It was just a scrimmage. Sure, that’s all. Sorta in the same way that Ben Franklin was just a bald, fat guy with a kite.
Saturday afternoon’s proceedings represented the first public appearance of the Sixers as we now know them, the first time LeBron James and Jaylen Brown appeared alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
And sure, you couldn’t tell much, considering it was played at three-quarters speed, in an arena that was perhaps two-thirds full. Also considering the regular season
is still over two weeks away, and the playoffs aren’t even a blip on the horizon.
It was, as James said afterward, a “great first step in the direction we want to go.”
So everything needs to be framed in that light. It was just a faint outline of what they hope to be, and what they can be. It was an unveiling, with much more yet to be revealed.
Here are some takeaways:
Happy Camper
As everyone has said throughout training camp, Embiid was moving well, seemingly unencumbered by the knee issues that have slowed him in recent years. He dunked early on, off a feed from Edgecombe, then nailed a three-pointer. Later he slammed with the left hand, not long after Ariel Hukporti had blocked his shot.
“He’s so much more healthy (than at the 2024 Olympics),” James said of Embiid, a teammate then and now. “He hasn’t missed a practice. He’s been in every drill.”
Embiid kinda/sorta acknowledged as much, and certainly his frame of mind seems good – something else his teammates have mentioned.
As an example, consider his thoughts on the lefty slam: “”(Hukporti) did block me the first time, so I was kinda pissed off about it.”
Then he joked that it was “probably the last dunk of my career.”
Hey, we’ve missed that guy. Nice to have him back.
Space Cadets
When the starters took the court to open the day, they played the five-out style that might be expected, which opens the court for slashing by Maxey and Edgecombe, mid-range magic from Brown and Embiid and James’ all-around excellence. There were back cuts and dribble handoffs. There was movement and energy.
Embiid said he has heard a great deal about sacrifice, but in his mind it’s not so much about that as “being the best version of yourself” or “being a star in your role.”
He also said that his Olympic experience with James does not have as big an impact on the two of them jelling as some have said. Rather, he said, they would have meshed no matter what, given their experience and basketball IQ.
There were some interesting wrinkles. When Brown was on the floor in the second quarter with Edgecombe, backups Dean Wade and Labaron Philon Jr. and roster longshot Dillon Jones, he really went to work, rattling off 12 points in a scalding stretch. So it certainly appears that everybody will be able to eat, that opportunities will present themselves in various ways.
Edgier Edgecombe
He is in his second year, and he is clearly more sure of himself, more apt to assert himself than he was during his promising rookie year. On one second-quarter possession he got a step on Embiid, then switched hands in midair as he attacked the rim, enabling him to lay the ball in and draw the foul.
Moments later he tried to dunk on Embiid. Embiid was called for the foul, though he argued the call in the moment and later said he had “all ball,” something the replay seemed to confirm.
But the point is, Edgecombe’s training wheels are completely off. President of basketball operations Mike Gansey mentioned before the scrimmage that the soph plays with “no fear,” and afterward James said Edgecombe is “not quiet, in a good way.” LBJ also called him “a very cerebral player, and always looking for ways to get better.”
That is readily apparent.
Backup Plan
Gansey was reluctant to say how many games the team hopes to get from Embiid, only that everyone wants to “stick to the plan.” But figure the veteran center plays no more than 60 in the regular season. That leaves ample opportunity for Adem Bona and Hukporti. And while Bona is out with a sprained foot, Hukporti showed Saturday he might have more to offer than was first thought.
Early on the former Knick knocked down three short jumpers, and later he deftly fed Philon and Edgecombe for backdoor buckets – all while continuing to ply his trade on the defensive end. Besides his block on Embiid, he also denied Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
One Last Thought
There has been an accent on defense in the early days of camp, and James declared that the Sixers “can be a top five defensive team if we compete every time.”
That, in fact, might really tell the tale of their season. They will put up points in bunches; that seems clear. But can they get stops when they really need them? That bears watching.
