Sixers Bell Ringer: George, Maxey look ready for regular season in preseason loss

Paul George and Tyrese Maxey combined for 44 points in three quarters as the Sixers fell to the Timberwolves in preseason action.

Well, I can tell you off the bat that NBA League Pass will not be a candidate for Bell Ringer tonight. The Sixers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, 121-111, in preseason action Friday.

For those of you that didn’t attempt to watch the game, there was no TV broadcast and the only option to watch was the in-arena feed via NBA League Pass. They had technical difficulties for most of the first quarter and into the second. Once it got straightened out, the viewing experience was mostly fine. Would’ve been nice to see things like the Sixers’ huge free agent acquisition score his first basket though.

After an ice cold shooting start, the Sixers found themselves down by as many as 20 and trailed by 17 at the half. The starters came out clicking to start the second half and at one point the Sixers got the deficit down to three. By the middle of the fourth quarter, both teams had their deep reserves in the game.

Paul George made his Sixers preseason debut and absolutely did not disappoint. Tyrese Maxey looked more than ready for the regular season in his first preseason game against NBA competition. While Joel Embiid was back in Philly, Andre Drummond showed exactly why the team moved quickly to lock him up in free agency.

The Sixers will be back in action Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Boston vs. the Celtics (a preseason road back-to-back on a Friday and Saturday? What sort of fresh hell is this?). Let’s get to Bell Ringer.

Paul George: 23 points (4-of-9 from three), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

It’s only one preseason game, but George looked damn good.

Lucky for us, the stream righting itself coincided with George starting to heat up.

Three plays that demonstrate George’s diverse skillset. First, the presence of mind and quick hands to take that rebound away from Donte DiVincenzo and get an easy layup. The next a pull-up three in sort of a late transition play off a pass from Maxey. Then just a silky smooth play as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and cashing out a three over Naz Reid.

I don’t want to belabor this point, but going from Tobias Harris to George in the starting lineup is a ridiculously massive upgrade. The guy isn’t perfect and he’ll have bad moments, but look how quick he makes this decision here to spin and then finish through contact.

George’s scalability alone makes him so valuable. He’s capable of this type of production when Embiid is out. The fact that he took nine threes in 26 minutes and delivered multiple good entry passes to Drummond has to put a huge smile on the big fella’s face.

Tyrese Maxey: 21 points (4-of-7 from three), 2 assists (0 turnovers), 1 steal

What else can you say about Maxey at this point? He was a first-time All-Star and named the League’s Most Improved Player, but looks far from complacent.

Even in jumping in competition from the New Zealand Breakers to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Maxey looked totally in control.

What continues to blow my mind is Maxey’s ability to take care of the basketball. He didn’t have a single turnover Friday night. Even as his usage has increased, his giveaways have not.

Get him a few minutes with Embiid at some point and then put him in bubble wrap until the opener. He’s ready.

Andre Drummond: 10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist

Imagine if the Sixers had Drummond when Embiid needed surgery this past season. With respect to Paul Reed and Mo Bamba, Drummond is such a better option.

Drummond did what he does, pounding the glass to the tune of 15 rebounds in 24 minutes. For context, Reed’s season-high last year was 13. Bamba’s was 11. And it’s not just about the rebounding. Drummond is setting great screens and getting himself looks at the basket.

While he didn’t launch any threes tonight, it does seem like Drummond has been empowered by Nick Nurse to play freer on offense. There was a play late in the second quarter where Drummond had the ball in the left corner with Naz Reid defending. Drummond drove left right into Reid’s chest and drew a foul.

It’ll be interesting to see where he draws the line, but Nurse seems intent on letting Drummond do his thing.

Kelly Oubre, Jr.: 16 points (3-of-5 from three), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

On media day, Oubre said he worked with a wrist specialist this offseason to get more flexion, which he thought would allow him to shoot better. Well, perhaps that work paid off.

Oubre went 3-of-5 from deep Friday.

Look, Oubre is 28 and a career 32.7% three-point shooter. The chances of him having some type of shooting renaissance are probably slim, but the guy is clearly working on it. In 2019-20, he hit a career-high 35.2% on 5.5 attempts per game while with the Phoenix Suns. If he can get to a respectable range this season, it would be a huge boost for the starting group.