The Sixers looked comfortable down the entire lineup in their 117-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in their penultimate preseason contest.
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 117-95 in their penultimate preseason contest on Wednesday night.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (will not appear in preseason), Paul George (bone bruise, left knee) and Kyle Lowry (rest). The Nets were without Ben Simmons (of course).
Not too much back and forth to recap here, so I’ll keep it short. The Sixers seemed to shoot a bit better tonight with not such a slow start at the previous preseason games, allowing them to take the lead early in the contest and never let it go. They shot 46.5% from the floor and 35% from three-point range and capitalized hugely on the Nets’ mistakes and sloppiness, racking up 12 steals and 28 fast break points. The best thing about Philadelphia tonight is that both the regular starters (well, the ones that played) as well as the depth players continue to look strong. I do not envy Nick Nurse for having to decide where to cut for his regular season rotation.
Something to keep an eye out for is updates regarding Jared McCain. The Sixers’ rookie exited the game late in the fourth after falling hard seemingly directly onto his back. Nurse said postgame that McCain was going to a hospital for further evaluation. We will keep you posted on that as more information becomes available.
The Sixers will go back on the road for their final preseason matchup, taking on the Orlando Magic on Friday night. Last one that doesn’t count, then the real fun starts.
Until then, let’s talk Bell Ringer. A lot of people played well tonight, so there’s a lot of options.
Tyrese Maxey: 7 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals
Maxey is looking dangerous this preseason. When Maxey isn’t hitting insane stepback triples, he’s showing off his facilitation skills, connecting consistently (even midair) with players he doesn’t even necessarily get that much playing time with. Looking just at his box score, particularly his shooting percentages for tonight (28.6% FG, 20% 3PT), it might not seem like Maxey is doing anything impressive. But I’d argue that he’s showing off not only that he’s retained the skills we’ve watched him develop the past few seasons, but he’s also improved upon them while continuing to add to his bag of tricks as a scorer and a playmaker.
Don’t worry KJ, Oubre might have gotten the first lob but Maxey has one for you, too. pic.twitter.com/VtkeDKD8PQ
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) October 16, 2024
Eric Gordon: 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, two steals, 1 block
It might have been overshadowed by some flashy alley-oops from his teammates, but Gordon had a really nice early stint against the Nets. Gordon was in the starting five for the second game in a row, and he made the most of it tonight, even if he played just under eight minutes total. Active on the entirety of the floor, Gordon hit two triples early before later stealing the ball away from the Nets and taking it cross court himself to lay it home. He later put up a block on a Cam Thomas three-pointer. In 7:48 played, he had eight points, a rebound, an assist, two steals and a block and earned himself the rest of the night off.
Kelly Oubre Jr: 18 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Oubre looked like he was having fun out there tonight… and why not? He had 18 points on 5-for-8 field goal shooting hitting 2-for-3 triples in the first half. He had no hesitation attacking the basket, driving straight into the paint even if it meant going through contact to finish at the rim or earn some trips to the charity stripe, where he was 6-for-7 on the night. Honestly, it was just simple, good basketball. He came in, he scored a bunch of points, he sat the second half. Job well done.
Oubre actually ended up leading the field for points in this one despite clocking out at halftime with 20:44 played. Those 18 points, of course, included some of his signature flying dunks—a fun one in the video below. Don’t worry, KJ Martin got his own alley-oops in later.
Both Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin were ready to slam this Tyrese Maxey lob… Oubre won this time. pic.twitter.com/Kmrp2Il6uC
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) October 16, 2024
Andre Drummond: 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Drummond continues to show exactly why Joel Embiid wanted him back in Philadelphia. After the last few seasons, it is a breath of fresh air to not watch the Sixers’ opponents go practically untouched to the rim while collecting damn near every available rebound when Embiid was on the bench. This season, it might be a different story because of Drummond. He came up with nine rebounds in 13:21 played tonight, three on the offensive end. He also had a steal and a block while tacking on seven points.
It was pretty clear that the Nets don’t have any players that can exactly challenge Drummond in terms of sheer size and strength, so I don’t think this was the hardest challenge he will face necessarily, but that’s besides the point.
Oh, and no three-point attempts tonight.
KJ Martin: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Martin started tonight for the Sixers with an opportunity to keep his name in the mind of Nick Nurse as he figures out his regular season rotation. Martin seems to just have a really good sense that has improved since last season and seems to continually improve throughout the preseason. He knows where to be on the floor and really doesn’t get “lost” out there the way a lot of younger players seem to early on. The 23-year-old keeps himself moving off the ball constantly to find any space to capitalize on offensively, which has been paying off for him and the Sixers. Martin had 12 points (5-for-8 FG) with six rebounds, two assists and a steal on Wednesday.
And he got in on the alley-oop fun, too. (Side note: the synergy between KJ and Tyrese Maxey looked damn strong throughout this one, not just on this play.)
Looks like the Tyrese Maxey-KJ Martin connection is developing nicely. pic.twitter.com/UNDq230pOD
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) October 17, 2024
Guerschon Yabusele: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Yabusele is still being tested by Nurse as both a five and a four throughout this preseason and that continued tonight. He seemed to struggle a bit in terms of rim protection on the defensive end as a backup five when Drummond was off the floor but made a few good defensive plays otherwise. He also looked great on the offensive side overall and simply continues to impress. Yabusele went 3-for-4 from the floor (hitting 1-for-2 from long range) for nine points along with six rebounds, an assist and three steals.
And if for no other reason, I was putting Yabusele on this list just so I could put this highlight here. Big man has some serious ups.
MIDAIR BEAR ✈️ pic.twitter.com/pd7myqOozL
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) October 17, 2024