The Sixers sure don’t look too guard-heavy right now

Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly once famously said, “Big people beat up little people.” It’s a great soundbite.

The Sixers sure didn’t heed Kelly’s advice when they decided to select the 6-foot-4 VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor No. 3 overall. The team already featured the 6-foot-2 Tyrese Maxey and the 6-foot-3 Jared McCain. Plus, the 6-foot-4 Quentin Grimes was going to return because of his restricted free agent status.

There were many who wanted the Sixers to select Rutgers’ star Ace Bailey. The 6-foot-9 forward seemed like a better positional fit, but did have warts in his game. Those folks feared the team might get a little too guard-heavy by selecting Edgecombe.

After sweeping a back-to-back with wins over the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, there aren’t many people making that argument right now. The Sixers are 16-11, good for fourth in the East.

Maxey continued his torrid pace to the 2025-26 season, dropping 68 points in 24 hours. After it was Edgecombe who sealed the deal at MSG Friday, it was Maxey who did his usual fourth quarter thing against Dallas. He scored 16 of his 38 points in a dominant and decisive final frame.

The Sixers went into the period trailing, but quickly erased that deficit on a slick Maxey drive. It was a prime Kyle Lowry-esque sequence later in the game where Maxey sort of put things away. He took a charge against big man Anthony Davis. After the Mavs lost their challenge on that play, Maxey buried a triple to put the Sixers up 115-104 with 6:35 left. Dallas would cut the deficit down to five, but the Sixers’ lead was never really in peril.

Guess Davis’ charge is an instance where big people beating up little people isn’t a good thing.

“I have a vet in Kyle Lowry and he did not believe in me taking that charge,” Maxey said. “I told him, ‘This is a charge. Go ahead and review it, I don’t care.‘ I think this was like my third of the season, so I’m proud of myself in that aspect.”

Though Maxey was the star of the final quarter, Edgecombe was again excellent. He ripped off 14 first-quarter points, including a brilliant flurry to close the period. He picked up his third foul in the middle of the second and was forced to sit. He made up for that by playing the entire second half.

The matchups against Flagg were a treat for fans in attendance. The two rookies squared off in the middle of the fourth, with Edgecombe getting switched onto the 6-foot-9 Flagg. All Edgecombe did was wall Flagg off, force a difficult shot, corral the rebound in a crowd, then take it the other way to finish off an easy layup while three Mavs defenders were waiting for him on the other end.

His 99th percentile athleticism makes it look like everyone else is wearing cement shoes. He has all the makings of a special, special player.

“I don’t know where you want to start — big rebounds, knocking the ball away, offensive rebounds,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “But probably the biggest ones are we get a tough stop, it’s still a close game, he gets the ball out, takes it coast-to-coast and to the hoop for an easy bucket, when scoring’s pretty hard in the fourth.”

In both wins, Nurse made the decision to close with all three of Maxey, Edgecombe and McCain. The Maxey and Edgecombe part isn’t surprising. McCain, who missed the first six games of the season while recovering from knee and thumb surgeries, was the somewhat unexpected addition to the closing lineup.

Nurse has routinely closed games with Grimes, who, for the most part, has done well in those spots. But Grimes really seems to be fighting himself right now — he’s shot 27.9% from the field over his last five games. Those struggles have coincided with McCain looking more like himself. While the second-year guard isn’t exactly on fire shooting the basketball, either, he’s passing the eye test in a big way. He’s also been much better defensively.

Some folks might forget this because he’s so skilled offensively — and because he paints his nails and does TikTok videos — but McCain is a gritty player. He’s not the biggest or most athletic, but he’s tough and he’s smart on the defensive end.

He pulled down five rebounds and recorded three steals Saturday. It might be the most encouraging sign yet that McCain is regaining his form.

“This is another example — he goes 3-of-11 and played awesome,” Nurse said. “He was a +29. Tons of poking the ball away, tons of just making plays, tons of getting to the free throw line when he needed a couple points. … Wait until he goes about 7-of-10 from three one of these nights because that’s coming too.”

After playing so sporadically during his return to action, McCain is figuring out what will keep him on the floor, even if the shots aren’t falling.

“I think this has been a great learning lesson for me,” McCain said. “When offensively if stuff’s not clicking or obviously we’ve got guys that can make a bunch of plays — how am I gonna find my niche? … How am I gonna get minutes? On the defensive end I think I can really figure it out. I’m a smart player. I know what’s coming. I know I can help.”

It’s early days for the 25-year-old Maxey and 20-year-old Edgecombe, but these past two nights do give fans something to dream on. Just how good can this duo be?

“One of the greatest ever,” Edgecombe said when asked. “We can do a lot of big things in this league. We just gotta keep our head down, keep working. Trust what God has planned for us and keep working. I think overall, in years to come, if we stay together, and we all just keep getting better and better each day, we’re gonna be good.”

But it’s not just Maxey and Edgecombe — the 21-year-old McCain has a chance to be a big part of it all.

“Can’t leave Mac out, for sure,” Edgecombe made sure to say.

Dallas is a big team. Flagg is essentially their starting three. On Saturday, the big people might have beat up the little people, but they didn’t win the game.

Basketball is a sport where size is viewed as paramount. There’s some weight to that, especially as we see 7-footers with more skill than ever. But if you can play, you can play.

These guards can play.

The Sixers sure don’t look too guard-heavy right now

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