PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers handled business with the Chicago Bulls as they earned a professional 126-107 win at home on Monday. The Sixers have had to battle back from a number of deficits to begin the season, so it felt good for them to handle business against a Bulls team that is in the beginning stages of a rebuild with Philadelphia leading by as many as 22 on the night.
Tyrese Maxey had 26 points, 11 assists, two steals, and two blocks, VJ Edgecombe had 21 points and five assists on a big offensive night, Jaylen Brown had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, LeBron James finished with 15 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, and Joel Embiid had 15 points and eight rebounds. Dean Wade added eight points.
Here are the three
biggest takeaways for the Sixers following the win:
James' playmaking
Everybody knows how fantastic James is with the ball in his hands, but one has to wonder if the Sixers even knew it was like this. It felt like he was one step ahead of the Bulls as well as his own teammates as he orchestrated the gym and allowed everybody to get into a rhythm in an effort to get the offense moving. The Sixers as a team had 36 assists on 48 field goals on the night, which is fantastic production, but James was doing fantastic things in terms of finding ways to get his teammates rolling. There were a number of plays when he drove the lane and kicked it out to an open Wade in the corner or kicked it ahead to Edgecombe for a slam or running the two-man game with Embiid. It was impressive stuff.
"It’s really good," said coach Nick Nurse. "Yeah, it's really good. I mean, he's got incredible vision. He's obviously got size to see over people. Some of those ones that he's making down the left lane, zipping out to the right corner are big-time passes. But I just think he's got a good feel and sense of where people are and what the spacing looks like, and how to make reads, and it's really fun to watch."
Earning that professional win
The Sixers needed this one. They have had to battle back from deficits all throughout the early part of the season, which is a sign of a very good team, but it helps the Sixers that they can sit their starters late in the fourth and find ways to allow guys to get some much-needed rest. Especially, with such a veteran team. There was a tough stretch in the second quarter when the Bulls battled back and actually took a lead, but the Sixers then locked back in and built a large lead in order to finish off a feisty Chicago team. It was important to earn a win like this one.
"You’ve got some of these nights where you call them ‘professional wins,’ right?" Nurse acknowledged. "And these games aren't easy. You look at the records and all that kind of stuff, but they have a lot of talent. They play a way that a lot of these teams play a way that's a little scary, it's fast, and it's furious, and lots of 3s, and every time you get up 14, they bang a couple 3s, it's right back down to eight. So they're going to keep coming at you, high-possession games, all those kind of things. So they're not easy games, and I'm glad that we handled it professionally tonight."
Edgecombe breaks through
Of course, Edgecombe has found a way to produce at a high level for Philadelphia as he has been fantastic in the clutch, but the Sixers have needed him to be a bit more efficient from the jump rather than him waiting until the end to figure it all out. The second-year guard was terrific in this one as he shot 9-for-12 and was a plus-31 in 33 minutes. The breakout scoring the ball almost felt like a little reward for all of the little things he has been able to do in order to help Philadelphia succeed in the early part of the season.
"I think his role has shifted a little bit for us this year, and one of the things at the top of his priority list is to supply energy," Nurse added. "He’s the youngest of the crew. He's got to have energy, like explosive energy, at the start of most games, and it's a little shift for him because he was playing super huge minutes and super huge (with the) ball in his hands, super huge chances and stuff last year. So he doesn't have the ball in his hands as much. So he's got to go get it. He's got to find it. He's got to do all the other things like fly in and rebound. … He’s been averaging like eight (rebounds) but he's got to do all that stuff, and again he's going to probably be on the best backcourt player, so him coming out with that kind of spark is what we need."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following home win over young Bulls
