PHILADELPHIA – If you thought a Sixers team without Joel Embiid, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford – plus Paul George, VJ Edgecombe and Andre Drummond on minutes restrictions – lacked the requisite talent to win an NBA game, it is time to meet Tuesday night’s version of the Washington Wizards.

The young, rebuilding Wizards traveled to Philadelphia on the second night of a back-to-back (their upset victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday catapulting them to 3-16 on the year). But on Tuesday they were without Alex Sarr, Khris Middleton and Tre Johnson in addition to the many challenges that come 

Even a Sixers team as depleted as the one trotted out had a significant manpower advantage over the Wizards. In turn, they managed one of their first relatively stress-free victories of the season, crushing Washington to the tune of a 121-102 final score and improving to 11-9.

Observations from the 20th game of the Sixers’ 2025-26 season:

Tyrese Maxey’s minutes finally go down 

In Sunday’s loss, Tyrese Maxey played 52 minutes. (NBA games generally last 48 minutes.) It brought his NBA-leading minutes per game total to an absurd 40.7. Finally, he had some relief on Tuesday. Maxey is as durable and energetic as they come, but he needed it badly. On only two occasions across the first 19 games of the season did Maxey play fewer than 35 minutes; his season-low came in a 41-point loss in which he still managed to log 31 minutes and 58 seconds of action.

His game log entering this game, with a sole focus on minutes, is jarring:

Maxey typically plays the first 10 minutes or so of the first quarter and then the entirety of the second quarter. On Tuesday, he checked out eight minutes into the game, returned for the start of the second quarter and then again sat eight minutes into the second quarter. Maxey did return to the game for the final possession of the half, but he ended up at 16 minutes and 49 seconds of action in a first half the Sixers comfortably controlled. 

After playing the entire third quarter as is customary – and leading the Sixers as they put the game out of reach – Maxey sat and watched the entire fourth quarter. He logged 28 minutes and 49 seconds of work, far and away a season-low. He has earned it.

The main beneficiary of Maxey’s reduced workload was McCain, who showed more ability to create advantages off the dribble in the first half of Tuesday’s game than he had all season leading up to this one. McCain had 11 points and four assists prior to intermission, and he repeatedly found ways to get by Wizards defenders. 

Part of what makes Maxey a special player is that he can handle such an immense workload, and even if Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is known for riding his best players until the wheels fall off it is not unreasonable for Maxey to be at the top of the league in minutes played. But Maxey’s minutes in combination with the responsibilities he carries whenever he is on the floor is just too much to sustain for an 82-game season. Nurse continuing to find games where he can give Maxey an extra blow in each half could provide some long-term benefits. 

Some victories for the Sixers’ forward depth

With Oubre and Watford still sidelined – plus Grimes’ absence forcing Paul George into a more perimeter-oriented role and George’s minutes being limited – there was some opportunity for Sixers depth pieces at the forward spots to leave their marks. Lately, it has been two-way power forward Dominick Barlow to have the most pronounced impact; Barlow has taken a firm grasp of the team’s starting job at the four.

Barlow had a particularly strong stretch to begin the second half on Tuesday, but for significant chunks of the night he took a back seat to other members of a collection of forwards Nurse likes to mix and match. Justin Edwards, who entered the night in real need of a confidence-boosting game, knocked down a pair of early triples, then added another one, all while appearing more “solid” on the defensive end and creating a few turnovers in the third quarter. Edwards’ role can be unforgiving at times, but the Sixers have faith in the 21-year-old hometown kid.

Barlow’s fellow two-way signee, Jabari Walker, appeared in the first 18 games of the season before riding the bench for all 58 minutes of the Sixers’ double-overtime loss on Sunday. But he was the obvious choice to be the ninth man here, so Nurse went back to him. Walker checked in at the beginning of the second quarter and had such a strong stretch that he remained out there until the final possession of the first half. Walker knocked down a pair of triples, scored a bucket inside and grabbed five rebounds (two offensive). It was one of his two or three best stretches of the season at a time when he needed to make a stronger impression. In the second half, Walker continued to impact the glass and ended up posting his first double-double as a member of the Sixers.

Odds and ends

Some additional notes:

• Grimes (right calf soreness) was a later addition to the Sixers’ injury report for this game; he went from probable in the morning to questionable in the afternoon and out in the evening. His absence created a heightened importance for McCain’s minutes and created an opening for Eric Gordon to play. 

• Edgecombe had a relatively quiet scoring night, but he threw down the best dunk of his young NBA career. His calf seems to be okay:

Edgecombe did play a solid all-around game, submitting another strong defensive performance and providing lifts with his passing and rebounding. His ability to avoid pressing when he is not getting tons of shots bodes well for his fit within a full-strength version of these Sixers.

Up next: The Sixers will return to action on Thursday night, when they open a home-road back-to-back against a Golden State Warriors team that will likely be without Stephen Curry.

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