In their sixth and final game of the preseason, the Sixers traveled to Orlando for a Friday night exhibition against the Magic. With Joel Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain all unavailable, the lone objective for this contest: do not let anyone else’s status for Wednesday night’s regular season opener be called into question.
And… it is unclear if that was accomplished. Tyrese Maxey only played five minutes and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game with a thumb injury. As everyone crosses their fingers that this was a precautionary decision, the question of whether or not Maxey should have even played at all will loom.
Here is what else stood out from the Sixers’ 114-99 loss in Orlando:
First Quarter
• For the second straight game, Sixers head coach Nurse started Maxey, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr., KJ Martin and Andre Drummond, with Caleb Martin coming off the bench. It would come as a surprise if Gordon and Oubre were not starting on opening night. Maxey, of course, will be the team’s point guard, and its center will either be Joel Embiid or Drummond, depending on whether or not Embiid is available to play. If George is healthy, he will start; if not, KJ Martin might get the nod.
• The Sixers got off to about as good of a start as they could have hoped for: Oubre somehow ended up with a solo fastbreak opportunity within seconds of the ball being tipped off and it resulted in a slam. KJ Martin nabbed a steal on the other end, and Gordon spotted up from the wing, knocking down an impressive triple.
• Oubre, who starred in the Sixers’ victory over the Nets on Wednesday, continued his strong play in the opening frame on Friday night, including this rim-rattling slam on a drive out of a pick-and-roll with Drummond:
It appears George will not miss much time, but whenever the nine-time All-Star wing is unavailable, the Sixers will need this sort of self-creation from Oubre, whose ability to pressure the rim is his strongest trait.
• KJ Martin has been one of the more impressive Sixers during preseason, all without displaying his revamped shooting form that he and the team are excited about. Finally, the fifth-year supreme athlete got a three-point try up and knocked it down. Additionally, KJ Martin had some strong flashes as a passer on short rolls — an area in which he excelled in the second half of 2023-24.
MORE: Sixers player preview: Is KJ Martin more than a trade chip?
Second Quarter
• Guerschon Yabusele has had a wonderful preseason, and it stems from the proficiency he has shown as a three-point shooter. Yabusele’s improvement from beyond the arc was perhaps the top motivator behind the Sixers’ decision to be the host of the Frenchman’s NBA return, but he looked even more comfortable than one would have expected as a long-range shooter over the course of the team’s six preseason games.
Embiid’s absence has forced Yabusele to log most of his action at the five. He is clearly viable there against most lineups and appears to be the clear-cut third-string center behind Embiid and Drummond, but once Embiid is on the floor, his clearest path to consistent action is at power forward, his natural position. Yabusele admitted after practice earlier this week that playing the five was not part of the team’s initial pitch to him when they courted him in free agency.
• Ricky Council IV has probably not had the preseason he was hoping for — and will likely be on the outside looking in at Nurse’s rotation when the season opens — but he has some factors working in his favor, and he displayed them during a nine-minute stretch of action to close the first half. Nurse has spent all of training camp and the preseason stressing the importance of playing up-tempo and generating transition opportunities; Council’s athleticism and dynamic nature in the open floor make him tailor-made to achieve those objectives. The second-year wing attempted six free throws in his 9:06 of action in the second quarter, and made Orlando defenders pay when they were not attentive in transition.
Council not being part of Nurse’s rotation when the season begins should not be viewed as an inherent indictment of his short-term ability or long-term potential.
• Drummond played 17 minutes in the first half and nearly racked up a double-double before intermission. The veteran center had eight points and 11 rebounds by the time the teams returned to their locker rooms — a normal occurrence for one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, who is even capable of posting double-doubles off the bench because of how consistently he dominates the glass.
MORE: Sixers film study: How big of an upgrade will Andre Drummond be?
Third Quarter
• Maxey only played the first five minutes (and one second) of this game, and it quickly became clear that it would be his only action. Later on, the Sixers said that Maxey had suffered a right thumb contusion and would not return to the game.
Dress rehearsal games can be valuable for any team, but even before this game tipped off it appeared peculiar and unnecessary for Maxey to be suiting up. With Embiid and George’s statuses for opening night already uncertain, the risk of anything happening to Maxey — who took a hard fall on a drive Wednesday night — seemed to outweigh the potential benefits of a game that could barely serve as a genuine dress rehearsal given the absences of Embiid and George.
It is too soon to speculate about Maxey’s timeline — given that Friday night’s game was merely an exhibition, it is entirely possible (if not likely) that he was merely held out as a precaution — but this will certainly be something to monitor in the coming days.
• Caleb Martin did not have his finest performance in this one, committing a few turnovers on drives that were not exactly advisable. While he has the ability to chip in as a scorer attacking closeouts every now and then, his optimal offensive setup is that of a background piece whose primary role is shooting spot-up threes.
Fourth Quarter
• The Sixers’ final frame of the preseason was largely a platform for their depth pieces to get their final reps in before the start of the season. Some of those pieces — two-way players Jeff Dowtin Jr., Justin Edwards and Lester Quinones, plus Council and rookie center Adem Bona — outpaced the Brooklyn Nets’ starters in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
After that game, Nurse made a point to credit Edwards, the undrafted rookie out of Kentucky who is living out his dream of playing for his hometown team.
“Justin has done nothing but play solid the whole preseason,” Nurse said Wednesday night. “He’s played really good defensively, he’s made really good decisions offensively.”
• And now… the games are going to matter again. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the Sixers will host Giannis Antetokounmpo, Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks to kick off the 2024-25 regular season. Buckle up, everybody!
MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2024-25 Sixers schedule
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