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Tag: Quentin Grimes

  • Instant observations: Tyrese Maxey becomes Sixers’ all-time three-point shooting leader in critical win over Miami

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    In the standings and in the record books, Thursday night’s game between the Sixers and Miami Heat meant a lot.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers finally find flow, snap losing streak with emphatic win over Timberwolves

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    After their worst loss of the season, the Sixers went wire to wire as the better team in Minneapolis on Sunday night. Their dynamic backcourt dominated to stop the bleeding without Joel Embiid.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Another horrid loss for Sixers, suddenly searching for sources of offense

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    Facing a team tied for the second-worst record in the NBA playing on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Sixers were bulldozed in the second half on Saturday.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: After a few emotional days, Sixers settle things down with decisive win over Suns

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    The 2025-26 Sixers have officially reached the 30-win mark, and Saturday’s victory was much-needed after all that has happened over the last few days.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Dominick Barlow’s career-best performance powers an easy Sixers win over Clippers

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    The best game of Dominick Barlow’s young, promising NBA career lifted the Sixers past the Los Angeles Clippers, who may or may not be on the verge of trading James Harden.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Short-handed Sixers run out of gas, drop second leg of back-to-back to Suns

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    The Sixers have not beaten the Phoenix Suns since Nov. 4, 2023.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers lose another last-second game, swept in two-game set vs. Cavaliers

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    The Sixers and Cavaliers alike have described their pair of games as having a playoff feel. The distinct differences in makeup between the teams creates a compelling matchup.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Sunday stats: Paul George starts attacking downhill, and the Sixers have found a swarming defensive lineup

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    The Sixers, suddenly at full strength, have hit their stride. Paul George is giving them an enormous two-way lift.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Sixers mailbag: Who will lose playing time when Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford make their returns from injury?

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    The Sixers have two rotation forwards set to return from long-term injuries in the near future. How will head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation change when Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford get back on the floor?

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George finally figuring out their fit as Sixers nab second straight win

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    For over a year, the Sixers’ three players inked to max contracts have been discussing the importance of continuity for the sake of building a rhythm. Perhaps this is what they had in mind.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey carry the load for the Sixers, and VJ Edgecombe brings them home with overtime game-winner

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    The Sixers have appeared hesitant to lean into their best offensive stuff this season. On Tuesday, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey took over as a tandem until it was time for VJ Edgecombe to have the final word.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Diving into Joel Embiid’s progress and obstacles on both ends of the floor after Sixers fall to Bulls

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    Joel Embiid had a strong offensive showing on Friday. On defense, the Sixers started experimenting a bit with how they used him. An Embiid-centric look at another brutal loss for the Sixers in Chicago:

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid questionable for Sixers-Bulls on Friday; three players still dealing with illness

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    Joel Embiid is questionable for the Sixers’ road game against the Chicago Bulls Friday night after suffering an injury scare to his right knee in Tuesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Thursday evening. Embiid referred to the injury suffered on the opening play of that third quarter as a hyperextension, but it did not prevent him from playing considerable minutes in the second half of the game.

    As it relates to the ongoing illness bug that bit Tyrese Maxey for two games, Embiid for one and then caused the Sixers to be without all three of VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Dominick Barlow on Tuesday: Edgecombe, Grimes and Barlow are all listed as questionable due to illness once again.

    Edgecombe, Grimes and Barlow were initially questionable for Tuesday”s game due to their illnesses before being ruled out an hour and 45 minutes before tip-off. It is unclear if those players will be on the team’s flight to Chicago on Thursday.

    After cancelling his team’s shootaround on Tuesday morning, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse opted to not hold a practice as had previously been planned on Wednesday in an attempt to ensure that the illness that has plagued the team for two weeks would not continue to spread.

    MORE: When and how will Barlow and Jabari Walker get standard contracts?

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Nick Nurse’s Quentin Grimes-centric adjustment backfires in Sixers’ loss to Raptors

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    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.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Sunday stats: Quentin Grimes’ turnover troubles, Justin Edwards’ growing confidence and Kelly Oubre Jr.’s value

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    While the Sixers’ 7-5 record is a relatively positive outcome given the lack of certainty surrounding the team, their problematic health and the memory of their miserable start to a nightmarish 24-58 campaign last season, it is also representative of some missed opportunities.

    Of the Sixers’ five losses, a few of them – including Friday’s defeat at the hands of a depleted Detroit Pistons team – have been avoidable. That the Sixers can withstand some injuries, bungle some games and still see plenty of reasons for optimism is a testament to how much more pleasant everything has been this season.

    However, there are some real causes for concern, both in terms of recent play and looking ahead. This is a very flawed team, even if it is one much closer to being good in a normal capacity than anybody expected it to be.

    A look at some of the good and some of the bad in this week’s edition of Sunday stats:

    100

    The percentage of Quentin Grimes’ appearances in which he has recorded multiple turnovers.

    Quentin Grimes and VJ Edgecombe have tag-teamed backup point guard duties when Tyrese Maxey has been off the floor this year; the level of success accomplished in those minutes has been difficult to quantify. Twice the Sixers have overcome relatively poor Maxey outings by winning his rest minutes, but on the whole they have been shredded with the sixth-year star guard off the floor.

    While both Grimes and Edgecombe have more than enough chops to handle some ball-handling duties in an NBA rotation, neither one is a true primary creator. With Edgecombe in a particularly tough slump of late, more responsibility has befallen the 25-year-old Grimes, whose optimal role is likely as a secondary option on the perimeter and a tertiary option overall. Grimes gets to fill that role when sharing the floor with Maxey and Embiid, but because Embiid has missed six of the team’s 12 games and no other competent ball-handlers exist on the roster outside of Edgecombe, Grimes has rarely gotten the chance to be utilized in an ideal fashion.

    A player having the ball a decent bit racking up turnovers is not breaking news, but Grimes’ issues with ball security have been pretty pronounced for the last few weeks:

    Game Quentin Grimes turnovers
    Oct. 22 @ BOS 5
    Oct. 25 vs. CHA 2
    Oct. 27 vs. ORL 2
    Oct. 28 @ WAS 2
    Oct. 31 vs. BOS 3
    Nov. 2 @ BKN 4
    Nov. 4 @ CHI 4
    Nov. 5 @ CLE 4
    Nov. 8 vs. TOR 3
    Nov. 9 vs. DET 3
    Nov. 11 vs. BOS 4
    Nov. 14 @ DET 2

    On Friday, Grimes was not the lone bad actor in the Sixers’ disastrous 15-point fourth quarter, but he certainly did not help them stay afloat:

    It is not that Grimes should be used as an off-ball role player, on this team or any other. But in a perfect world, the blossoming skill he showed with the ball in his hands during the final two months of last season would be treated as a luxury more than a necessity. On this Sixers team, Jared McCain’s troubles have forced Grimes into being an essential piece of any path to piecing together 48 viable minutes at point guard. It is not the best way to use Grimes, who has largely been very good in his first full season with the Sixers but quietly could be one of the most significant beneficiaries of McCain eventually getting right, even if it cuts into his minutes.

    MORE: Jared McCain makes progress with Blue Coats: ‘I’m getting there’

    12.0

    Justin Edwards’ three-point attempts per 100 possessions.

    When a player shoots 8-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point range on national television to swing a game against a rival in front of his hometown crowd, it to be expected that their confidence will skyrocket. Justin Edwards had looked jarringly timid to begin his second NBA season, but his signature performance last week might have unlocked something.

    During his rookie campaign, what made Edwards such a tantalizing prospect and a player head coach Nick Nurse rapidly grew so fond of was his ability to make quick decisions. Self-awareness is a tremendous skill, and Edwards immediately understood that he was not a player who should be dribbling a whole lot. When the ball swung his way, any decision – a shot, a swing pass or a drive – was made instantaneously, and more often than not Edwards was making prudent judgments as well.

    Early on this year, Edwards was in his head. It was clear when watching him hesitate on spot-up threes, fail to drive with force or get caught in between two different ideas and turning the ball over. But after Tuesday’s eruption against the Celtics, Edwards shot another six triples on Friday night in Detroit, connecting on three of them. Edwards’ season-long three-point shooting numbers suddenly look stellar, but actually watching the shots he took against the Pistons shows a massive difference from where he was just a week or so ago:

    After what happened at the end of the first half of Friday’s game, Edwards continuing to find his best self will be all the more important…

    MORE: Edwards stays ready, and ‘the work shows’ with late-game heroics vs. Celtics

    36.7

    Kelly Oubre Jr.’s minutes per game in 2025-26 before leaving Friday’s game early with a left knee hyperextension.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. has been an incredibly consistent piece for the Sixers this year; after a so-so performance on opening night he strung together eight consecutive quality outings before falling into a mini-slump of sorts. His constant availability and effort have been extraordinary; Oubre cares deeply about starting and had earned every bit of a job many suspected he would lose early in the season.

    The Sixers will have an injury report for Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers by Sunday evening, but left knee hyperextensions are typically not injuries players can suffer without missing any time:

    If Oubre does miss time, first of all, Paul George getting back on the floor would be particularly helpful. The slow nature of the nine-time All-Star’s return to game action has been painstaking for many Sixers fans, even as the team acknowledges that George is in the final steps of his recovery.

    Elsewhere, Edwards becomes especially important as someone whose defensive range is similar to that of Oubre’s. Edwards is a wing by trade, but Nurse likes putting him on guards and asking the 21-year-old to chase them around. Grimes sliding up to small forward in three-guard lineups alongside Maxey and Edgecombe even more often is the most obvious solution, but the aforementioned issue of their nonexistent guard depth behind those three would be exacerbated. Another option: Eric Gordon, who has rarely been used this season but remains the ultimate floor spacer and has Nurse’s trust guarding above his size. 

    MORE: Sixers falter offensively late, drop winnable NBA Cup game @ depleted Pistons

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Kelly Oubre Jr.’s early explosion, more stellar guard play nets Sixers an easy victory in Brooklyn

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    NEW YORK – Sixers fans made most of the noise at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday evening, and their team gave them good reason with a 129-105 pummeling of the lowly Nets.

    With Joel Embiid, Paul George, Jared McCain and Dominick Barlow sidelined, the Sixers sleepwalked through one decent quarter before taking complete control, wasting little time winning a game that did not deserve to cause anyone much stress.

    With most of his teammates lagging behind early, Kelly Oubre Jr. completely dominated the opening frame, and then the rest of the bunch came along. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe got loose, Quentin Grimes had his best playmaking game of the season and Trendon Watford had the most impressive performance of his young Sixers tenure. It all coalesced into a satisfactory win for a Sixers team that is now 5-1.

    Takeaways from the action in Brooklyn: 

    Kelly Oubre Jr. erupts early

    Many members of the Sixers started out a bit slow on Sunday evening. It is safe to say that Oubre was not one of them. The veteran wingman exploded in the first quarter, torching the Nets to the tune of 22 points on only 12 shots. Oubre made all seven of his shot attempts inside the arc; he connected from long range twice with three misses (one of which was an end-of-quarter heave of sorts).

    Hoping to control the Sixers’ lethal backcourt of Maxey and Edgecombe, the Nets were willing to let Oubre cook, and the 29-year-old obliged. Oubre opened the game being defended by Nets guard Cam Thomas, regarded as one of the least impactful defensive players in the NBA. He did not even have to directly attack Thomas to score; Oubre scored the bulk of his early points either in the natural flow of the Sixers’ offense or in transition. In the final minutes of the frame, Oubre’s teammates started making a concerted effort to get him the ball, and he paid it off:

    For nearly a decade, the Sixers have had star-laden rosters that generate game-long mismatches for role players. But the organization has generally surrounded its stars with supporting pieces specializing in off-ball offense, and so opposing defenses have been able to get away with hiding weak links on those players despite size disadvantages. Oubre is not a traditional role player on offense, and that does have some drawbacks.

    But Oubre, for better or worse, always has a score-first mentality. One of the benefits of that is he will be eager to punish those mismatches and play weak defenders off the floor. Oubre has enjoyed tremendous success to begin his third season with the Sixers.

    Tyrese Maxey’s casual brilliance

    It is impossible to say enough about the basketball Maxey is playing to begin his sixth NBA season. The ease with which he is reaching strong box-score lines night in and night out is something to marvel at. Even on a night like Sunday, when the Sixers finally did not need Maxey to provide a herculean effort, he was the stabilizing force for much of the game.

    Maxey was already a star-caliber offensive player, but in 2025-26 he looks like someone who has made a substantial leap in just about every facet of his game on that end of the floor.

    Maxey’s playmaking and facilitating have improved quite a bit, and he has made tremendous use of a supporting cast that is a whole lot better than it was around this time last year. He has empowered players like Edgecombe and Grimes to be assertive when the ball swings their way and has also created extra scoring chances for bigs.

    Meanwhile, Maxey remains a dynamic three-level scoring threat, and no player in the entire NBA can match Maxey’s combination of speed and pull-up shooting. There are a few faster players, but none of them can shoot as well as Maxey; there are some better shooters, but none of them are as fast as Maxey. It is truly a one-of-a-kind blend of abilities.

    Maxey’s most significant gains might have come in terms of his foul-drawing skills, which head coach Nick Nurse said on Friday adds “variety” to his scoring. It also provides a tremendous floor in terms of baseline offensive production: even the greatest scorers will have games where they struggle to knock down shots, but the ones adept at generating whistles can always rely on trips to the line for easy points.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Nurse indicated before Sunday’s game that a formal update on Barlow (elbow) would come shortly. The two-way power forward has not played since halftime of the second game of the season after suffering an elbow laceration which required a procedure. Nurse said it is “nothing super serious,” but acknowledged that the injury is something “maybe more difficult than we thought.”

    • Hours before his third appearance as a member of the Sixers, Watford received praise from his last head coach during his time with the Brooklyn Nets.

    “He could post up, he could bring the ball [up], he could shoot the ball, he could pass, bigger body, he could guard multiple positions,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernández said. “He’s an overall player.”

    Watford’s first doses of action with the Sixers have been hit or miss; he has at times looked the part of a player whose training camp and preseason were lost to a hamstring injury. But the vision for Watford’s fit as a 6-foot-9 ball-handler is clear. It will take time, but there is upside, and it was on display at times during Sunday’s game. Watford was particularly good during the second quarter, with his pass-first mentality paying dividends.

    • Nurse went with an eight-man regular rotation in this game, and that meant both Justin Edwards and Eric Gordon were out of the mix despite the team’s absences. Edwards has struggled enormously of late, and it is becoming more difficult to justify playing him. He ended up playing in the fourth quarter of this game because Oubre turned his ankle and needed a brief trip to the locker room. But it is hard to imagine Edwards’ playing time being bolstered at any point in the near future, as George is getting closer to making a return and should eat up a significant number of wing minutes.

    Up next: The Sixers’ road trip will continue with a back-to-back, as they will face the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night with a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers the following evening.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers mount another comeback but drop NBA Cup opener to Celtics

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    PHILADELPHIA – Maybe 82-0 was just a bit unrealistic.

    For the first time in 2025-26, the Sixers lost on Friday night, dropping the opener of their NBA Cup Group Play slate, 109-108, to the Boston Celtics. They fell to 4-1. 

    The Sixers attempted to stage yet another remarkable comeback, and they did completely erase a 24-point deficit at one point. But on Friday, their defense was not good enough to win without out-of-this-world offensive production, and they did not have another scoring masterclass in them. They fought until the very end – again – but this time, they did not have enough. They never led despite bringing themselves to one shot away from stealing it at the end.

    Takeaways from Friday night’s action:

    Sixers’ significant defensive struggles continue

    There is no way around it: the Sixers have fielded a competitive NBA-caliber defense in just a small number of quarters out of the 20 they have played in this season. For the most part, opposing offenses of varying calibers have been able to accomplish everything they want against this team. Boston initiated a three-point shooting barrage early in the game that might have taken place no matter how the Sixers defended, but on Friday night the Sixers’ lack of defensive aptitude in the first half sunk them. Boston scored 68 points in the first half, and the Sixers turned out to have dug themselves too deep of a hole. It was a continuation of everything they had already put on tape.

    Even after they improved to 4-0, it was clear that the Sixers were not doing enough guarding to keep winning at this pace. To some degree, it is a testament to how incredible their offense has been that the Sixers were even competitive in four consecutive games.

    “We’ve got some challenges, there’s no doubt about it,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the team’s practice on Thursday. “We’re trying to play to our strengths and cover up some of the challenges as best we can. I think there’s going to be a lot of room for improvement… We’re still learning about it. The games really help speed that learning process up. So there’s lots of tweaks, lots of polish, schematically, there’s lots of things we’re seeing we need to add and subtract as we go.”

    Among those key challenges is the team’s tendency to rely on undersized lineups. Three of the five best players on this team right now are guards; at full strength it will be four of the six best players who are suited for backcourt roles. And to be fair, three-guard lineups with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes were outstanding in the team’s first four contests because there is so much offensive firepower within those units. But a balance is going to have to be struck, because scoring a lot of points does not mean all that much without getting stops.

    Of course, the eventual return of Paul George will help here, particularly as the Sixers look for infusions of size without disrupting their floor spacing. If the nine-time All-Star is willing to cede much of his responsibility as a scorer and ball-handler to the aforementioned guards (plus Jared McCain) and buy into a defensive-oriented mindset, he could be enormously valuable to this group, even if it restricts his ability to make a salary exceeding $50 million look all that wise.

    But ultimately, the Sixers have to maximize their talent level, and that is going to lead to a lot of smaller lineups. It is up to the players and coaches to find ways to make it a manageable fit on that end of the floor, because otherwise their tremendous offensive exploits will not be maximized.

    VJ Edgecombe finding so many ways to impact winning

    What is even more impressive than Edgecombe’s outstanding scoring production through five NBA games is how many ways he has proved capable of helping the Sixers outside of putting the ball in the basket. Edgecombe’s on-ball prowess has been such a revelation that perhaps many have forgotten that he came into the NBA expected to immediately help a team in other facets of the game. That has held true.

    Edgecombe’s passing is far more advanced than anticipated, and his absurd athletic capabilities have enabled him to soar in for critical rebounds time and time again. His rebounding numbers look good and still likely do not tell the full story; so many of his boards have been contested and in important moments. Edgecombe has been reliable as a spot-up three-point shooter, and his transition scoring has been tantalizing; this finish was a favorite of Friday’s crowd:

    He is an engaged, energetic defender and Nurse has had no qualms about putting him on some very good offensive players and asking him to turn the water off. Edgecombe turned in plenty of good defensive possessions on Friday night against each member of Boston’s excellent guard trio of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons.

    While it was jaw-dropping to watch Edgecombe dominate the ball and prove he has earned the right to do so early on, it is just as impressive for a 20-year-old rookie to immediately pivot to an off-ball role and show they have so many different pathways to impacting any given possession on either end of the floor.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Jared McCain (thumb) was one of three Sixers sidelined in this game – George and Dominick Barlow were the others – but the 21-year-old guard continues to make strides in his recovery after his surgery about a month ago. The latest indication of progress: McCain went through an intense pregame warmup routine on Friday.

    • After 20 horrid minutes to begin this game – the Sixers’ offense was merely okay and their defense was dreadful – Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond provided some life. Edgecombe knocked down a triple and finished an acrobatic and-one layup in transition, Oubre converted multiple impressive rim finishes and Drummond knocked down a corner three, and a terrific four-minute burst to close the half enabled the Sixers to shrink the lead to 11 points at intermission. That run provided what was far and away the most excitement in the building during the first half.

    • It very much feels like Nurse’s plan at backup center when Embiid plays is to ride the hot hand. On basically any occasion in which Drummond or Adem Bona has started producing, Nurse has just opted to ride them for a while. Nurse has talked before about empowering his situational pieces when he can find the right spot for them to play for a prolonged stretch. It is part of the give and take that comes with players in roles that might limit their playing time.

    Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on the road on Sunday evening when they take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers overcome dreadful defense and stage their greatest comeback yet to improve to 4-0

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    For six months, very few people would even entertain the prospect of the 2025-26 Sixers season being encouraging, enjoyable or successful. And yet the 2025-26 Philadelphia 76ers have found a way to win once again. They are 4-0.

    After three victories to begin the season ranging from thrilling to chaotic, the Sixers dug themselves a hole against a lowly Washington Wizards team but once again staged a double-digit turnaround, notching a 139-134 overtime victory on the road.

    Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid were brilliant right away, but their early barrage of baskets was met by a greater one from the Wizards. The Sixers had a strong offensive night behind Embiid’s best scoring performance of the season, but for much of the game their defense was so putrid that it did not matter. Then the comeback crew did it again, erasing what was a 13-point deficit inside of the five-minute mark of the final frame as Maxey got hot down the stretch again while Quentin Grimes posted an outstanding stretch of two-way play. Adem Bona closed the game with Embiid at his minutes limit and blocked shot after shot. The Sixers found a way to force overtime, found themselves on the wrong end of a five-point deficit right when it started and still had enough to mount another comeback and emerge victorious, with Bona’s shot-blocking and offensive rebounding taking center stage.

    This team just keeps one-upping itself. Takeaways from, amazingly, another winning night of Sixers basketball:

    Sixers’ horrid defense creates a hole, then Quentin Grimes and Adem Bona lead the final comeback

    Even during their wildly successful three-game stretch to begin the season, the Sixers did not defend well enough. They are undersized right now, and to some degree that will remain the case, but it is also not an excuse to struggle as much as they had been struggling. It is perhaps now the most important area where nine-time All-Star Paul George will help them.

    Embiid has been one of the best defenders in the NBA for several years, but at this juncture he is a burden on that end of the floor as he manages every movement closely. It is easier to understand the Sixers’ struggles on defense when he is in the game just because his mobility is so limited. When he is off the floor, they have been unable to contain drivers and it puts undue stress on whichever player is filling in as a rim protector.

    Many things can be pointed out here – that Washington made a ton of difficult shots; that the Wizards have so much youth and energy; that the Sixers were on the second leg of their first back-to-back of the year; that head coach Nick Nurse’s team was simply due for a rough night – but again, these defensive issues were not exclusive to Tuesday’s action. They just became so egregious that no talent advantage or individual scoring heaters could make up for their lack of cohesion.

    It was not for a lack of trying offensively. Embiid was outstanding in tandem with Maxey; the two cornerstones of this team went all-in on embracing their lethal two-man work early and often in this one. It took away from VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and others’ chances to get shots up, but it was hard to argue with this:

    Offense was never the Sixers’ problem in this game; they played more than well enough to win on that end of the floor. Embiid posting season-highs in points (25) and minutes (23) was an important benchmark. But Sixers’ defense went from very bad to dreadful in this one. It will have to be addressed moving forward, because even in their victories the Sixers were not doing nearly enough to provide resistance toward opposing offenses. It places too large of an offensive burden on the team’s stars.

    Finally, down the stretch the Sixers started playing decent defense, with Bona’s five blocks at the center of it all. He also had the go-ahead basket, a jam off an offensive rebound:

    Bona provided jaw-dropping plays time and time again, with Grimes serving as the perfect two-way role player in the clutch. The Sixers’ marvelous offensive attack suddenly had a chance to lead the way, and it did just that. Maxey ended up with an enormous 39-point performance, but the value Grimes and Bona gave in the biggest minutes of this game cannot possibly be overstated.

    Trendon Watford makes his Sixers debut

    After missing all of training camp and the preseason, the Sixers finally got a look at their lone external addition to the team’s standard roster via free agency over the summer. Watford, the 6-foot-9 point forward with a unique set of skills, was available in a limited role off the bench after being sidelined for the team’s first three games in the regular season.

    Watford kicked off his Sixers career by bullying Wizards rookie Tre Johnson en route to an easy left-handed jump hook:

    The 24-year-old forward’s minutes were largely encouraging, particularly given his unusual style. Watford is not exactly an easy player to drop into a preexisting rotation; he does a lot of things that most players at his size are never asked to do when it comes to ball-handling. His first stint lasted about eight minutes, which was a pleasant surprise in itself.

    Watford moved a lot better than one would expect for a player who was returning from such a longstanding hamstring ailment, and even without a jaw-dropping box score line his overall utility on this roster was evident right away. Watford made plenty of nifty passes, and his very first possession with Embiid was a picture-perfect pick-and-pop resulting in an Embiid triple. The Sixers were looking for him as soon as they grabbed defensive rebounds so he could initiate transition offense.

    For Watford’s fit to not look particularly shaky right away is a major win for the Sixers, and it bodes well for his ability to carve out a niche within this offense moving forward.

    Odds and ends

    Some additional notes:

    • Nurse made a change to his starting lineup with Dominick Barlow (elbow) still sidelined. Instead of starting Jabari Walker at power forward, Nurse plugged in Justin Edwards as a small-ball four. Washington started two small guards, two wings and one big, so Nurse did not feel compelled to be as big against one of the tinier starting units in the NBA. Of course, the other change was Embiid starting over Bona.

    • Jabari Walker’s best stint as a member of the Sixers came in the first half on Tuesday; he scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds (two offensive) in a six-minute burst while also nabbing a steal. But he was not part of the rotation in the second half. Walker has some competition for frontcourt minutes moving forward; Watford has joined a mix that will once again include Barlow soon. George’s eventual return looms large as well.

    • This was Edgecombe’s quietest NBA game yet from an offensive perspective, yet the rookie still managed to convert two separate four-point plays. He really is fearless:

    Edgecombe handled the ball much less than usual, but was just as ambitious as a spot-up three-point shooter and had plenty of success, knocking down four triples. Clearly, the Sixers needed each one of them.

    Up next: The Sixers will have two days off before returning to action at home, where they will play host to the Boston Celtics in the opening game of NBA Cup Group Play.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Joel Embiid finds force as Sixers escape with win over Hornets in home opener

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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:

    Joel Embiid’s different demeanor, and perhaps a new focus

    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.

    Questionable frontcourt depth on display, but Andre Drummond swings the game

    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.

    Odds and ends

    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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  • Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe, ‘just out there having fun,’ stars in home debut: ‘I can’t wait for him to get started with his career’

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    PHILADELPHIA – VJ Edgecombe watches basketball… a lot.

    “I’m not even watching a Netflix show or nothing,” he said after posting a dominant two-way performance in the final game of his first NBA preseason. “I just need to go on YouTube to watch basketball… I just watch a lot of basketball.”

    Edgecombe has smiled as viewers react with surprise at his flashes of advanced feel as a ball-handler. He is a 20-year-old rookie, after all, and one of his supposed weaknesses entering the 2025 NBA Draft was his on-ball skill. Before the season could even begin, though, Edgecombe has proven so much to his team that it reacted by putting him on the ball frequently and moving All-Star Tyrese Maxey away from it. He believes it is the product of his obsession with watching basketball. However it happened, it has changed the team’s calculus.

    “I think we thought, ‘Okay, maybe he could play on the ball some,’ and we were talking about ‘Let’s do it at Summer League,’” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s exhibition win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “But where we’re at, I think he’s way ahead of where we thought he might be being able to do that.”

    Edgecombe recorded 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals against the Timberwolves, shaking off a lackluster start and rapidly improving as the game went on, clearly looking like the best player on the floor as the game winded down.

    If there is anyone not surprised by what Edgecombe did when empowered to play with the ball, it is the player who was hastily given the ball five years ago and parlayed the opportunity into stardom and hundreds of millions of dollars. How impressed is Maxey by Edgecombe’s quick comfort against NBA defenders?

    “Extremely,” Maxey said. “…He makes good decisions, he doesn’t let people speed him up. I think he plays extremely mature for being a rookie. He’s good. He’s good at basketball.”

    Any unexpected skill development Edgecombe experiences – or any strides he makes as a decision-maker – will be bonuses on top of the tremendous foundation of tenacity and athleticism which makes it impossible to imagine the No. 3 overall pick failing to become an impact player at this level. He is a truly elite athlete whose motor never stops running. That alone can take him a lot of places that many players cannot reach. His blazing end-to-end speed is truly remarkable to witness in person; Edgecombe’s teammates have already gotten the memo to look for him as soon as a transition opportunity presents itself.

    Because of the infrastructure surrounding Edgecombe – Maxey is an established star, Jared McCain is as polished offensively as any 21-year-old can be and Quentin Grimes has a well-rounded skillset on both ends of the floor – there is not much pressure on the rookie’s shoulders in the short-term. But that does not mean he will not be thrown into the fire early. In fact, the opposite is true: Nurse plans to start Edgecombe when the Sixers begin the 2025-26 regular season on Wednesday night in Boston, and he is ready to embrace the inevitable bumps in the road.

    Nurse said the level of success Edgecombe attains as a rookie will be determined by how many minutes he logs. His goal is to help Edgecombe experience as much of the good and bad that comes with being in the NBA as he can because “that’s what playing in the league and gaining experience is all about.” But as early as the night the Sixers tabbed Edgecombe as their newest franchise pillar, it was clear that no fire intimidates Edgecombe. He displays an unwavering sense of self-belief. It is genuine. Asked about that fearlessness on Friday night, Edgecombe almost looked confused.

    “I mean, I know I worked hard to be in this position,” Edgecombe said. “…If I wasn’t ready for it, I wouldn’t have been here. I feel as though I just have a lot of confidence. My teammates instill confidence in me also. So, I won’t say it’s easy, but it’s basketball at the end of the day. I’m trying not to overthink it. I love the game so much… It just flows naturally, man. I’m just out there having fun.”

    Flowing naturally would be a good way to describe the Sixers’ guard play on Friday. Maxey dominated early, then moved away from the ball and Edgecombe got in a rhythm. In between their two heaters was one for Quentin Grimes. The three guards whose ages add up to 69 years combined to score 75 points. They all can threaten opposing defenses with or without the ball in their hands and play with a tremendous pace.

    “That’s the name of the game right now in the NBA: pushing the pace and getting up threes,” Grimes said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who play fast, push the pace, create opportunities for not just ourselves but our teammates. So I feel like if we keep pushing the pace, it’ll get the defense tired. And it might get us tired, too, but we’ll be alright in the long run.”

    For Maxey and Grimes, their off-ball scoring method is the traditional one: three-point shooting. Edgecombe has worked tirelessly to improve his jumper, specifically adding an arc to it so it is not flat like it was during his lone collegiate campaign at Baylor. He is a competent shooter right now, but probably not one who will be consistently reliable just yet.

    Edgecombe’s transition scoring will be a weapon right away, though, and he is seeking out other avenues to score. One of those is forcing turnovers; Edgecombe said his favorite part of Friday’s box score was his five steals. After Friday morning’s shootaround, Edgecombe spoke about the pride he takes in his defensive output and how extensive studying of the game’s elite defenders has helped him grow. Another one is cutting, as Edgecombe continues to beat defenders back-door, though his finishing will need to improve:

    On Friday night, there were a few highlight dunks, a pair of threes and some acrobatic finishes at the rim. But Edgecombe’s first basket came when his defender tagged a rolling Joel Embiid as a shot went up and Edgecombe filled the open lane for an easy put-back layup off the miss.

    Edgecombe knew he would get that offensive rebound, he said. The reason he provided: he just knows when he will get an offensive rebound.

    How?

    “It’s natural,” Edgecombe said.

    Edgecombe knows he has a chance to make an impact on the glass, a rarity for a guard of his size. But he has developed a strong understanding of how to read where misses will ricochet, another example of his strong basketball instincts. The absurd athleticism does not hurt, either.

    “And I jump pretty high,” Edgecombe said. “So I can just go up there sometimes, snag it when they’re not looking, disrespecting it.”

    Maybe for a player believed to not yet have a tight enough handle to play on the ball in the NBA, Edgecombe’s unabashed confidence is the perfect ingredient for a successful rookie season. If Friday’s showing was any indication, there are many ways he has a chance to impact winning for the Sixers.

    “Kudos to him, dude,” Maxey said. “The way he’s doing out here right now is good. I’m ready to see him in some real action, and I can’t wait for him to get started on his career.”

    MORE: Embiid’s return provides the Sixers some hope – and Embiid some relief

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    Adam Aaronson

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