Bell Ringer Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 3.5
Joel Embiid – 1
LeBron James – 1
Anfernee Simons – 1
Jaylen Brown – 0.5
The Philadelphia 76ers had all five starters score in double-digits and three score more than 20 points in a 126-107 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
The Sixers were almost completely healthy for this one, with the only absences being Dominick Barlow (back) and Ariel Hukporti, who is out for the season. Taking on a struggling Bulls squad that came into Monday 1-5 on the season,
they had a golden opportunity to get a comfortable win and maybe even get the starters some rest if they could put it to bed early.
Of course, it can never be too easy. After letting Chicago hang close in the first half, the Sixers finally started to put a little distance between them going into the final frame leading by 11. Philadelphia couldn’t seem to fully shake loose until late in the fourth when they extended their lead to 20 with two minutes to play. It would have been nice to gain steadier footing early to get the starters some rest before that point, but I guess we can’t be too greedy talking about a now 7-1 team.
Next up, the Sixers will hit the road for three games, the first of which will take them to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Wednesday night.
Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer. It was a widespread effort, so we have a few options!
VJ Edgecombe: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
To anyone who says that VJ Edgecombe can’t thrive in this Sixers’ lineup, please watch the first quarter of tonight’s game. It was the perfect example of a simple but effective synergy between the sophomore and his new-look squad — VJ fully utilizing his speed in transition to get out ahead with LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey getting their heads up to nail impressive passes to him in stride. Edgecombe took full advantage, shooting 5-for-5 from the floor (1-for-1 from long range) for a floor-leading 11 points in the first frame. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. LeBron hit another cross-court dime to a pushing Edgecombe to help the boy from Bimini to 15 points on 7-for-7 field goal shooting by halftime.
This is why I never worried about Edgecombe’s development in this lineup. Sure, there’s only one ball… but when you have passers like James (and Maxey, though to a lesser extent) around you, there will always be opportunities for a speedy, athletic player that is constantly in motion off the ball. Tonight was the perfect example of how he can become borderline uncoverable. And if you move (and finish) like Edgecombe did tonight, one can imagine those opportunities will only become more plentiful as the Sixers continue to solidify their chemistry offensively.
Edgecombe finished Monday night with 21 points on 9-for-12 field goal, 2-for-4 three-point shooting. He also had three rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.
LeBron James: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal
LeBron James hit not only one but several passes in this game that I watched on repeat. And he made them look easy. I’m talking multiple full-court bounce passes that hit blazing fast players like VJ Edgecombe perfectly in stride and a number of perfectly timed dimes in the half-court offense working off double (or even triple) teams. I’ll be honest, I didn’t watch LeBron play night in and night out before he came to Philadelphia… it is an absolute treat to watch the plays he makes for his teammates every single game, with the correct passes at the correct time to the correct players to make the most of each moment. By the time an opponent’s shot is in the air, James is already positioning himself to grab the rebound and to be able to make a quick, accurate pass ahead.
It sounds like I’m overstating things, but I genuinely don’t think it can be overstated what a facilitator he’s been to start this season.
In addition to his nine dimes, LeBron found the time to sink some buckets of his own, chipping in 15 on 6-for-13 field goal shooting. He also pulled in seven rebounds and had a steal. His first triple-double as a Sixer still eludes him for now, but something tells me it won’t be too long…
Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Philadelphia rained down MVP chants for Tyrese Maxey when he went to the line at one point tonight… and frankly, they’re not crazy. Well, maybe they are, but not for this! Maxey continues to be an absolute baller to start this season, and notably it’s coming in different ways and on both ends of the floor. Not only has Maxey’s defense been incredibly impressive these first eight games… and not only has he been an absolute scoring powerhouse at times… but he’s also taking some clear queues from LeBron James and hitting some monster passes as well.
With such a widespread scoring effort tonight, it didn’t have to be all on Maxey’s shoulders to chip in 40 points. But even without the overwhelming point total tonight (not that 26 is anything to be ashamed of), it’s amazing just how many of the Sixers’ points Maxey played a large part in, whether he scored them, assisted on them, or came up with the defensive play that led to them. First, he got his team going early. Then, he was scoring in bunches himself by the fourth.
Maybe the MVP chants are right…
Maxey finished Monday with a 26-point, 11-assist double-double. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor. He also had four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Jaylen Brown: 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
It was another night of Jaylen Brown just being Jaylen Brown. I’m sounding like a broken record across these Bell Ringers, but it’s incredible how much Brown contributes each game in a somewhat quiet manner. It’s not the high-flying dunks of VJ Edgecombe or the cross-court passes of LeBron James. It’s not always one big spurt of scoring where Brown puts the Sixers on his back for a few minutes. It’s just simple, constant contribution when he’s on the floor, on both ends of the floor. You hear his name called by Matt Cord in the arena so often you almost stop hearing it. He just balls. Tonight, it was 25 points on stellar shooting, 9-for-15 field goal and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, spread out pretty evenly throughout the entirety of the game. This level of performance has seemingly already become the accepted, unceremonious norm from Brown on the Sixers… and that’s something worth taking note of.
Brown finished the night with a 25-points, 11-rebounds (5 offensive) double-double with 5 assists and 1 steal. He hit four triples, two of which game back-to-back late in the game which really felt like the dagger in this one (finally).
