2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 6
Andre Drummond – 2
VJ Edgecombe – 2
Dominick Barlow – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
At least we didn’t have to worry about Tyrese Maxey playing another 40-plus minutes (although even 32 minutes was far too many in this one). That’s about the only positive takeaway from Philadelphia’s 144-103 nationally-televised loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
With the Sixers missing Joel Embiid, Paul George, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona (and also appearing to lose Trendon Watford during the game due to injury), they fell behind Orlando by 26 points at halftime, and 38 points entering the fourth quarter, which set the stage for benches to empty across the entirety of the final period. The Magic kept pouring it on in search of smashing The Cup point differential tiebreaker.
Unlike what has been a dramatic and exciting start to the 2025-26 regular season for the now 9-8 Sixers, it was a sad reminder of how things had been so often last season when it was “Maxey and…who exactly?” and things fell apart completely. Not much to go with here for Bell Ringer, but let’s have it.
Jared McCain: 15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 0 turnovers
If nothing else, at least second-year guard Jared McCain is getting back into the swing of things on the offensive end. Coming back from both meniscus and thumb surgeries, McCain looked like a shell of his former self to start the season, going scoreless in four straight limited appearances to begin the campaign. However, Tuesday night marked his second straight game with 15 points, as he hit a couple threes as part of an overall 6-of-13 evening from the field. Both triples came in the first quarter when the outcome of the game was actually still in contention, and it’s good to see him finding the range again and making some plays with the ball in his hands.
Eric Gordon: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover
Unlike pseudo-assistant coach Kyle Lowry (who didn’t even get into the game with the Sixers losing by 40-plus points), I’m of the opinion that there’s still a little bit of juice left in the lemon to squeeze out from Eric Gordon. The 36-year-old veteran can still nail shots from a few feet behind the arc, as we saw in his perfect shooting performance against the Magic (4-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three). There was a brief period last season when both he and Maxey were healthy, and you could see how much his shooting gravity opened things up for Tyrese. I think there’s still a little bit left (like, a very small dose) the Sixers could use in that department this season, especially on nights like Tuesday when they’re missing some perimeter options, even if everyone was making the “Gordon cuts the Magic lead to 37 points” jokes after this one.
The Open 15th Roster Spot: $$$ saved
It was a great night for the Sixers’ open 15th roster spot, who despite not taking the floor, managed to save ownership money by virtue of not counting against the salary cap, with potential luxury tax savings later on. While the team’s on-court product was a rare dud this season against the Magic, we can always take solace in knowing the organization is making thrifty decisions on the margins to save ownership some dough.
