Sixers' star-filled starters debut in preseason loss, showing promise and challenges
LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown combined for a 114-108 exhibition defeat, displaying offensive firepower but also defensive lapses and chemistry issues.
The Philadelphia 76ers opened their preseason schedule with a 114-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, featuring the first on-court minutes for a starting lineup that includes LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown. The unit generated early scoring bursts, highlighted by James' playmaking and Maxey's perfect 4-for-4 shooting for 10 points, but also displayed inconsistencies on both ends of the floor.
Maxey, who spent most of the half-court minutes off the ball, capitalized on spacing and fast-break opportunities, scoring 10 points without initiating a possession. His speed allowed him to exploit mismatches after drives by James, Brown or Edgecombe. Edgecombe contributed a fast-break alley-oop and five rebounds, showing the potential to aid the team’s rebounding despite limited size. Brown operated primarily as an off-ball finisher near the basket, scoring on a James-Embiid pick-and-roll, though his role appeared less defined compared to his years as a primary scorer with Boston.
James focused on distribution, delivering long-range outlet passes and orchestrating the offense, finishing with 10 points on perfect free-throw shooting. Defensively, he guarded Nets forward Julius Randle, demonstrating the combination of strength and speed that the team lacks elsewhere.
Embiid struggled, missing routine shots and handling the ball sloppily, though he remained active in setting screens to create mismatches. Coach Nick Nurse noted that the squad has been working on defensive schemes in recent practices and will continue to adjust rotations and set pieces to improve half-court and transition defense.
Nurse said, > "We have done a lot more schematically in the last couple of days, whether it’s in practice or walkthrough or film. So we’ll see if that can progress, if we can do a few more things in our half-court defense, while still trying to make sure our transition defense and rebounding hold up at the start and end of our possessions."
The Sixers will play their third preseason game against the Boston Celtics on Saturday, providing another opportunity to refine the chemistry of their high-profile starting five.