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Tag: trendon watford

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

    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.

    Adam Aaronson

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

    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.

    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers steamrolled down the stretch, with shaky depth on display after inactive trade deadline

    The Sixers were far and away the better team for 33 minutes on Thursday night. Then came a 15-minute stretch they would like to forget.

    Adam Aaronson

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

    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.

    Adam Aaronson

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  • Instant observations: Sixers reach full strength for the first time in over two years, get back on track vs. Wizards

    For the first time since Dec. 18, 2023, and only the 11th time in head coach Nick Nurse’s tenure with the organization, the Sixers did not have a single player ruled out due to injury or personal reasons on Wednesday.

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  • Joel Embiid questionable for Sixers-Wizards on Wednesday; Kelly Oubre Jr., Trendon Watford questionable to return

    Joel Embiid (left knee injury management; right ankle soreness) is questionable to play when the Sixers host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Tuesday, which also lists Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford as questionable to return from their long-term absences:

    For the first several weeks of the season, Embiid was on a strict load management plan that included multiple days off in between appearances. In early December, Embiid logged two starts in a three-day span for the first time, and as the Sixers’ schedule has compressed over the last week he has been cleared for considerably more action. Embiid has played every other day for a week; if he suits up against the Wizards it will be his fifth game in nine days.

    During the four games he played over the last seven days, Embiid has averaged 36.5 minutes per game, including a season-high 40 minutes in the team’s overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday. Embiid said after the game that, while he did not expect his minutes total to get that high and made a remark about how long it had been since he reached that number, he felt “pretty good.”

    Meanwhile, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford participated in an intense scrimmage with assistant coaches after Monday’s morning shootaround that both rotation forwards would be cleared to play “any day.” That day seems to have come. Oubre has been sidelined since he sprained the LCL in his left knee on Nov. 14, while Watford went down with a left adductor strain on Nov. 25. 

    MORE: How will Oubre and Watford’s returns impact rotation?

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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?

    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?

    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Thunder on Sunday with two injury designations

    Joel Embiid (right knee injury management; right ankle sprain) will miss the Sixers’ road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Saturday, which also lists Paul George (left knee injury management) as probable:

    Embiid, whose right knee issue led to him missing eight consecutive games earlier in the season, has experienced multiple scares there over the last two games, including Friday’s game in Chicago in which he surpassed 32 minutes for the first time in 2025-26. This is the first mention of any right ankle issue for Embiid this season.

    Also out for the Sixers are Kelly Oubre Jr., whose absence due to a left knee LCL sprain has officially reached the six-week mark, with no substantive information available about his potential timeline to return; and Trendon Watford, who has now been out for more than a month with an adductor strain and similarly has no timetable to be back on the floor.

    Both players are limited to individual on-court work; Oubre seems a bit closer to ramping up than Watford though it is unclear if either one is anywhere near close to that point

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    Adam Aaronson

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

    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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  • Joel Embiid doubtful for Sixers-Mavericks on Saturday; Paul George out

    Joel Embiid (illness; right knee injury management) is doubtful for the Sixers’ home contest against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Saturday afternoon. The report also lists Paul George as out on the second leg of the team’s back-to-back:

    Embiid, initially listed as questionable for Friday’s game in New York due to an illness, was later ruled out with the additional tag of right knee injury management applied. It was the first time Embiid’s right knee has been officially reported as an issue in over two weeks, when he returned from a nine-game absence. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse provided the following comments on Friday evening:

    George, meanwhile, has yet to play in both legs of any back-to-backs this year. The nine-time All-Star logged 33 minutes for the third consecutive game on Friday at Madison Square Garden; he only shot 2-for-10 from the field but was a team-best +16, largely because of his continued defensive impact.

    The expected absences are the same: Kelly Oubre Jr., who has been out for well over a month with his left knee LCL sprain and still does not have a timeline to return, and Trendon Watford, who is coming up on a month-long absence due to a left adductor strain and also does not have a timeline to return.

    For Dallas, Anthony Davis is probable with an illness and Klay Thompson is questionable due to left knee soreness.

    MORE: VJ Edgecombe meets the moment in Madison Square Garden debut

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid questionable, Tyrese Maxey doubtful for Sixers-Hawks on Sunday

    Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) is questionable to play when the Sixers face the Hawks in Atlanta on Sunday night, according to the team’s initial injury report for the game unveiled on Saturday afternoon, which also lists Tyrese Maxey as doubtful due to the illness responsible for him missing the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday:

    Embiid, who has yet to appear in two games during any three-day span during the season, said he felt “great” after posting his strongest performance of the season to lead the Sixers to victory on Friday night, intimating he was eager to play again on Sunday. However, Embiid acknowledged that to this point the team’s plan to manage his left knee has included multiple days off in between all games. With four-day layoffs before and after this potential first try at playing two games in three nights, perhaps the Sixers feel the time is right to give it a shot.

    Maxey was not in attendance as Embiid, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe led the Sixers to their 14th victory of the season; he went from probable to questionable to out due to an illness. It was Maxey’s first absence of the season. It is unclear whether or not he traveled with the team to Atlanta on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, the Sixers remain past due on substantive updates about the statuses of Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee), who has been sidelined for a month, and Trendon Watford (adductor), whose absence has lasted multiple weeks. The latest information on both is that, according to Sixers head coach Nick Nurse on Thursday, neither player is doing live on-court work, only individual activity.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Nets on Friday in ninth straight absence; Paul George questionable and VJ Edgecombe out

    Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) will miss his ninth game in a row when the Sixers face the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday night, according to the team’s injury report for the game issued on Thursday evening, while Paul George (right ankle sprain) is questionable, Adem Bona (right ankle sprain) is probable to return and VJ Edgecombe remains out for the third consecutive contest:

    Embiid has not played since Nov. 8, when he posted season-highs in points and minutes in a victory over the Toronto Raptors. Embiid had a scripted absence the following night as the Sixers managed his left knee, the subject of an arthroscopic procedure in April and other work in recent years. Embiid seemed to be making considerable progress.

    But on the morning of Nov. 11, Embiid came to the team’s pregame shootaround and reported soreness in his right knee. Of his eight consecutive absences, the last seven have been caused by the right knee issue. He has mostly been practicing fully during his absence, and for more than two weeks the Sixers have been adamant that the former NBA MVP was still merely day-to-day. He was initially questionable for Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Orlando Magic, but was ruled out a handful of hours before tip-off. He did not practice on Wednesday, instead going through what the team called an “individual strength and conditioning session.”

    George, who missed the first 12 games of the year due to his own left knee surgery recovery, went from probable to out on Tuesday due to a right ankle sprain. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said that night that it was not yet clear whether or not the nine-time All-Star was going to miss more time, but George was a full participant in the team’s practice on Wednesday.

    Edgecombe also participated in that practice, a positive sign after the rookie missed his second game in a row due to a left calf issue. His designation on both injury reports for those absences was “left calf tightness,” but Nurse referred to it as a “strain” on Tuesday. Edgecombe had imaging come back clean, and Nurse acknowledged that the team is inclined to be especially cautious given the links between calf injuries and Achilles injuries. Now he is out once again, but this time a designation of “left calf injury management.”

    Bona told PhillyVoice earlier this week that he was “feeling great” as he recovered from a right ankle sprain which has sidelined him for five games. On Wednesday, Bona said that being available to return on Friday was his “big goal,” and he felt like he was “right there.”

    The expected absences: Kelly Oubre Jr., whose re-evaluation for a left knee LCL sprain is about a week away, and Trendon Watford, out for at least two weeks due to a left adductor strain the 25-year-old suffered on Tuesday.

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Trendon Watford continues breakout by posting triple-double in first start as Sixers beat Raptors on debut throwback night

    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:

    Trendon Watford keeps on getting better

    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.

    The Sixers might have a new backup center

    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.

    Odds and ends

    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.

    • 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.

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  • Instant observations: Sixers fall to Cavaliers, lose both legs of second back-to-back

    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:

    Sixers show some fight in loss

    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:

    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.

    Can Justin Edwards finally get settled in?

    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?

    Odds and ends

    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.

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

    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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  • Joel Embiid out for Sixers-Magic on Monday in front end of back-to-back, Paul George remains out

    Joel Embiid is among five Sixers ruled out for the team’s home game against the Orlando Magic on Monday, according to an injury report issued by the team on Sunday evening:

    Player Injury Status
    Joel Embiid Left knee injury management OUT
    Dominick Barlow Right elbow laceration OUT
    Paul George Left knee surgery recovery OUT
    Trendon Watford Left hamstring tightness OUT
    Jared McCain Right thumb surgery recovery OUT

    There is no change in the statuses of Paul George (knee), Trendon Watford (hamstring) and Jared McCain (thumb), though the first two appear closer to making their season debuts. Dominick Barlow missed the second half of the Sixers’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday after suffering an elbow laceration, and the Sixers said he will miss at least two games as he undergoes a procedure to address the wound. Barlow will be reevaluated later this week.

    Many expected Embiid to play on Monday against a strong Magic team before sitting the following night when the Sixers take on the lowly Washington Wizards on the road, but the Sixers have opted to go in the other direction, likely for the sake of padding Embiid’s appearances with multiple off days as often as possible in the early stages of his return to action.

    THE SIXERS ARE 2-0

    Sixers beat Celtics on opening night | Sixers come back vs. Hornets in home opener

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  • Paul George (knee) remains out for Sixers-Hornets, Joel Embiid not listed on injury report

    Paul George (knee) will remain out when the Sixers play their home opener against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, according to the team’s initial injury report unveiled on Friday. But after playing 20 lackluster minutes in the team’s comeback win over the Boston Celtics to kick off the 2025-26 campaign on Wednesday night, Joel Embiid is not listed on the report, indicating he is set to play again, likely on a 20-minute restriction. Otherwise, Jared McCain (thumb) and Trendon Watford (hamstring) remain out for the Sixers.

    Player Injury Status
    Paul George Left knee surgery recovery OUT
    Jared McCain Right thumb surgery recovery OUT
    Trendon Watford Left hamstring tightness OUT
    Justin Edwards Right rib soreness PROBABLE

    George has been practicing for a while now, and he appears on the verge of making a season debut. Last week, ESPN reported that George was expected to return to action “shortly into the regular season.”

    McCain’s season debut will not come in October, while Watford appears to be getting closer. His hamstring has been an issue for at least a month or so, but Watford was donning a practice jersey when doors opened to the media after Friday’s practice, an indication he is participating in some live action. Additionally, Watford was doing some heavy running after practice.

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  • Sixers player preview: Is Trendon Watford going to be another valuable veteran’s minimum signing?

    Welcome to our Sixers player preview series, where in the weeks leading up to Media Day we will preview the upcoming 2025-26 season for each and every member of the Sixers’ standard roster. For each player, we will pose two key questions about their season before making a prediction.

    The pressure is on after a miserable 24-58 campaign last season. After entering a year with championship aspirations and spending multiple months having to tank for the sake of a protected first-round pick, the Sixers have lost any and all benefit of the doubt that their signature season is finally coming.

    It is safe to say there is a whole lot of work to do on the Sixers’ end to prove the doubters wrong. Do they have a roster good enough to make it happen?

    Up next: Trendon Watford, the team’s lone external addition to its standard roster via free agency this summer. A close friend of Tyrese Maxey, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Watford possesses unique ball-handling and passing skills at power forward, giving him an opportunity to fill a new role within Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s offense. How high is the ceiling for the 24-year-old forward signed to a two-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum salary?

    SIXERS PLAYER PREVIEWS

    Jared McCain | Justin Edwards | VJ Edgecombe | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Johni Broome | Adem Bona | Andre Drummond | Trendon Watford

    Can Watford form a dynamic two-man game with his close friend?

    Around this time last year, this question was being asked about another one of Maxey’s close friends: KJ Martin. Martin and Maxey had grown close off the floor, and entering last season Maxey announced his intention to create a lethal two-man game with the athletic forward. He went as far as to say he wanted to create a similar dynamic that James Harden and P.J. Tucker had.

    Now, it would be wise to expect that Maxey and Watford are eager to accentuate each other’s strengths on the court. Watford joked over the summer that he has only ever gotten to play against his friend. Now they can see what it looks like when both players are in the same uniform. Watford’s potential two-man game with Maxey will look different than Martin’s did – Martin is a far superior athlete, but not nearly as good of a passer – but as they try to form a reliable combination, there can be some examples drawn from the brief success Maxey and Martin had together

    Watford is a suspect three-point shooter (more on this later). If he plays himself into a critical role at power forward and Joel Embiid is available, Watford will often be the Sixers’ worst shooter on the floor. Defenses will leave him open a lot. The same was true for Martin, who found ways to leverage that for the benefit of others:

    While Martin utilized impressive short-roll passing chops and strong instincts during his time with the Sixers, Watford has a complete ball-handling repertoire. He is a true point forward who is going to initiate plenty of offense for the Sixers whenever he is on the floor.

    Being able to weaponize Maxey – and Jared McCain, for that matter – as off-ball scoring threats will go a long way for the Sixers on the offensive end of the floor. Those players can fly around screens and wait for Watford to find them, or they can curl around Watford for dribble hand-off actions like this one: 

    Maxey will not be the lone beneficiary of Watford’s unique skills, but he certainly figures to be the player Watford shares the floor with more than any other. The pairing has preexisting chemistry that could do it a whole lot of good.   

    MORE: Watford explains connection with Maxey, unique skills, more

    What will Watford provide offensively when he does not have the ball?

    Watford is clearly a gifted ball-handler at his size, and his full package of passing talents will provide value to this offense. But in order to really stick as a critical component of the rotation, he cannot be a liability away from the ball.

    In general, Watford has made enough of his open three-point attempts to avoid that status. But he has not made enough of those shots for anyone to feel good about his accuracy, and in his four-year NBA career Watford’s three-point volume has often been limited by his slow release:

    At the peak of Martin’s time with the Sixers, he had grown comfortable knocking down corner triples. It helped define his offensive role for many possessions within a game. Can Watford become similarly useful in that spot? He does not have tons of experience there in his career, but it should be the easiest region of the floor for him to find success spotting up:

    For any role player on a team full of ball-dominant, high-usage players, the ability to make catch-and-shoot three-pointers is just going to be crucial no matter what. There is no doubt that Watford’s significant ball skills give him greater margin for error as a three-point shooter, but in order to play important minutes in extremely competitive games he is going to have to prove capable of making defenses pay for ignoring him.

    MORE: Trendon Watford full film study

    Prediction

    Watford does not profile as a long-term starter with the Sixers, but he plays well enough to establish himself as a helpful rotation piece. As a result, the Sixers pick up his $2.8 million team option for the 2026-27 season with zero hesitation. 

    Watford very well could get a healthy number of starts at the four in 2025-26, but that’s much more of a reflection on the team’s lack of a firm option at the position than Watford’s own ability. And while the guess here is that Watford proves to be a keeper in Philadelphia thanks to his outstanding ball-handling and passing skill at his size, it is likely not wise to bank on Watford being the team’s long-term solution at power forward.

    To be clear: That is completely fine. If Watford ends up good enough to be at the back end of a rotation, the Sixers’ commitment to him will have paid off in spades. Finding a player even occasionally viable of logging rotation minutes on a two-year minimum deal – Watford’s deal also contains a team option for the second season, ensuring the Sixers will not lose him after one year like they did Guerschon Yabusele – is a massive win every single time.

    Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey takes a whole lot of criticism these days; plenty of it is earned. But his track record of success with minimum signings since arriving in Philadelphia is outstanding, and given the makeup of their cap sheet the Sixers must continue hitting on players like they did with Yabusele at the bottom of the market in free agency. Will Watford be their latest diamond in the rough?

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    Adam Aaronson

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