The Philadelphia 76ers opened up their NBA 2k24 Summer League slate of games against the New York Knicks. After a decent showing in Salt Lake City, the summer Sixers now have a championship to play for and looked to get off to a strong start. But Sixers fans are mostly preoccupied with free agency, as one of the more obvious roster moves was made more complicated and less likely to happen.

After the Sixers re-signed Montrezl Harrell, the Utah Jazz signed Paul Reed to an offer sheet. Philly has the chance to match the sheet and keep him but the fact that the talented youngster and fan favorite is this close to leaving – especially after numerous reports indicated that he was likely to stay — has fans worried. The backdrop for Philly's first Sin City exhibition match is not a confident one.

The Sixers' final SLC game came against former Sixer Zhaire Smith and in their first Las Vegas contest, they faced Michael Foster Jr. and Charlie Brown Jr., who helped their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, win the league title last season. Tyrese Maxey was in attendance, sitting courtside, along with general manager Elton Brand to watch the summer Sixers win 110-101.

Here are five takeaways from the Sixers' Vegas Summer League opener against the Knicks.

5. Jaden Springer shoots efficiently

In the Utah round robin, Springer showed that he can take it to the basket with gusto and is unafraid to let his three-ball fly while he continues to improve in that area. But his shooting splits from each of those games indicated the need for more polish. As the Sixers came down from the mountains to the desert, his shooting percentages went up.

Springer scored a game-high 23 points on 8-14 shooting and even hit a pair of threes in six tries. He hit a jumper in the paint and filled the lanes in transition and the half-court very well. In crunch time, he turned a beautiful spin move into an easy-looking one-handed dunk. One of his bigger highlights from the game was a touchdown pass to Petrusev.

Rarely are Summer League stats thoroughly indicative of what a player will do in the regular season. Still, the Sixers are surely pleased to see the player under the most pressure to perform post respectable efficiency. Springer has ironed out the bad looks that he took over the previous few games, a good sign of growth.

4. Filip Petrusev teases some shooting range

The Sixers' first two buckets of the game came off of jumpers from Petrusev, one from the left baseline and one from the left elbow. In the pick-and-roll with Smart, he popped back out to the perimeter, taking his man with him to open up a lane, leading to Smart getting fouled. At the beginning of the second half, he nailed a straight-away triple off of the pop.

Petrusev will need to stand out if he wants to secure a roster spot and being a reliable shooter will certainly boost his chances. He has shown the ability, making 20 of his 57 downtown attempts over EuroLeague 34 games last season, good for 35.1 percent. The summer Sixers getting more looks at Petrusev's shooting can not only open up the floor for their scorers but get a better sense of what the Serbian big man can really do.

Mo Bamba, whom the Sixers just signed, has shown the ability to shoot the three-ball pretty well at the NBA level. Petrusev will have to do more than just shoot to earn more of a chance with Philly, particularly controlling the paint better through rebounding and positioning.

The summer Sixers' other notable center, Azuolas Tubelis, drained a corner three but has shown much less shooting potential from beyond the arc. He shot a mere 29.5 percent on 1.2 three-point attempts per game over his three years at Arizona.

3. Greg Brown III provides a solid performance

Brown, who spent the last two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, looked out of sorts in Utah. A few solid moments here and there didn’t overshadow his inconsistency. Against the Knicks, he had a good showing that wasn’t dragged down by his flaws.

To tally nine first-quarter points, Brown finished inside and hit a triple. The 6-foot-9 forward's fantastic hops made him a good target in the pick-and-roll but he also showed off a jump hook.

On defense, Brown's hops allowed him to contest a wide range of shots, blocking three of them. But he lacks discipline and is a bit of a tweener — small going up against bigs while also not being a natural perimeter defender — and committed five fouls. Knicks center Dmytro Skapintsev got the better of him a few times down low. He also shoved him blatantly after Brown grabbed his jersey, somehow coming out of the ordeal with a technical free throw.

There were plenty of good moments for Brown, who blocked a last-second jumper to close out the first quarter and secured an offensive rebound, got fouled and made both his foul shots. His chances at playing for the Sixers are slim but more sound performances like these could earn him a guaranteed spot with the Blue Coats.

2. Ricky Council IV missed a dunk! But still played well

In a turn of events that no one could have seen coming, the Sixers rookie missed a dunk. Council missed it mainly because he took off from quite far, not a terribly shocking reason for someone with an unreal bounce failing to throw it down. The missed jam didn’t prevent him from having a good game.

While Springer going bully-ball mode to the hoop matches his bulky frame makes sense, Council did so with change-of-direction moves and sheer force of will. On shots inside the arc, he shot 4-7, which includes his wild dunk attempt. Although he also took some ill-advised shots early in the shot clock, opting to get the most out of his touch rather than reset the offense, it didn’t reek of ball-hogging.

Council was also impactful on the glass, reeling in three offensive boards and eight overall, which led the team. Late in the game, he tapped in a miss to get an and-one opportunity, hitting his free throw. He simply makes things happen on the court. The Sixers could use any player like that that they can get.

1. Tequavion Smith brings the clamps

Smith made a name for himself with the summer Sixers for his scintillating scoring in Utah. Against the Knicks, he showed he can be a defensive highlight reel, too. It wasn’t all perfect but the skinny guard made stuff happen on the defensive end, including a pair of blocks by getting his hands up against shooters.

Twice in the second quarter, Smith generated a steal and turned it into fastbreak points. Once he fed Springer for a layup and another time he threw down a monster dunk in the open floor. He finished with six stocks in the game, keeping his head and hands up and staying staunch at the point of attack.

Smith was also dishing (with a game-high five assists) and swishing (from deep beyond the arc, twice, with 13 points overall) but his defense stood out more than his offense, particularly in the first half. A real roster spot may not be in play right now but he's doing a lot of things to show he's worth one.

The Sixers' next Summer League game is Monday at 8:00 PM EST against the Dallas Mavericks and Dereck Lively II, a Philadelphia product and the 12th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.