The Sixers Have A MAJOR Issue To Fix… But There’s An Obvious SOLUTION!

The Sixers Have A MAJOR Issue To Fix… But There’s An Obvious SOLUTION!

The 76ers dropped their first two preseason games to the Knicks. There was good and bad that we can take away. But ultimately, this team has one major issue that has flown way under the radar. And the good news, I’m going to tell you exactly how they can fix it today. We’ll also take a look at the crazy athleticism of VJ Edgecomb and an update on the power forward position. All that and more coming up here on Philly Take with RB. But welcome in to the show. I’m RB. Appreciate everybody who tapped in for us with the preseason so far. Another game upcoming on Friday. The Sixers will be back in Philly. They’ll take on the Orlando Magic and we’ll finally get to see a guy named Quinton Grimes. So, a lot of good stuff coming up. Make sure you have those noties on. But, I want to start it off by taking a look at VJ Edgecomb, who I thought played pretty well so far throughout the first couple preseason games. really the main concerns we had coming out of the draft this year at number three, you know, being a playmaker, having that ball creation duty and ability and also just being able to consistently knock down spot-up shots is still showing itself, right? And it’s going to take time. But I really just feel like VJ has a knack, especially on the defensive side. Seeing how he went through these games, seeing the way that he was able to be aggressive at times and really make his mark felt, it excited me. And one play I saw here was just really, really thrilling. And I want to take a look at it because it’s not often you see a guy come out of the draft and do something like this immediately in the preseason. So we have Jordan Clarkson stepping over, right? Driving down the lane. And look at how far VJ Edgecomb comes out of nowhere. I mean, right now he is beyond the three-point line. And a couple steps for Clarkson. VJ makes it all the way back, jumps, and sends the ball into outer space. I mean, look, man, we already know that VJ is going to be a plus defender, and I think that he has a real chance to play, you know, 25, 30 minutes a game, especially if he can impact the game like this. Now, I don’t want to get caught up in it because the Sixers have had guys in the past that are defensive specialists and, you know, they never developed the offensive game, but even seeing the way that he was trying to break down some defenders, like you can see the potential there. And I think the stock on VJ Edgecomb so far is going up. I mean, in the first game he had 146 and three, and then in the second game he had 102 and five with a steal and a block. I mean, he’s finding ways to stuff the stat sheet, and that’s what we said that he would originally do. I mean, what a play though, man. If he makes some highlight plays like this this season, imagine. I mean, the hype is going to be there. So, stock is up on VJ Edgecomb. And the other guy I want to talk about today is Tyrese Maxi, but in a bigger picture, I want to talk about the Sixers guard situation. And one issue that has been right in front of our faces, and I’ll give you the fix for it as well. Let me know what you think about the Sixers point guard position right now. Give me your thoughts down below, and I’ll give you mine. But first, a shout out to our sponsor of today’s video. Sleeper is a fantasy sports and real money gaming app that is taking things to the next level. They are the best one-stop shop for all your sports needs. You can chat on games in real time with other users. You can get the latest news, scores, and alerts right at your fingertips. And you can play in fantasy leagues and win real money on picks contests. 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So I want to talk about Tyrese Maxi because here’s a play from the preseason game where I thought Maxi did a really good job at manipulating the defense. If we go back to what Maxi said a little while ago, he says, “When I got to like late December, January, I feel like I started really figuring out how to manipulate the game and manipulate the defense.” I think you could see that in my production. And that’s also something that he mentioned to me when I interviewed Tyrese Maxi a couple weeks ago. Make sure you check that out. Tyrese Maxi has the perfect skill set. He has the perfect mentality. He’s everything that Philly embodies and more. I love Tyrese Maxi. I think he’s going to have a great season, but we need to see plays like this a lot more often. Right here’s Maxi acting as the lead guard and we have Jabari Walker, who we’ll talk about in a few minutes, at the top. He’s going to turn and hand it to Maxi. Now, Walker’s going to set a screen and roll. But watch how Maxi immediately finds this roller. I mean, this is a great sign of a guard just getting the ball in the right position. And Jabari Walker makes an even better play, right? because he crashes down the lane. You see Carl Anthony Town. So, you know, he’s probably going to be able to block that shot and Walker’s going to look at the corner, right? You see the defender starting to shade over. So, he kicks it back up top to VJ Edgecomb, who then is going to pop out a three and knock it down. That is a perfect play in terms of execution, reading the floor, and just ball movement. And I feel like we didn’t see that that much in the preseason. like Nick Nurse has to be better with getting these guys moving and not just going out there for spans of games and just, you know, throwing whatever against the wall. I feel like we saw that all last year. That cannot happen. I know you don’t have all your guys, right? And everything that we say here today and for the next few weeks can go back to the big question. Will we see Joel? Will we see Paul? I don’t want to see them sporadically. You know, I don’t want to have games this year where, you know, Maxi’s the only guy on the floor leading the team, and then next game Joel and Paul come back, then they play for four games, sit out two, then they play for three, sit out two. You know what I mean? That can’t happen. We need consistency. And I think we need consistency at the point guard position. And a lot of people are going to take shots at Tyrese Maxi, and they already have, and they say his production’s down, his efficiency. We’re going to look at the numbers here in just a second. But when we talk about Maxi, I think it’s very important that we take into account his career trajectory, right? He started as a backup guard behind Ben Simmons and then the next year he was essentially asked to be the guy while Ben Simmons was throwing a tantrum. And then the next year after that, he’s asked to be the guy. And then mid-season, right, we have a trade where they bring in James Harden. Immediately, overnight, Maxi has to switch from being the lead guard to the secondary guard. Then we go through another year of James Harden, right? Those guys are in and out of the lineup, Harden, Embiid. Then we get to the point where the next training camp, Maxi doesn’t know what his position is. They end up trading Harden four games into the season. Now Maxi’s back to being the lead guard. Then he goes throughout that season. Joel Embiid’s out for half of it. Comes back, plays injured in the playoffs. Maxi has that big moment at Madison Square Garden. And then after that, we get to last year where everything imploded. So, I’m not trying to make an excuse, but it’s been very hard to like figure out what this guy’s role is. And I think it goes back to the Sixers and team building and having their guys healthy on the floor and just being consistent. And I think that has definitely hurt the progression of Tyrese Maxi. But even with that being said, if we look at Tyrese Maxi, right, the Sixers need more help at the primary guard position. They need a facilitator. And I’m not saying Maxi can’t be that guy, but even when Maxi peaked out in 2023 so far in his 5-year career, he was averaging 6.2 assists. Is that enough from your lead guard? I don’t think so. And Daryl my Nick Nurse have been talking about going guard heavy, playing four guard lineups, not playing a power forward. It’s not the same as an OKC roster or, you know, whatever other team you want to throw in there that plays quick and uptempo and can play their center out because the Sixers don’t play like that because Joel Embiid is a center that dominates primarily in the paint. Joel Embiid is not a Joic in that he’s going to average 10 assists per game. We saw a leap in 23 till he got hurt, but he wasn’t on the level of Joic in terms of playmaking and passing and just all those things. We have to take that into account with how these guys play. Maybe Paul George can add a level of playmaking. Maybe Joel Embiid can. But the Sixers are set up in a way to dominate from the inside out. And I think that’s very important. And whether these guys are on the floor consistently will change everything. But the Sixers need to add more playmaking. Back in 2022, I looked it up. Tyresese Maxi was 28th in terms of true shooting percentage. Then in 2023, he was 62nd. And in 2024, last year when everything went downhill, he was 81st amongst guards who played more than half the season. So efficiency-wise, people look at Maxi and they say, “Oh, his numbers have gone down, his turnovers have gone up.” But I also think again, he’s been in a very tough spot with what they have asked him to do from 2020 to 202122. We were talking about this drastic leap that Maxi was making early in his career. And what did they do in those years? They added a playmaking guard in James Harden who was averaging over 10 assists per game. Matter of fact, let’s look at the 76ers, right? Let’s look at their stats. 2021, they were 21st in the league in assists per game. And then in 2022, they were 16th in the league in assists per game. By the way, this is with James Harden, who was, you know, top two, top three in the NBA. And then in 2023, they were 24th in the NBA in assists per game. And then in 2024, they were 29th in the league. So all of this to say, the Sixers need a playmaking guard. They need a guy who can mainly be a facilitator. And if I look at the Sixers roster right now, you know who that guy is? It’s actually Kyle Lowry, who’s 40 million years old. And I hope we don’t see him on the floor. But right now, just in terms of a a playmaking guard that has that pass first mindset, it’s probably Kyle Lowry. And I think that’s going to give more excuse for Nick Nurse to play Kyle Lowry. I’m serious. the 40-year-old NBA prime analysts. So, it’s just, you know, it’s unfortunate with how this roster has been built right now. They have a ton of guards, but who’s going to take that lead? You have to let these guards complement each other. And I think the solution is to go out and trade for a pass first point guard. That’s what they have to do. They need a guy who can set up offense, who can get guys in their spots, who just has that knack for it. I’m not saying Maxi can’t get there, but they’ve just asked him to wear so many different hats. And if you want him to focus on being that assassin scorer, then let him do that. Lastly, the power forward position is making some strides. We still have not seen Trenan Watford yet. So, Nick Nurse said that we would see him in Abu Dhabi most likely. We did not, but we did get to see Dominic Barlo and we saw Jabari Walker. I think Jabari Walker impressed me as the guy who was most athletic out of the group. Like just the way he was moving around, especially on the defensive end, moving his feet. He looks like a very versatile defender and just basketball player. Now, Dominic Barlo had even better production, though. He was starting, played 30 minutes in the first game, had 10 rebounds, and he had six points, two assists. Looked really good for a two-way guy. I mean, I didn’t expect it out of Dominic Barley. He actually had some good interior defense as well. And in the second game, he had six points and two boards. But we look at Jabari Walker last game, he played 19 minutes off the bench, he had 10 points, two boards, two assists, a steal, and a block. I’m starting to think Jabari Walker is a hidden gem that could actually win that spot. We talked about Walker when he got signed, right? His defensive rebounding percentage numbers were some of the best in the league the last couple years. And I think that he or Barlo, if they continue to improve here these next couple games, could make a real running to start at the four. Dominic Barlo hit a couple threes as well. Thought his shot looked nice. things that we have to keep our eyes on because Trenton Watford has not played a game yet and I know people are trying to sell themselves on Watford after they let Yabisell walk. I don’t know what to expect. We haven’t seen him yet, but the Sixers need to trade for a primary point guard. Simple as that. Give me your thoughts on it down below. What do you think about the point guard position? Appreciate everybody for tapping in. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. And as always, I will catch you on the next one. Peace.

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The Sixers have dropped both of their first two preseason games against the Knicks. In these matchups, we were able to take away both good and bad. However, there is one glaring issue that is hurting the team and must be addressed. RB gives the easy solution for this problem. In other news, VJ Edgecombe is already displaying his flashy athleticism. Lastly, a big update on the power forward battle as a hidden gem is already starting to prove a lot. Today, we discuss it all!

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