To be fair, perhaps Embiid should be expected to have a relatively easy time against a team like this one: Toronto started wing Scottie Barnes at center; their only true big in the rotation was Sandro Mamukelashvili, who logged 17 minutes off the bench. Embiid made the most of his size advantage on many occasions.
Up next: The Sixers will get right back to work on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons – once again wearing their throwback jerseys. Embiid will be out of action, but McCain should be available.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
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Adam Aaronson
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As they stepped onto a throwback court in Cleveland on Wednesday night, the Sixers were a team not even 24 hours removed from beginning a game in Chicago that had been fast-paced, physical, grueling and heartbreaking. There were signs of fatigue in Chicago, where all of the Sixers’ best players had either played significant minutes against the Bulls or already been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers.
All of that was immediately evident on Wednesday night. With an energized arena behind the Cavaliers and star guard Darius Garland in his season debut, the Sixers blinked and found themselves trailing 17-4. It immediately seemed clear that it would be one of those nights.
The Sixers, to their credit, refused to let go of the rope. They made some spirited pushes, particularly during a strong two-way effort in the second quarter. But by the time the final buzzer sounded with the Sixers on the wrong side of a 132-121 final score – and an explosion from Cavaliers superstar guard Donovan Mitchell – it was clear that chances to rest Thursday and Friday will be very helpful for an undermanned group with another back-to-back on the docket over the weekend.
Notes and observations from Wednesday’s action in Cleveland:
Nobody would have been remotely caught off guard if the Sixers let Cleveland’s three-point barrage in the opening frame cause them to throw in the towel early and begin thinking about their flight home. But they really hung in there, and after being on the wrong side of a 41-27 deficit in the first quarter outscored the Cavaliers 40-29 in the second quarter. They had tied the game by the 10-minute mark of the third quarter, when Kelly Oubre Jr. knocked down a corner three right in front of Cleveland’s bench and blew several Cavaliers a kiss:
Kelly Oubre Jr. with the corner three to tie the Sixers-Cavs contest at 72-72! 👀 The Sixers trailed by 17 at one point early in this one. pic.twitter.com/6p5BBkv37Y
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) November 6, 2025
That second quarter represented the best basketball the Sixers played on Wednesday by far, and it was a collaborative effort. Tyrese Maxey had his least impactful first quarter in recent memory, but then exploded in the final minutes of the half. His underwhelming half, in just a few moments, turned into an 18-point, four-assist, three-rebound line on excellent efficiency. Maxey continues to play tremendous basketball, but it was his close friend Trendon Watford who got the Sixers’ comeback effort started.
Watford gave the Sixers a stellar jolt of offense in the first half, scoring 13 points on six shots. Watford’s ability to grab a rebound and immediately initiate offense – oftentimes in transition – has been a boon for the Sixers, who have been able to quickly integrate the 6-foot-9 point forward despite him missing all of training camp and preseason with a hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, Andre Drummond fully surpassed Adem Bona on the center depth chart for at least one night. Bona had a brutal first stint on the floor to begin the game as the Sixers’ starting five, and it was Drummond on the floor during their strongest pushes. Drummond was one rebound away from recording a double-double off the bench in one half of play; he has reverted back to his previous historic rebounding numbers early on this year after merely being very good on that front last season. Best of all for Drummond, the veteran center knocked down a corner triple in the third quarter, minutes after Bona missed one.
Things fell off the rails early in the third quarter for the Sixers; Oubre’s game-tying shot turned out to be somewhat of a last gasp. But the Sixers at least showed a level of resilience and determination that eluded them on many occasions last year, including in a 27-point blowout in Cleveland in December.
Even with Paul George still sidelined by a knee injury, Edwards played himself out of the Sixers’ regular rotation with a brutal preseason after a disappointing Summer League. Edwards looked like such a stable wing presence as a rookie, a player capable of fitting into any lineup and one whose ability to impact winning was not reliant on having the ball. He was able to frequently manufacture chances to make positive plays.
In 2025-26, that ability has nearly been entirely nonexistent. Edwards has received sporadic rotation chances, not just because Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is a big fan but because the Sixers have never been fully healthy in the frontcourt even without considering George’s absence. Far too often Edwards has just been out there, fading into the background without being noticeable in any way. Even if he is more well-rounded than someone like Trendon Watford or Jabari Walker, those players have clear traits they can hang their hats on; Edwards is still searching for a signature skill.
Perhaps Wednesday can be a launching point for Edwards, who looked like his 2024-25 self early on in Cleveland. Edwards’ night was not perfect – he was defending Mitchell, who was able to draw three fouls on the 21-year-old. But Edwards crashed the glass and grabbed a timely offensive rebound to eventually net the Sixers an extra basket. Then he hit a spot-up three off a drive and kick from Maxey. Moments later, Edwards had Mitchell defending him and faked a cut so convincingly that Mitchell fell to the floor, creating an advantage for the Sixers. The ball ended up swinging to Edwards in the corner and he cashed another three.
Such a stretch would have been commonplace last season, but it represented one of his finest moments of 2025-26 to date despite his fouling issues. Will this be a night Edwards can build on, or just a short-lived outlier?
Some additional notes:
• With an early triple, Oubre reached 1,000 made three-pointers in his NBA career:
• Jabari Walker remained in his role as a low-minute starter in this one, opening each half at power forward. Walker appeared to hurt his back on a collision and ensuing fall early in the third quarter, but ended up returning for the final minute and change. Dominick Barlow, the Sixers’ other NBA-ready two-way forward, has missed six-plus games due to an elbow laceration.
• This game was clearly over late in the third quarter, but Maxey and Oubre both played the entirety of the fourth quarter. Nurse is a proponent of riding his best players for as many minutes as possible, and in games that are close that will often swing contests in his team’s favor. But it is harder to do that successfully without being able to identify the right times to pull the plug. An opportunity to save his guys some minutes was staring Nurse in the face on Wednesday and he failed to take it.
The Sixers entered tonight’s 4Q trailing by 20 points. Tyrese Maxey + Kelly Oubre Jr., both among the NBA leaders in minutes this year, played the first 10:54 of the quarter on the second night of a back-to-back. The Sixers never got within striking distance whatsoever. pic.twitter.com/67obQAFDlm
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) November 6, 2025
Up next: The Sixers will return home with a pair of days off before beginning another back-to-back. They will host the Toronto Raptors on Saturday while wearing their black throwback jerseys before welcoming the Detroit Pistons to town on Sunday.
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Adam Aaronson
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PHILADELPHIA – On the heels of Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe scoring 34 points in an electric NBA debut in Boston on Wednesday night, there was some extra juice at Xfinity Mobile Arena as the Sixers played host to the Charlotte Hornets in their 2025-26 home opener.
After a brutal season debut, Joel Embiid looked substantially better against Charlotte and its makeshift center rotation, playing with considerably better energy and finding ways to consistently leave his mark on the action. He was aided by more tremendous guard play – Tyrese Maxey remained red-hot from three-point range and Quentin Grimes engaged in a heater of his own, while Edgecombe did a stellar job of filling in the gaps – but the Sixers’ lackluster defense and inability to find quality minutes from role players at both forward spots allowed a young Hornets team to remain in the game.
Those defensive issues only got worse in the third quarter, as a 38-25 frame in Charlotte’s favor put the Sixers in a 10-point hole entering the final frame. The Sixers quickly made a push, but every time it felt as if they were closing in on mounting a comeback the Hornets responded with a timely basket. Finally, the major run came, and it was sparked by Andre Drummond of all people, whose rebounding and interior scoring made a massive difference. The Sixers and Hornets found themselves on a seesaw in the final minutes of the game, but Grimes – the Sixers’ best all-around player in this game – gave them the lead with a three. One stop later, the Sixers were 2-0.
Everything that stood out from a 125-121 Sixers win that, while encouraging in some respects, probably could have been easier:
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that Embiid’s minutes restriction and plan would be “similar” to the one used in Boston, but the former NBA MVP’s early aggression was a whole lot different this time around. For the entirety of Embiid’s 20 minutes on opening night, he almost appeared shellshocked by the speed of the game and his inability to keep up. At first he was somewhat of an offensive decoy, but eventually even that title would have been a stretch.
On the Sixers’ very first possession of Wednesday’s game, Dominick Barlow rebounded an Edgecombe miss and the ball swung to Embiid, who confidently stepped into a triple and knocked it down:
Nobody has advocated for Embiid to notch his three-point volume up more than Nurse, and perhaps it is becoming more of a focus. Embiid quickly connected on another triple, then knocked one down from the top of the key early in the second quarter. He is a tremendous shooter for his size, and more reliance on perimeter shooting could help Embiid preserve his energy and avoid taking as many hits. It is also a hedge against Embiid’s limited mobility; he does not have to move all that well to get three-point shots up.
“Just the simple fact that he’s such a good three-point shooter,” Nurse said after the game. “You want the guy that’s that good a shooter to get some volume attempts.”
But, to be clear, Embiid was moving a whole lot better on Saturday than he did on Wednesday. It felt as if instead of trying to let the game come to him and instead watching it fly by, he was ensuring he had avenues to assert control over the action from the start. Embiid has often struggled to set the tone early in games in recent years, but many of his best performances have come after strong starts.
Embiid’s stint in the second quarter included a scary fall, but Embiid got up relatively quickly and appeared unscathed. Now that he had asserted himself as a scoring threat, he become a much more successful playmaker. He helped Quentin Grimes drill back-to-back triples; the first came on a two-man action and the second was an and-one spot-up jumper generated by Embiid playing with legitimate force inside:
Embiid played 15 minutes in the first half, which immediately indicated that either Nurse was not being entirely truthful about how many minutes his center could play or that the Sixers had decided to use more of Embiid’s minutes early in the game. It turned out to be the latter, as Embiid’s five-minute stint to open the third quarter ended up being his only playing time in the second half.
If there is one word to describe the difference in Embiid’s play from opening night to the home opener, it would be that he was more forceful. It is obviously to his own benefit in an enormous way, but also does a whole lot for everybody else. The Sixers, clearly, are going to need more of it.
Barlow has been a massive revelation so far, but the 22-year-old athletic big missed the second half of Saturday’s game due to an elbow laceration. And the Sixers’ clear reliance on a two-way player was jarring. Fellow two-way forward Jabari Walker started the second half in Barlow’s place, and while Walker had an impressive block to go with a few good defensive plays with his hands on the perimeter, he missed three wide open triples, with the first two misfires coming from the corner. Walker is a terrific rebounder and works tirelessly on defense, but much of his fate with the Sixers is going to come down to those open shots.
Elsewhere, Adem Bona had his second consecutive game with a muted line in the box score. His effort remains there, but Bona will need to clean up some misses and finish plays on offense every now and then. With Embiid’s minutes limited, Drummond found himself being asked to play one short burst for the second game in a row. Drummond’s rebounding prowess turned out to be useful, and Nurse ended up riding him because it was more useful than anything Bona had provided. To his credit, Drummond was outstanding down the stretch of this game. He dominated the glass, finished a few shots inside and knocked down a critical free throw. Drummond had a nightmarish season last year, and the moment was clearly important for him, and the Sixers would not have won the game without his efforts.
“My number was called, I was prepared, and we did great,” Drummond said. “…It was pretty cool to be a part of.”
Even if Drummond is not seen as a regular rotation option, he will be an important piece of this when Embiid is sidelined.
The other struggles, though, underscore the importance of getting nine-time All-Star Paul George back on the floor and keeping him there. George may never pay off the $200 million-plus investment the Sixers made in him, and he may not even look appreciably better than he did in a disappointing debut campaign with the team last year. But he is a multi-positional forward with defensive chops and excellent shot-making skill. His mere presence will provide some much-needed stability on both ends of the floor.
A pair of additional notes:
• Second-year wing Justin Edwards only played for a few seconds in Boston, logging one defensive possession and sitting for the remainder of the game. Edwards had an underwhelming Summer League and disappointing preseason, but Nurse reaffirmed his faith in the hometown product before Saturday’s game and said he was very much in play for rotation minutes.
“I probably did not expect to not use him the other night, but just felt like as the game was going on and we were rotating guys around, we just didn’t quite get to him, so we shall see how it rolls out tonight,” Nurse said. “I like him. I think you guys know how much I like him. I really believe in him. I think that we need a player like him out there. And I can’t wait to give him that opportunity.”
Ultimately, though, Nurse stuck with the same eight rotation regulars that he had in Boston. Edwards, who was listed as probable before the game due to rib soreness but got upgraded to available early in the afternoon, ended up watching this game from the bench. An opportunity is surely coming for him – and Nurse’s affection for Edwards’ game is genuine – but his preseason struggles have cost him, and it will only be tougher to crack the rotation once George is back in action. However, when Barlow missed the second half, it was only natural for Edwards to slide into the frontcourt mix, and that is exactly what happened. After a few timid minutes, Edwards knocked down an important three-point shot for his own confidence, then followed it up with another. Minutes later, a third triple went down for Edwards. It is a potential launching point.
“That’s what they expect from me,” Edwards said, “and I was ready to go.”
• As good as the Sixers’ assortment of young guards looks on paper, it has been even better in practice through a pair of games. On Wednesday, it was Maxey and Edgecombe going nuclear as scorers with Grimes scoring a few timely baskets and filling in a bunch of gaps. On Monday, Maxey and Grimes both knocked down four threes prior to intermission, while Edgecombe scored nine points and collected four assists as he focused more on playmaking. Grimes was their best guard on Saturday, and through two games his ability to adjust his role during each stint he plays is quite impressive.
“It’s ideal if he can continue to do that,” Nurse said. “I see him as – I try to get him starter minutes off the bench… He was playing well and I know he had to get back in there at some point.”
Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on Monday, when they play host to a strong Orlando Magic team. That game is the front end of their first back-to-back of the season.
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Adam Aaronson
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It was not perfect… but how does 1-0 sound?
The Sixers have officially generated more momentum than they could at any point last year. They beat the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday night, 117-116, to begin the 2025-26 regular season in the win column. VJ Edgecombe dominated in the first quarter, Tyrese Maxey did the same in the second and the Sixers entered intermission with a lead. Joel Embiid’s conspicuous silence and a disastrous third quarter looked like they would sink the Sixers, but Maxey and Edgecombe took turns taking over to keep them afloat.
It was impossible to justify trying to complete the comeback with a hobbled version of Embiid, so Sixers head coach Nick Nurse did not try to do it. He relied on his starting guards and a makeshift frontcourt to cross the finish line, and his Sixers just kept on pushing. Finally, Kelly Oubre Jr. turned around his struggles and put them ahead with a corner triple, then immediately drew an offensive foul on the other end. Despite Embiid’s complete ineptitude, the Sixers found a way to escape with a win, capitalizing on Maxey’s 40-point night and Edgecombe’s historic showing – a 34-point, seven-rebound masterpiece.
Everything that stood out from the Sixers’ thrilling, gutsy win to open the season:
Good lord.
There is not much else to say in reaction to Edgecombe’s first quarter of NBA action. The rookie talks a big game about being fearless and embracing challenges head-on, and he backed it up immediately. Edgecombe did not look remotely hesitant in his first quarter of his NBA debut in front of a raucous crowd. Instead, he looked eager, but not in an overzealous sort of way.
Edgecombe was completely under control as he diced up Boston’s defense, scoring 14 points in 11 minutes and change. He made a free throw for his first NBA point, and soon after scored 10 Sixers points in a row, beginning with a blazing drive to the basket and continuing with some impressive shot-making mixed in as well:
Edgecombe’s confidence has always appeared genuine. But watching him take no prisoners against the Boston Celtics in his very first burst of NBA action was pretty breathtaking. It reinforced everything he has said over the last few months, and affirmed the Sixers’ beliefs about his special mental makeup.
According to the NBA, Edgecombe’s 14 points are the most ever scored in the first quarter by a player making his NBA debut, surpassing the mark of 12 established by LeBron James in 2003.
Maxey happily played in a supporting role while Edgecombe dominated, but when the second quarter started it was the sixth-year guard’s turn to take over. After the first Edgecombe heater in the NBA, Maxey staged one of his vintage heaters. And with Embiid almost completely silent prior to intermission, the Sixers needed every bit of it.
Maxey scored 19 points in the second quarter alone, and he did it in all sorts of ways: Maxey hit some ridiculous jumpers, but also scored at the rim, the free throw line and the mid-range area. His finest moment came when he knocked down back-to-back threes, and the second one reduced Maxey to flashing his signature smile. He got Celtics wing Josh Minott with a nasty step-back:
Only one player not named Maxey or Edgecombe made multiple field goals in the first half (starting power forward Dominick Barlow made two shots). Yet those two guards were so dynamic that the Sixers entered intermission with a 57-51 lead. The Sixers’ overall defense was not quite as crisp as the Celtics’ 51-point mark would indicate – Boston missed a few wide open threes enabled by defensive breakdowns – but it was largely very good. It was in the second half when Boston started knocking down shots and the Sixers’ breakdowns became even more frequent.
Many components of the identity the Sixers are attempting to adopt – regardless of Embiid’s availability – were on full display on Wednesday. That is, in itself, a major positive.
But the Sixers embracing pace will only take them so far without doses of Embiid’s methodical scoring. And on Wednesday, there were almost no signs of life from Embiid as a scorer. He just was not moving well enough to succeed, as a scorer or in any other capacity in an NBA game.
Embiid’s stints on the floor were short, but those quick bursts did not lead to any sort of increased intensity. Embiid constantly looked like he was laboring out there, and the Sixers were clearly better off when they did not bother trying to work him into the action and instead dialed up the tempo as much as they could, with Maxey and Edgecombe at the helm.
Boston opened the game with 6-foot-6 wing Jaylen Brown defending Embiid, and the seven-footer did nothing to take advantage of the mismatch. He only played the first five minutes of each of the first two quarters; the Sixers had to summon Andre Drummond to help finish the first half. In the fourth quarter, it became impossible for the Sixers to get stops because the Celtics ramped up their pace and Embiid simply could not keep up in any capacity.
It is just one game, but all of this is obviously ominous to some degree. Nobody was expecting Embiid to return to MVP-caliber play on opening night, and most people have written off the idea of him ever reaching those heights again. But if Embiid’s availability will consistently be limited – both in terms of games and minutes – he must be able to achieve some sorts of high-end outcomes for this team to thrive. Otherwise, there will be too significant of a workload on the rest of the group.
Some additional notes:
• The opening frame belonged to Edgecombe, but the most impressive individual moment early on in this game belonged to Barlow. The Sixers have been praising his activity and rebounding for weeks, and Maxey said last week that he gets a lot of rebounds people do not expect him to grab. Barlow did just that, soaring out of nowhere to grab an Embiid miss and quickly assist a 28-foot Maxey triple for the star guard’s first basket of the season. He then missed a corner three, but emphatically swatted Derrick White in transition to force a jump ball. Barlow won that jump ball, immediately ran the floor and converted an and-one in transition:
Ever since the start of training camp, Nurse and several Sixers players have raved about what Barlow has brought to their gym. Everything they described was on display immediately on Wednesday night, from Barlow’s five rebounds (three on the offensive glass) to his hustle on the defensive end.
• Justin Edwards was not in the Sixers’ regular rotation in this game. He played the last defensive possession of the first quarter, but otherwise the Sixers forward’s minutes went to Oubre, Barlow and fellow two-way signee Jabari Walker. It is a slight surprise given the Sixers’ absences at those positions, but not a stunner because Edwards has not played well since the end of last season.
• The Sixers’ use of three-guard lineups should create advantageous perimeter matchups pretty regularly. On Wednesday, they had many chances to attack new Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, one of the weakest defenders in the NBA. Simons often found himself defending Grimes, a much taller and bigger player, but the Celtics got away with it the whole way. The Sixers should not feel compelled to completely disrupt their offensive flow for the sake of attacking mismatches, but sometimes it must be done.
Up next: After a pair of days off, the Sixers will play their home opener against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
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Adam Aaronson
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