The Philadelphia 76ers opened the preseason with a 99-84 loss to the New York Knicks while out in Abu Dhabi. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid and Paul George as both players are taking their time in terms of their recovery from serious injuries.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe had 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Tyrese Maxey had 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists, Kelly Oubre Jr. had eight points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Dominick Barlow had six points and 10 rebounds. Hunter Sallis added eight points.
Here are the biggest takeaways following the preseason loss:
The speed of Edgecombe and Maxey
This is what the Sixers wanted to see in the preseason opener. Coach Nick Nurse wanted to see what he had in the Edgecombe and Maxey combination and the two of them had some fantastic moments on Thursday afternoon. Philadelphia was able to get out and run thanks to what these two brought to the floor. The Sixers were able to get some easy baskets in the early going in this one thanks to both young guards getting out and running and putting pressure on the rim. The Sixers will certainly be able to build off this going forward.
Poor shooting
The Sixers shot a miserable 3-for-35 from deep in this one. It’s the preseason–the first game of the preseason at that–so this number will even itself out, but the Sixers have to be able to knock down these open looks in order to get the offense moving. Oubre and Edgecombe were the only players in the starting lineup who made a 3-pointer as they combined to shoot 2-for-10 from deep. Obviously, Philadelphia is going to shoot the ball better than it did on Thursday, but the Sixers have to hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Rebounding struggles
The Sixers were out-rebounded by the Knicks on Thursday 58-46. That’s a big number even for a preseason game. Obviously, the Sixers went with some smaller lineups, but that can’t happen going forward. Barlow grabbed 10 rebounds and that’s a good sign, but Philadelphia will need everybody to crash the glass and help in this department. The rebounding has been an issue in recent seasons and that will be something the coaching staff is going to have to find a way to remedy. Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson had 16 rebounds by himself.