VJ Edgecombe Preseason Debut Was INSANE!

VJ Edgecombe Preseason Debut Was INSANE!

So to start out the game, VJ was getting the Muel Bridges matchup. He was guarding a small forward. And honestly, I think in this game, you saw that he can potentially scale up to the three spot. He makes the catch off this dribble handoff very tough. And now Mikuel is operating well beyond the three-point line. That’s what you want, deep into the shot clock. Second screen, he avoids sticking with Mel again. Very good rep. And you saw all game long he was guarding many different positions and the Sixers were willing to switch him on to anyone due to the injuries of Paul George and Jire Kane. I think early on in the season you’re going to see the Sixers rely heavily on the Maxi Quinc Grimes and VJ Edgecomb three guard lineup. Probably the most impressive thing from him during this game was his quick instincts as a connector. right here. He gets the rebound, one dribble, looks up the floor and finds Kelly Ubé. This should have been an and one. Unfortunately, UB smoked it. Now he’s on the basketball, passes to Tyrese Maxi, and he leaks to the wing. Great brush screen from Adona to shake him loose. Unfortunately, his three ball just wasn’t there. And you can tell on that shot it was like first game jitters. Just thinking about it too much and shoots it long. Once again, making it hard for the Knicks best players to receive clean dribble handoffs. I have no clue how this gets through. How is that not a steal? The Sixers desperately need to work on finishing possessions. Like, that should have been a steal. This next play from VJ is a great example of how to finish a play. Okay, Mitchell Robinson, one of the best rebounders in the league. Nope, you’re not getting it. And then we see him operate like a point guard. Push that rock and find your lob threat for an easy two. This time around, he gets the rebound. And once again, he’s pushing the pace, but he gets a bit out of control here and turns it over with his play style, him being a rookie. I expect that to happen, you know, from time to time. Now, he’s operating the pick and roll with Andre Drummond. He does a great job snaking through, keeping Josh Hart on his back. This is definitely a play he’s going to look back on in the film and be like, I should have hit the corner. Instead, he’s trying to finish through two people. He’s just a bit out of control and he can’t get it done. Also a good example maybe of him, you know, launching too far away from the basket, also fading away from the contact. That’s a good rep for him to break down. There’s a lot there that he can learn from. But I remained impressed with the way he started this play, you know, getting Josh Hart on his back. We saw that in the summer league at times as well. I really enjoy this rep. Nothing was going on, so he just gets a ghost screen. Josh Hart switches and he keeps the pressure on between the legs. burst of speed. Act like you’re driving, extend that leg, plant that foot, go into the midi. That’s a great process in my opinion. He just missed it. And then immediately on the other end of the floor, look at him defensively picking up. Now this time around, he gets screened by Carl Anthony Towns. And again, how is this not a steal? His first points came off a made basket. Nick Nurse in the offseason media today has emphasized that he wants to play faster and this is a good example. But I thought the Sixers did a great job in the first quarter executing that game plan. 20 seconds on the shot clock after a made basket. It kind of feels like a transition opportunity. One dribble over the head of McBride and VJ uses the size to his advantage, floating it over the top. I thought after the first quarter, the Sixers really slowed down as a team. And here, McBride goes for the steal, so the back door opens up. And again, he just makes that quick decision for the slam. And he’s right back to guarding Jaylen Brunson who goes right at him with a quick burst of speed. He stays in front and I love how he goes right into hands straight up. We know Brunson loves to foul bait and he’s looking to get to the foul line. As a result, Brunson doesn’t take the shot. He tries to pass it and it’s a turnover. The minutes without Maxi were very tough. He was the guy that had to create. He was getting this type of coverage. Mitchell Robinson and Brunson double team him off the screen. He makes the correct pass and in this situation the Sixers have to capitalize. Unfortunately, Eric Gordon misses. As you can tell, this second unit is missing Jared McCain, Quinn Grimes, etc. But these are also good reps for VJ. Again, another possession went nowhere. He has to create something. Josh Hart really giving respect to his burst of speed and willing to live with that three-point shot. It doesn’t matter. VJ gets where he wants to go. He just loses his control with that left hand. Luckily, Broom is there to bail him out, but he can’t hit the three-pointer. These types of reps I see from him. It It just kind of feels like you’re watching a player. You’re like, “Okay, yeah, this dude can bowl.” This is the part I’m talking about. He catches, fakes the jumper, locates the driving lane, and look at the quickness. Very ballsy of him to challenge Mitchell Robinson, one of the best rim protectors in the league, with the left hand. Obviously, it goes wrong, but I’m pretty sure he got hit on the head. He’s not going to get the love from the refs. He’s a rookie, unfortunately. He also had a pass to Eric Gordon as he was driving, but you could tell he was already committed to getting to the hoop. Again, nothing going on and he has to bail out the offense, catching at the half court logo. An ever so slight fake to the right gets him past his defender. And this time he reads the defense well. Open three-pointer. You got to knock that down. Again, the Knicks being very aggressive. So, the back door is open and he nearly ends the career of Mitchell Robinson. And this time he gets the foul call. I think at least once a game we’re going to see a play where you’re like, “My goodness, this dude is not human. He is an athletic freak of nature.” And that’s exactly what we just witnessed. Again, nothing going on. VJ’s stuck. He gets double team. He probably should have faked to the corner and just made the easy pass to Hunter Sales. trust your teammate even though he’s probably not going to do anything with it because this balloon type pass to the corner is not allowing any advantage for the Sixers. It’s not a bad idea, but again making that pass over Mikuel very very tough. If you want to make a crosscourt pass in the modern NBA, it’s got to be on a zip. It’s got to be on a line like Tom Brady. But at the same time, Jabari Walker jab steparoon. Most likely you’ll have space. Even if you don’t, you can shoot over Landrew Sham. You’re way taller. He couldn’t make the easy three-pointers, but here he’s facing up on the three-point line and he just shoots it over Shamut and it goes in. And then right here, he gets a bit passive going up against Jaylen Brunson. That’s the worst defender on the court for the Knicks. Go straight at him confidently. Instead, it seemed like he had his mind made up. He did not want to score on this possession and it turns into a turnover for that reason. Talk about versatility. Look at this possession. just battling in the pick and roll on Jaylen Brunson forcing a pass. Okay, I’ll switch on to Miles McBride. Okay, I’ll switch on to Mikuel Bridges. He does get shifted at the end, but still, I mean, you see his potential to end off the first half. One-on-one versus Deuce McBride. Doesn’t go very well. Out of control a bit. Long bad miss. I like how he just kept shooting despite the struggles. This was a rare sight for VJ. Someone other than Tyrese Maxi creating an easy look for him. And personally, I felt bad for him on this one. I mean, that that ball went in the hoop. That’s a tough roll, but these misses didn’t affect him. This is probably my favorite rep of the day from him. Maxi sees the defense selling out on him. So, he hits VJ and there’s a massive driving lane to attack and he immediately recognizes it. One dribble gets him into the paint over the head. Euro type dribble and he sees Kelly Ubé butt naked open in the corner and he makes the pass. Those are the types of driving lanes that are going to be open when Maxi plays, Joel Embiid plays, Paul George, all three of them. So, seeing him succeed on that play makes me very excited. Like I said, you are going to have to get used to VJ switching defensively because it seems like the Sixers want him to. And this is an improvement from the first half. I would also like more of this Nick Nurse. to get a double screen off the ball. He catches with an advantage, the defender on his back. Instead of taking an outofc control layup, contesting the rim protector, he stops, pump fakes, and creates contact to get the foul. His touch around the rim was definitely suspect today. He was missing layups that you could say, “Oh yeah, you got to make that.” However, his ability to get there and his quickness getting there was impressive to say the least. My favorite thing about him today is you can see the potential of him outside of scoring. Like he’s going to affect the game in transition defensively. He knows where to be. He’s going to make quick decisions passing wise. And even if he’s missing shots, he still has a chance to impact the game in some way. Obviously, to live up to his potential as a connective piece and also if he wants to be more than that, his shot making has to be better. But that goes without being said. But from today, it seems like he’s going to be really good next to star players right away. And there is some potential. There’s something there with him on the basketball, but it’s definitely going to take time. So, give him time. Be patient. Let me know your thoughts below.

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