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The Philadelphia 76ers faced the Atlanta Hawks in the final stop of their multi-game road trip of the preseason. The Sixers pulled out a win, 104-89, in a game that featured rotations that more closely mirror the regular season.
Joel Embiid will officially not take the court for the Sixers until the regular season, undergoing a treatment plan while his team finishes out the preseason. After holding out a lot of their veterans on the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday, the rest of the roster was made available for this game, including Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
The 76ers continued their streak of playing out-of-the-ordinary preseason games. From playing a team from another league, then playing without a real broadcast, then playing without most of their regular roster and now dealing with a shot-clock malfunction after five minutes of game time, this has been a wonky preseason for the Sixers. Here are three takeaways from their exhibition match with the Hawks.
1. Paul George makes some more shots before exiting early
After an impressive first appearance with the Sixers, George played his first game with his new team that was actually televised and not just made available on a terrible League Pass stream. In front of way more sets of eyeballs, PG-8 had a decent game, playing only in the first half, and then suffered a brutally unfortunate injury.
George stepped into a triple off a double drag screen for Philly’s first points of the night. He ran the offense here and there but also deferred to Maxey often. In his 12 minutes of action, he scored eight points on 3-5 shooting while adding two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Unfortunately, George left this one early. After his left knee buckled too far on a defensive possession in the second quarter, he was subbed out, walking to the bench under his own power. The team said later that he had suffered a hyperextension.
In the story from ESPN's Tim Bontemps that mentioned Embiid doubting his availability for back-to-backs, Daryl Morey added that George will also probably sit those out, too, and that the team will “be smart” about how it manages its veteran stars. Now that George is already dealing with something coming into the season, the Sixers will certainly be extra careful with the veteran forward.
2. Tyrese Maxey stumbles out the gate, regains composure
Dyson Daniels did a great job defensively against Maxey, staying in front of him and using his longer frame to disrupt whatever he tried to do. The Hawks also shrunk the floor against Maxey, whose solution was to target an inferior defender, Kobe Bufkin, which immediately resulted in six points, four of which came from close range. This helped get Philly rolling after scoring just three points in the opening five minutes.
Opposing teams are not only going to stick their best perimeter and/or guard defender on Maxey but implement game plans to neutralize him. He has to get a feel for what to do when the defense isn’t allowing him to do what he does best. The coaching staff helped free him up after seeing his early struggles, which corrected the pitiful course the Sixers started the game on.
Another important area to work on is passing, which he displayed on a lob to Andre Drummond, timing it expertly before he even began to leave the floor. Maxey was left to create mostly for himself after George was removed from the game in the second quarter.
The final stat line for Maxey in 27 minutes: 14 points, seven assists, two rebounds, two steals, 5-18 shooting from the field. It was far from his best game but he displayed an ability to adapt and refuse to be game-planned out.
3. The Martins look good off the bench
After starting two of the Sixers' previous preseason games, Caleb Martin was brought off the bench in favor of Eric Gordon in this game. He was billed as Philadelphia's starting power forward when the report broke of him joining the team, so it was a head-scratching move.
Martin was still in the first batch of substitutions (along with Kyle Lowry and Guerschon Yabusele). He got some chances to defend Trae Young and managed to draw an offensive foul for a stiff arm. The Sixers switched ball screens to keep someone in front of Young at all times but Martin, whenever they were both in the game, was his initial matchup.
Additionally, Martin hit two of his first three shots and created an open triple for Yabusele by getting into the paint and drawing another defender. He recorded seven points, four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
Having a player like Martin off the bench would be huge for the 76ers. The problem is that it requires starting someone else, probably someone too flawed to be a starter throughout the season. If Gordon is the next man up, the Sixers will have better spacing on offense but not as much juice on defense. Wherever Caleb plays, though, he's bound to have an impact.
KJ Martin, meanwhile, is almost certain to come off the bench for the 76ers. He showed that his defense and athleticism make him worth playing, staying down and disciplined his stance at all times and sticking by his man even through screens. He also finished a few lobs from Lowry in layup fashion, running the floor well.
The 76ers' next game and final home matchup of the preseason is on Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets.
