CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers are back home following a week-long trip to Abu Dhabi to play in two preseason games against the New York Knicks. While the Sixers dropped both exhibition matchups, they were able to finally get on the floor against another team and continue to grow chemistry with one another.
It also allowed second-year big man Adem Bona a chance to grab the backup center spot by the horns and not let go. In a battle with Andre Drummond, Jabari Walker, and Dominick Barlow for backup big man minutes behind Joel Embiid, the energetic big man from UCLA had some good moments.
With that being said, Bona could have done more and he knows that. He had four points and two rebounds in the first game and then had two points and one rebound in the second game. He knows he has to be better.
“Definitely, I could do so much better offensively and defensively on a rebounding aspect, but I would say these are the first two games,” Bona said at practice. “There’s a lot of room for improvement. Not just me, but for the whole team.”
He’s right about that. The Sixers had some rough moments on both ends of the floor in both games and that’s something Nurse and the coaching staff will focus on fixing as they move forward with camp and the preseason. Bona can be better as can guys like Tyrese Maxey or VJ Edgecombe or whoever was on the floor for Philadelphia. It’s all just building blocks at this point.
The trip to Abu Dhabi was a big team-bonding experience which is another big development for this group.
“It was really exciting,” Bona said of the trip. “It’s the first time we’re playing a game together. We got some new faces. Also unite with old faces too. It’s just awesome to get out there, to spend time with the team, which was a great bonding experience for the team in general. So just really excited to be back on the basketball court again.”
The Sixers will continue the preseason on Friday against the Orlando Magic.