The Sixers fell apart over the game's final 14 minutes, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to lose to the Orlando Magic.
Here's what I saw.
- Nick Nurse deserves a ton of credit for honestly acknowledging how good Jared McCain has been by rewarding him with the start and pushing a veteran out of the first five. It's an exercise in humility and human management. It would've been very easy to stick to what he knows, keeping Kelly Oubre Jr. in the starting group next to Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Paul George and Joel Embiid. Coaches tasked with championship aspirations almost always lean toward seasoned players at every opportunity. Young guys really have to wow in their opportunities to earn promotions to the regular rotation, let alone the starting five. The traditional decision would've avoided any type of difficult or awkward conversation with a player who has a year's worth of equity built with the organization. It's also diplomatic to start the guy making decidedly more money than a rookie who doesn't have the cachet to dare question why he isn't in the first five.
Instead, Nurse made the decision with his eyes. The basketball doesn't lie. McCain has emerged as the only major positive in this troublesome start to the season. Such an acknowledgement from the head coach is a big, big deal.
- McCain continued to be the lone beacon of light in a dreadful start to the season. Inserted into what figures to be a more regular starting lineup with Embiid and George available, McCain was the team's best player on the night. He eventually fouled out. To be expected from a rookie. But, he fit right into the offense. He leveraged chaos, relocating on broken plays to take advantage of the scrambling Magic. He ran to open spots as quickly as he got off the ball. Not only did he lace five more threes, but McCain showed marked improvement as a finisher, dazzling with a hesitation move in the first half to get a bucket at the rim. McCain led the Sixers in scoring with 29 points, his fourth consecutive game with at least 20. Not bad for a rookie.
- The biggest variable in how quickly the Sixers will rebound from this brutal start to the season is obviously Embiid shaking off the rust. But, the concern after Tuesday's season debut wasn't just the amount of rust. It was that Embiid was clearly not willing to apply force with his lower body on offense. He did not have confidence in his knee, whether it be to back defenders down, blow by or pivot. It's only human if that confidence vacillates as he gets re-acclimated to game action. But, Friday was a massive step in the right direction.
Starting with Philadelphia's very first possession of the game, Embiid appeared to be playing more freely. He backed down Goga Bitadze from the short corner to the low post, exerting pressure before pulling the chair out with a reverse pivot into a baseline jumper.
The aggression and confidence only expanded from there. He got some easy buckets inside from empty corner pick-and-rolls with George and flashing toward the rim on a post entry pass over the top from McCain. Clearly in a groove, Embiid stepped out to the elbows to survey the waters. He had a blow-by on Bitadze in space, gathering himself at the rim before going up for a finish.
Embiid eventually looked so much closer to himself that Orlando began flooding him with helpers shading the middle and baseline when he pivoted into face-ups in the short corner. He took the contact and headed to the foul line, standard operating procedure.
His defense on Tuesday was encouraging to begin with. But, he had the conditioning to remain active on that end of the floor on Friday whilst scoring more in the first half against the Magic than he did in the entirety of the Knicks game.
- Super rough offensive night for George. He couldn't finish at the rim against a set defense or with Orlando backpedaling in transition. He couldn't create any space in isolation to get to his jumper. The biggest problem was that George simply could not create any edges to get his inside shoulder past his defender. He didn't have the juice to get around his man, and the ball stopped quite a bit as he tried to create for himself. You expect him to test the waters and adjust from there. He did not adjust his game at all. He saw a couple jumpers fall eventually, but George was largely without any answers in this one.
- All of the good Embiid did in the first half was shredded in the second half. Aside from making all of his free throws, you could tell his mind was more on the fatigue he was clearly battling than on execution. Turnovers with his back flattened to one side of the floor and forced jumpers that were well short. Just a brutal second half.
- I get that turnovers are inevitable as you integrate new pieces. But, even without Maxey, the offense in that fourth quarter was unacceptable. Sloppy passes, nothing to manufacture easy shots. You can't score 14 points in a quarter with Embiid and George available in the year of our lord, 2024.
- A few games ago, McCain told reporters that his goal was to record one dunk in his rookie season. He got it early in this game, much to Maxey's delight.
- Losing the game Lowry is attacking closeouts and finishing at the rim is a crime. You do not get many of those.
The Sixers (2-10) will visit the Miami Heat (5-6) on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
