Another game, another win for the Philadelphia 76ers. The competition hasn’t been super stiff since their opening game against the Milwaukee Bucks but have taken care of business. Their latest win came against a Phoenix Suns team without two guys from their star trio in action.

Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid started slowly but showed out in the second half and finished their game with a 20-point double-double. Tobias Harris continued to be a bulldozer and highly efficient scorer. Kelly Oubre Jr. got buckets against one of his former teams. Despite not getting much bench scoring — just 13 points in all — they secured another easy win.

Let's dive into the Sixers' film.

5. Embiid's defense dance

Watch Embiid as Durant looks to attack out of the post. What could he possibly be doing jumping and shuffling around like that? It may look silly but it contributes directly to this turnover.

The Sixers went through numerous defenders on Kevin Durant after Harris and Oubre each picked up two early fouls. Patrick Beverley, long known as a heel to every star player he's ever played against, gets his shot early in the first quarter. It's reminiscent of the 2019 playoff battle the two had when they were respectively on the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.

With the ball on the right wing, Durant is looking to the middle of the floor to see if anything opens up. Embiid is shading over to cut off the driving lane on his right. He channels the spirit of a wacky, wavy, inflatable-arm-flailing tube man to effectively do his job.

After Drew Eubanks passes the ball away to KD, Embiid gives him a light touch on his chest. NBA rules stipulate that a defender can only be in the paint longer than three seconds if they are actively guarding someone, which is defined as being arms-length away and in a guarding position. By tapping Eubanks, Embiid is considered to be actively guarding him. It buys him some time to stay in the lane even as Eubanks clears out to the opposite side.

Embiid makes sure he brings both of his feet outside the paint to avoid the infraction, even tapping his toes outside of the paint. De'Anthony Melton is there with help at the nail to cut off all of Durant's space. Eventually, he thinks he has an open passing lane to the opposite corner. Covington, who is in a great position to slide up to the wing or the corner, picks off his pass to secure one of his two steals of the day.

4. Springer's physical rebounding

By the looks of his preseason, Jaden Springer looked like he would come right in and be effective on both sides of the ball. That hasn’t happened in the regular season, as his deficiency as a ball-handler is apparent and he hasn’t gotten as many easy catch-and-shoot looks. Nick Nurse will have to consider if he wants to keep him in the rotation when the newcomers are fully acclimated.

For the time being, Springer's rebounding is one of the ways he is helping the Sixers as he still grows accustomed to the speed of the NBA game. He's a bulldog out there with a nose for rebounds. His offensive-rebound percentage of 11.4 percent is better than any other Sixers rotation player besides Paul Reed and, if he had played enough minutes to qualify, would be 14th in the entire NBA. Springer would be the shortest player near the top of the leaderboard by far.

In this play, the Sixers get an offensive rebound thanks to Springer's effort. He's not the one who gets it, though. By making such a great effort for the ball, he effectively clears Grayson Allen out of the way. The fortuitous bounce gets the ball to Maxey for an easy putback. Springer making winning plays like this can add up over the course of a game. At least for now, it's worth letting him work through his mistakes.

3. Typical Covington

Robert Covington's defense drew rave reviews from Nurse and Embiid. Although he didn’t help as much on offense, his second go-around with Philly is off to a promising start. He's going to fit right on a Nurse-coached defense.

In this Phoenix possession late in the game, Covington stays close to Durant, even as he tries to poke the ball away from Allen. Eubanks' screen doesn’t get him out of position, either. Durant can’t totally turn the corner and brings it back out. Eventually, he gets a step on Covington and drives right. But then he commits a cardinal sin of trying to score against RoCo: leaving the ball in a spot for him to snag it.

Kelly Oubre Jr. gives Covington an assist by forcing Durant to bring the ball back to his left side. It's exposed for just a second but that's plenty of time for Covington. He pinpoints his chance and pokes the ball loose. Philly is eighth in steals per game so far this season and should remain near the top of the leaderboard with Covington in the lineup.

2. Maxey's muscle

Just by looking at him, one can tell that Maxey can be prone to getting moved around easily in NBA games. Such is the downside to being very skinny and not super tall. In years past, Maxey has made up for that lack of power with some of the best speed of any player. Now, he's getting a taste for physicality in his drives.

On this play early in the fourth quarter, Maxey comes up from the wing to get the ball from Harris. He goes right into a pick-and-roll with Paul Reed and drives left — another improvement he has made in his game. He freezes the defense with a hang dribble and then speeds ahead into the paint and is met by Eubanks. But he's ready.

Eubanks is not an exceptionally big NBA center but he's no pushover. He's a tough defender who brings energy to the court with him at all times. Maxey still goes right through his chest as he tries to contain the Sixers guard in drop coverage. He gets the bank shot to go, demonstrating impressive core and arm strength to score this bucket on the way down from his jump.

Maxey's fearlessness against bigger defenders will be a key reason why defenses have trouble containing him. And it will also give him space to make good passes to his teammates. See below:

1. Good Bball from Paul

Reed's season has not been great to start. He's already a chaotic player by nature but it hasn’t produced good results to this point early in the season. His second half against Phoenix could be a turning point. Thanks in part to how solid he was, Embiid got to rest for the entirety of the final period.

Maxey said that looking for Reed in the short roll was something that helped him pierce the Suns' aggressive defense. Knowing he can shoot comfortably off the bounce — which he will go on to do twice in the quarter — and after just seeing him go through their center for a layup, they trap him up top. Maxey's skill opens the play here for Reed, who finishes the job.

After Maxey splits the defenders with a bounce pass, Reed surveys the floor as he gets the ball. The Sixers have a quick numbers advantage but Phoenix has everything covered up, though it's good that he recognizes the potential chance to kick the ball out for a three. Reed drives at Eubanks and jumps to the right in order to scoop a layup around his arms.

On the shots that Reed doesn’t shoot from inside the restricted arc or isn’t going forward, the shots have been bad. But when he goes straight up or forward, he comes away with a make pretty often. The Sixers are empowering Reed to try his luck from distance but they should also make it clear that when he's inside the arc, and especially inside the paint, he must take it strong.