The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 126-98 in their 2023-24 home opener. The leading story of the night was Joel Embiid, who owned every facet of the game for the Sixers and posted a gaudy stat line of 35 points, 15 boards, seven assists, six blocks and two steals.

In between Embiid scoring at will and shutting down the Blazers, Tyrese Maxey went on big scoring runs, Tobias Harris filled in the gaps nicely to score very efficiently, De'Anthony Melton had eight assists and Philly took off in the second half, securing a win with plenty of time left to give them a winning record in the early goings of the season.

The Sixers did a lot of things right against the Blazers but still have some areas to tighten up. Let’s jump into the Sixers vs. Blazers film and look at some key highlights.

5. Joel Embiid feeds Tyrese Maxey for 3

The two-man partnership between Embiid and Maxey has flourished in the early portion of this season. Beyond their pick-and-roll sequences — the moments where Maxey shows off that he's learning James Harden's repertoire of pocket passes — Embiid has found Maxey by serving as a screener/passer hybrid, like in this play early in the game.

After Embiid drives into a crowded paint with nowhere to go, he pivots back to find Maxey. He shuffles back up to the foul-line-extended wing and flips a pass right back to Maxey as he relocates behind the big fella. Many teams, namely the Miami Heat, often use dribble handoffs as a way to open up looks at the hoop using a screen from a big man. The Sixers effectively do that here but with no dribble needed. Embiid sees Maxey starting his run and just gets it right back to him.

Scoot Henderson has to go under the Embiid screen to make sure Maxey doesn’t have an open path to the hoop. But Maxey's speed-and-shooting combo makes him one of the ultimate pick-your-poison guys in basketball. Henderson's poison of choice on this play was a moving three-pointer, one of four triples Maxey hit in the game. The rookie gave a good effort to contest, but it was far too little, far too late.

Embiid has the chance to blow right by his previous career high in assists per game with the emphasis he and the Sixers are putting on ball and player movement. But he will also be aided by easy passes like that, which clear a path for guys to get into the paint. If that guy is Maxey, chances are it'll result in points.

4. Sixers' defense fueling offense

Nurse wants the Sixers to turn defense into offense as much as they can. Steals in the backcourt will be the bread-and-butter method in that area, but Embiid's emphatic blocks can play a similar role. As he gave Henderson a welcome-to-the-league moment, Philly got out to run and came away with a trio of points.

After Henderson beats Maxey off the dribble, Embiid lingers near his man, Deandre Ayton, long enough for Henderson to ignore the option to pass and take it himself. The Sixers big man springs to the backboard to deny the shot just as the Blazers guard takes off. This isn’t an easy play to correctly time for most players.

The biggest key to this play is that in addition to Embiid getting the stop, the ball finds its way to the ideal Sixers player. Maxey corralling the board — he had a career-high 10 in the win — means that he can take off immediately down the court to lead the break. Even in a light run, he helps Philly maintain a four-on-two advantage. He drifts to the right and finds P.J. Tucker in the left corner, keeping his eyes up so as not to tip off to the defense where he’s going.

It's early in the season, but Embiid is contesting way more shots this year than last year. His 14.3 contested shots per game are second only to Kristaps Porzingis (15.0) and more than the 10.2 he tallied last season. There should be no shortage of chances for Philly to turn blocks into buckets.

3. Fancy playmaking

(The video from the NBA stats page doesn’t go far back enough to see how this possession unfolds from the top, hence the usage of this clip from Twitter/X.)

Embiid can sometimes be a klutz when he's trying to create for his teammates — look no further than his absurd punch pass in the season opener that resulted in disaster for Philly. But when he doesn’t try to operate too far outside of his means, he can deliver some pretty passes.

Embiid looked for a mid-range shot but quickly swung it to Maxey on the wing after his man (former Sixer Matisse Thybulle) helped too much at the nail. The ensuing scramble after Maxey's quick step folds the defense leads to a wide-open look in the corner. Embiid found him while looking straight ahead at the basket. Harris moving up to the wing took his man, freeing up the spot for Maxey.

Maxey finishing off this play is appropriate because he's the one who ultimately created it. His quick decision-making forced the Portland defense to switch its focus from Embiid to him. Then he swings it back to Embiid with a one-handed pass. Embiid follows his lead and begins his drive just as he catches the ball. The Blazers' poor communication leaves one of the NBA's best corner shooters unattended.

This pass might not have even been Embiid's best assist of the night. He flicked a pass nearly over his shoulder to Harris that froze his defender and led to a three-pointer. We'll see how good Embiid's flashy passing can be against better teams moving forward, but at least in this game, he was on the money.

2. Area for Sixers to sharpen up on defense

Without Embiid on the floor in the first half, the Sixers were outscored by 10. The Blazers were at their best in the second quarter, where they scored 32 points and Embiid played in just the final five and a half minutes of the period.

On some possessions, the Blazers simply scored with a solid on-ball move, such as an Ayton fadeaway from the low post or a Shaedon Sharpe drive and finger roll. Some scores were conceded in transition, but Philly also had some gaffes in the half court to fix up.

Watch as Oubre's man, Malcolm Brogdon, backscreens Maxey and runs up to the arc. He's a good shooter and was about to receive a screen from Robert Williams III, so sticking to him is sensible. But what isn’t is how the Sixers went about this. Maxey isn’t ready to be screened and it frees up Toumani Camara's backdoor cut. Maxey is able to stay with him, but he's too small to force a miss from the 6-foot-8 forward right under the basket.

This bucket was likely influenced by the Blazers' prior score, where Oubre loses his man completely when going for a double team. He gets back cut, Jaden Springer is too late to help and Jabari Walker scores through the foul. Perhaps not wanting to let his man run free again, Oubre is locked in on Brogdon all the way. Either he and Maxey should have switched or Oubre should have alerted Maxey to the screen, which could have helped him gunk up the passing window.

The Sixers allowed six straight buckets without a miss to the Blazers in the second quarter, giving up the lead as their offense went cold. In the six and a half minutes that Embiid sat during the second, they scored just nine points, which goes to show that good offense helps fuel good defense.

1. Spinning and winning

Embiid in open space can often be an adventure. He has some handles and can obviously shoot off the bounce but can also go haywire when pressed by the defense. In the second quarter, Embiid scored his biggest highlight-reel bucket and showed that he meant business in the final minutes of the first half.

Melton passes to Embiid, who wastes no time attacking downhill. Williams does a good job staying in front of him but gets pushed back easily. The Sixers superstar leads with his left shoulder and spins back to his right as Sharpe goes for the ball. Williams can only do so much to withstand a full-steam-ahead Embiid and is in a tough position to go for the ball. With a one-handed stuff, the crowd goes wild.

The Sixers should experiment with possessions where Embiid gets a running start with a spread-out court. The play ended in a dunk and, because a driving Embiid requires help to contain, opened up an open shot in the corner. Even Henderson getting pulled in from the weak leaves Maxey open.

Hunting for close shots early in the shot clock will be a new wrinkle for the Sixers under Nurse. They should be bountiful with talents like Embiid and Maxey leading the charge.