PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers are still in the process of building chemistry and cohesion as they move forward with their talented roster. These early season games are important in an effort to build and set the standard for how the team wants to play on a nightly basis.
Heading into a matchup with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, which the Sixers walked away with a 123-112 win to improve to 10-3 on the season, coach Nick Nurse stressed some specific points of emphasis to the group as they continued to push forward with this talented, but very brand new, roster.
"We talked about kind of like three major bullet points on each side of the ball yesterday (Wednesday), and we certainly did that on the offensive end – the spacing and the next
action stuff," Nurse explained after the win. "That was all much better, and things on defense were slightly better, but at least they were a little bit better."
The Sixers did appear to have a bit more cohesion on the offensive end against the Raptors than before in recent games. Of course, Toronto didn't have stars Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, but Philadelphia found itself down by 17 early and the Sixers were able to dig deep, get back to their offensive standards and they were able to rally in this one to earn a win. Jaylen Brown and Co. were happy with the progression.
"Yeah, I think our spacing was a little better," Brown said succinctly. "We had some more movement. We were able to get some easy baskets instead of everything being so hard, and I think that was key for us, that we can utilize the talent that we have, get easy opportunities for guys. I think that's a key emphasis for us going forward."
Brown was able to have a big game as he finished with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting with six rebounds. Sure, there were still some clunky moments as he had five turnovers, but as a whole, Philadelphia moved forward and that is the positive thing for this group.
"I think we improved a little bit," added Tyrese Maxey. "Our spacing was better tonight, and our pace was better tonight. We played with a little more purpose, a little more pep in our step, which is better for us, and when we do that, we’re harder to guard."
The Sixers will now have two days off before they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon. Therefore, Nurse and the coaching staff are happy with having those days off and continue to build chemistry with this group. Brown, Maxey, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James will be the ones to lead this team in an effort to get to the mountaintop, even when things are a bit off for them.
"You go this way and then you have a step back," Nurse finished. "We need to keep going this way and only take half step backs, right? Because sometimes we take a little bit more, one giant step back sometimes, right? And that's just consistency. We're trying to level out."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Jaylen Brown, 76ers discuss steps taken forward after win over Raptors
