Opening night in Madison Square Garden gave the Philadelphia 76ers something they haven’t always had: a bench that actually helped close the deal. On Ring Night, the Sixers beat the New York Knicks, and this time the burden didn’t fall almost entirely on the starting five. The secondary unit mattered, and with Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, and Tacko Fall still sidelined, Philadelphia has reason to think that group can get even tougher as the season moves on.
That matters because last season’s reserve production was a real problem. The 76ers finished 27th in bench scoring in the 2025-26 season, averaging 32.4 points per game.
Quentin Grimes was the exception, putting up 13.4 points per game, but not many others gave the team steady punch off the pine. When Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid sat, the offense often lost steam.
Against New York, the bench finished with 26 points, which was still under last season’s average. But the number only tells part of the story. Nick Nurse leaned on a nine-man rotation, and the early signs suggest this year’s second unit has a better chance of holding the line while the stars rest.
The rotation itself also hints at how Nurse wants to use these pieces. He went to four bench players, but two of them barely cracked 10 minutes. Adem Bona and Jabari Walker saw limited run, while Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope handled much larger workloads.
That setup seems intentional. Simons played 25-plus minutes, and from the start it was obvious why he’s on this roster: to let it fly. When he shares the floor with Maxey, Brown, and LeBron, he isn’t going to have the ball in his hands much until the last stretch of the possession.
That’s exactly the kind of bench weapon Nurse needed. The 27-year-old didn’t hand out an assist in his minutes, but he did score 13 points, hit half his shots, and connect on 37.5% from three. For a player brought in to provide spacing and scoring, that’s a strong first step.
Caldwell-Pope had a similar kind of night. The 33-year-old is also expected to supply offense as a sixth man, and he delivered with 10 points and four rebounds in Philadelphia’s win. He made just 3 of 8 shots, but he found his spots well and should get more efficient as he settles in.
For South Philly, the bigger picture is simple: this bench already looks more useful than the one from a year ago. And with Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall, and Labaron Philon Jr. still waiting to make their season debut, the 76ers’ reserve group may only get stronger from here.
In Other News...
76ers Already Have A Joel Embiid Problem They Couldnt Hide
The season opener offered a reminder that the 76ers biggest question may not be about their stars, but about what happens when Joel Embiid has to take a breather. Against the Knicks, Philadelphia looked exposed behind him as Adem Bona and Jabari Walker had a tough time dealing with Andre Drummond, a matchup that quickly turned into a problem the Sixers could not paper over for long. Injuries already have thinned the center group, and the team had to get creative just to survive stretches without its anchor in the paint.
Philadelphias depth chart at the position now feels like something worth watching closely, especially if the early-season rotation has to lean on stopgap answers more than expected. The Sixers can live with a lot when Embiid is on the floor, but the opener showed how quickly the matchup can tilt once he is not, and it left an obvious question hanging over the roster: whether this team will need to find more reliable help at center before those minutes decide a game again. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Still Has A Knicks Grudge The 76ers Havent Settled
The 76ers have already made their presence felt against New York once this season, walking out of Madison Square Garden with a 106-100 win that spoiled the Knicks ring and banner ceremony. For Philadelphia, it was more than just an early-season road victory. It was the kind of result that still carries some extra edge for a team that has spent time looking back at what happened against the Knicks in the playoffs.
Nick Nurse has not completely let go of that loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the frustration around it still lingers as the two teams measure themselves again. Philadelphia has also reworked its roster with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in the mix, giving the club more ways to navigate the season if Joel Embiid misses time. Even so, the Knicks remain a familiar source of unfinished business for a coach who clearly has not moved on from the last postseason meeting. [Read more 🡒]
Paul George Just Reopened An Uncomfortable 76ers Debate
Paul Georges first night in Boston looked a lot like the kind of performance the 76ers spent a season hoping to see more often. In the Celtics season opener, George poured in 38 points and added five rebounds, three assists and five steals, immediately looking like a player with more room to operate than he ever consistently found in Philadelphia. The fit was different from the start, with Boston putting him in a larger role and giving him the freedom to play like a primary option alongside Jayson Tatum.
For the 76ers, it reopened an uncomfortable question about what exactly went wrong during Georges time in Philadelphia. Injuries were part of the answer, but so were the team dynamics around him, which never seemed to let his game breathe in the way it did against his new backdrop. If this is the beginning of a resurgence, it only sharpens the sense that the Sixers may have watched a different version of George emerge just as he moved on. [Read more 🡒]