Tyrese Maxey pulled off one of his greatest heaters as a Sixer, and suddenly the vibes are at least a bit improved.
The Sixers are 1-2 after escaping with a thrilling overtime victory over the Pacers in Indiana on Sunday afternoon, a game that featured absurd shot-making and more absurd blunders on each side.
But a win is a win, and now the Sixers will get two days off before hosting Tobias Harris, Paul Reed and the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
For this week’s 5 Sixers thoughts, let’s check in on five Sixers role players after three games:
Guerschon Yabusele
Yabusele’s stint as the Sixers’ backup center has been imperfect, but the Frenchman has definitively shown he can hang at this level thanks to a strong combination of effort and feel, with just enough three-point shooting and skill elsewhere to round out an NBA-caliber player profile.
During Sunday’s win, Yabusele’s motor was something to behold. He pulled six rebounds, and only one of them came on the defensive glass. Take a look at this trio of Yabusele offensive rebounds which all immediately resulted in made threes for the Sixers, posted by Dan Olinger of The Rights To Ricky Sanchez:
It would be impressive enough if Yabusele just had a knack for being in the right place at the right time to collect offensive boards. But this 34-second compilation represents nine Sixers points scored because Yabusele exhibited impeccable hustle.
In order to stick as a rotation piece, improvement will be necessary. Yabusele must continue to adjust to NBA speed and become less liable to getting blown by in space. He will eventually have to acclimate to the four. Power forward is his natural position, but he has rarely played there in preseason or regular season games for the Sixers.
Still, Yabusele’s first three games as a Sixer have clearly been encouraging. Everything he has shown bodes well for his longer-term prospects when it comes to being part of head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation.
Andre Drummond
Everybody knows that Drummond is one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history. Drummond will confidently tell you that he is the single best rebounder of all time. And he is averaging 13.0 rebounds per game after three contests in his return to the Sixers, including a season-high 17 boards on Sunday that helped the Sixers dominate the possession battle that Nurse is so focused on.
But rebounding is not Drummond’s only outlier skill. Last week, I mentioned in the inaugural Sunday stats that Drummond collected nine steals in the preseason, far more than any other Sixer. He has absolutely ridiculous hands, especially for a center, and he is putting them to use. Drummond had four steals on Friday night in Toronto. He didn’t have any in Indiana, until back-to-back steals nearly sealed a Sixers win on their own:
Drummond was much less effective creating havoc as a defender on opening night against the Milwaukee Bucks because he spent much of the game dealing with foul trouble. Even the most effective backups are typically unable to extrapolate their per-minute production in larger roles — particularly bigs — because of added variables like foul trouble. For as long as Joel Embiid is sidelined, the Sixers will need Drummond to be cognizant of the importance of staying available. But once Embiid returns, his veteran backup will be encouraged to continue taking risks on the defensive end of the floor in hopes of generating turnovers and getting the Sixers out in transition.
MORE: Sixers 118, Pacers 114 (OT)
Jared McCain
McCain had a few spot minutes in Toronto because of how many Sixers were in foul trouble early in that game, but in Indiana he logged genuine rotation minutes for the first time in his NBA career. McCain scored two baskets in 17 minutes of action Sunday: first, he snuck in for an offensive rebound and easy put-back layup, then he had the ball in transition and used the threat of his jumper to freeze one hell of a guard defender with a picture-perfect hesitation move, clearing the way for an easy basket:
Nurse had McCain sharing the floor with veteran sharpshooter Eric Gordon for several minutes on Sunday, and it presents a fascinating offensive look when it is a viable defensive arrangement. The Pacers spend the majority of games using two smaller guards and a wing who is not too imposing offensively, so Nurse saw an opportunity to maximize his spacing by going with McCain at shooting guard and sliding Gordon up to the three. Gordon boasts the requisite strength, toughness and hands to defend plenty of non-star wings, even at his advanced age, which makes this combination usable in certain instances.
Without looking too far ahead, it is worth noting that three-guard lineups featuring McCain, Gordon and a primary ball-handler would be worth a strong look with Embiid on the floor.
Ricky Council IV
Council played against Milwaukee, but only when Nurse felt desperate for a spark in the second half. He played about four minutes in Toronto, but like McCain, was only brought in as a necessity due to foul trouble. Council was a DNP-CD in Indiana, and it certainly appears as if he is on the outside looking in at Nurse’s regular rotation for the time being.
During his brief cameo on Friday night, Council appeared to either miss or forget a play call, completely derailing an entire possession. Building trust with a coaching staff is essential for any young player, and Council has made mistakes like this one too often:
“It’s all just focus and locking in and never really relaxing,” Nurse said about the next steps in Council’s development during the preseason.
Kyle Lowry
Lowry has made eight of his 13 three-point attempts through three games — is a 61.5 three-point percentage good? — and the stability that comes with a high-quality spot-up shooter from beyond the arc is crucial, especially for a team that hopes to eventually be centered around three star players. But Lowry is still doing all of the other things that should eventually land him in the Hall of Fame.
Defensively, Lowry can no longer consistently track explosive guards. But his strength and all-time basketball smarts enable him to hang with bigger guards and wings routinely; he might even be at his best when defending a traditional, wing-sized player at this point.
While Lowry’s diminished athletic burst prevents him from creating shots for others by blowing by defenders, drawing help and kicking the ball out or dropping it off as much as he would like to, his incredible understanding of angles and ability to read defenses allow him to remain an outstanding playmaker for his teammates. Lowry seems to have developed a particularly good rapport with Yabusele, who he continually hits with crisp pocket passes on Yabusele’s rolls to the rim.
“He’s just been great,” Yabusele said of Lowry after Wednesday night’s loss to Milwaukee. “For everybody. He’s really loud, always [talking], [making] sure everybody understands the rules on defense, offense, in practice… He’s always telling me to get those rolls, that he’s going to find me and stuff like that.”
“He’s a great point guard, a great, experienced guy, a great veteran in the league,” Yabusele continued. “So [whenever] he has something to say, I’m going to go over there and listen because he has a good understanding of the game as well. He told me those pocket passes will be there, and he’s been finding me well. I hope he’s going to keep doing it.”
MORE: ‘He’s a winner’: Team grateful for Lowry’s return
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