The 76ers walked out of preseason with a 125-120 overtime loss to the Celtics on Friday night, but the box score offered more reason for optimism than concern. Philadelphia finished exhibition play 1-3 and now turns to the regular season next week with a group that showed some clear signs of what it can be.
Joel Embiid was the biggest one. After looking rusty in his first preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets, when he scored six points, made just one of five shots and committed eight turnovers, he came back looking far sharper against Boston. Granted, the Celtics used their backups the entire night, but Embiid still looked like the player Philadelphia expects him to be.
He played 29 minutes and put up 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He added eight rebounds and five assists, and he even threw down a highlight dunk along the way. For a team about to open a highly anticipated regular season, that kind of bounce-back is exactly what the Sixers wanted to see.
LeBron James also kept flashing the role he appears ready to embrace. In two preseason games with Philadelphia, he has led the team in assists both times. He had five against Brooklyn and followed that with eight against Boston, and he probably would have piled up a few more if his teammates had knocked down a couple of additional shots.
The picture that emerges from those two games is pretty straightforward: James wants to run the offense as the table-setter. He’s pushing the ball, creating fastbreak chances, finding the extra pass and putting teammates in position to finish.
With the amount of talent around him, that approach makes sense, especially since he is easily the team’s best creator and playmaker. He’ll still score, but it looks like the bigger plan is to pick his spots and keep everyone involved.
Jabari Walker also made his case in a strong way. Entering the finale, another productive showing would have gone a long way toward helping him lock down a rotation spot, and he delivered in 19 minutes against Boston.
Walker finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and making all five of his free throws. After what he did across the preseason, he likely earned some regular season minutes to start the year.
In Other News...
Sixers Just Addressed A Frontcourt Concern With Opening Night Near
With opening night drawing closer, the 76ers made a quiet but practical move to shore up their frontcourt depth by converting Tacko Falls Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal. The 7-foot-6 center gives Philadelphia another big body to work with as the roster takes shape, and the move fills the teams open two-way slot while keeping a player with previous NBA experience in the mix.
Fall has not been able to get on the floor in the preseason because of a strained hip, but his presence has still been viewed as a positive inside the locker room. Under the new deal, he can be active for up to 50 regular-season games and will earn a salary of $678,882, leaving the Sixers with one less open question as they finalize the edges of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Turn To Tacko Fall As Center Depth Becomes A Real Concern
With the Sixers already dealing with a thin frontcourt, they are turning to Tacko Fall on a two-way contract as a way to add another true big man to the mix. Fall was unable to take part in the preseason because of a hip injury, but Philadelphias need at center has only grown with the injuries piling up around the position.
Fall brings NBA experience from his time with the Celtics and Cavaliers, along with work in the G League and Summer League, giving the Sixers another familiar center option to evaluate. For a team trying to patch together its depth chart, the move gives them a look at a player whose size alone changes the conversation, even if the bigger question is how soon he can actually get on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
VJ Edgecombes Absence Still Leaves Sixers Fans Wondering One Thing
The Sixers chose to sit VJ Edgecombe for their preseason finale against the Celtics, a move Nick Nurse said was tied to an intense week of practice rather than anything injury-related. It was a sensible reset for a rookie who had already logged three preseason games and shown enough to make the early returns look promising, averaging 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
VJ Edgecombes absence, though, still leaves Philadelphia with the same question it has been asking all month: how quickly can his preseason momentum carry over once the games count? The team expects him to be available next against the Knicks, which should finally give the Sixers another chance to see where he fits as the rotation tightens and the evaluation shifts from summer looks to real stakes. [Read more 🡒]