PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers were able to knock off the New York Knicks 120-97 on Monday night to open the preseason schedule. They had LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Anfernee Simons, and others sitting on the sidelines, but it was a good start for coach Nick Nurse and his crew to open the exhibition schedule.
Jaylen Brown, making his unofficial Sixers debut, looked terrific as he had 22 points, all in the first half, two rebounds, and two assists for Philadelphia. VJ Edgecombe had 12 points, seven assists, and four rebounds, Jabari Walker added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Caleb Love added 15 and six assists. The Sixers also received seven points from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and nine from Dillon Jones.
Here are the three
biggest takeaways from the win:
Brown shows his offensive creativity
As the Sixers continue into the 2026-27 season, Brown is going to be a guy Philadelphia will rely on to give the group some tough buckets in the halfcourt. There were plenty of times in this one when he was able to put the ball on the floor, get to the cup, give the Sixers a reliable scoring option, and somebody who can really take things over on the offensive end should he need to. He was also able to create opportunities for his teammates as well.
"I think it's more—I was more impressed with his offensive creation, right?" Nurse said after the win. "Not only his own shot, but just his ability to kind of come down and be in the paint. You better send some help, or he's gonna be finishing. I think that he also had a couple nice kickouts and stuff, and that’s good that he can just—kind of what I would call a methodical driver. He does it a little bit more with balance and strength than he does with maybe quickness. He usually, again breaks through the gap, and now he’s heading towards the rim."
Caldwell-Pope making winning plays
There is a reason why the Sixers made the decision to bring in the 13-year veteran. He does so many different things on the floor to help a team succeed. He was all over the place defensively, made some buckets in transition, and was able to make an impact right away. He is somebody the Sixers can turn to when the energy is down or they need somebody to really play smart basketball. His wisdom and championship know-how will be so helpful.
"I played against KCP for a long time in different uniforms, and in every single one, he’s been a dog," said Brown. "Guards, takes the tough matchups. Guards the best player. He’s guarded me a lot of times. Hits shots when he’s open and then also is just a great connector for your team. So, I look forward to being on the same side as him this year and we look forward to his leadership."
Walker getting it done
The big man brought is hard hat to the court in this one. He was grabbing tough rebounds in the paint, played with a ton of energy on the defensive end, knocked down open 3-pointers, and was just tough out on the floor. There are some rotation minutes still up for grabs in the preseason and Walker is somebody who could use a big preseason to state his case for minutes when the real games begin on Oct. 20.
"Man, can't really even explain how much work has gone into it," Walker said of his jumper. "But a lot of mental work has went into it as well, just the confidence to shoot it. My teammates have seen me do it a lot of times, and now it's just about me understanding that it's the best shot for our team sometimes, and I'm a good shooter. I deserve to shoot that. So I think I just kind of took the pressure off myself this offseason. I said, ‘I'm going to go in here and just be confident, let the work show,’ and I continue doing that."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following preseason win over Knicks
