The 2023-24 Philadelphia 76ers have now played 48 minutes of regular-season basketball, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks with a failed comeback attempt. I will now make sweeping conclusions about the players and the season as a whole.

Sarcastic lede aside, overreactions are always unavoidable after a team's first game. On a certain level, it's understandable why. A season opener provides the first look at how a team will play and how the new players fit with one another. It's more serious than preseason but still just the very first game of the year. With the Sixers also missing a pretty important player, it's very tough to tell what this team will look like over the course of the next few weeks and months, let alone the entire season.

But, of course, the Sixers will play (at least) 48 minutes of basketball 81 more times over the coming months. So let's dispel some of the biggest overreactions that fans of them or other teams might have to Philly's season opener.

3. Joel Embiid isn’t ready to dominate yet

While the above statement is accurate based on how Embiid played against the Bucks, the overreaction is to treat his poor game as an indictment of his abilities and suggest that he's headed to some type of decline. Embiid playing poorly to start the season is nothing new, even last year when he won the MVP. He will be fine eventually.

Although Nick Nurse didn’t offer any major criticisms of Embiid aside from his missed shots in crunch time, Embiid didn’t look like himself. At least early on, he wasn’t scoring the ball with the gusto he usually does. He didn’t open windows for himself or his teammates to score. He and Maxey connected for some key buckets later in the game, showing that their two-man chemistry is indeed coming along. But he still ended the game shooting just 9-21 while shooting a paltry 3-8 from the free-throw line.

The one area on offense where Embiid consistently looked like himself was his mind-melting turnovers, of which he committed seven. Some of the passes he made were really bad. The cherry on top was his nonsensical bump pass right to Malik Beasley followed by an awful effort to get back on defense that opened the door for a wide-open Jae Crowder triple.

No more of that ever again, please.

The most promising thing Embiid showed in the Sixers' loss to the Bucks was his commitment to defense. He altered shots left and right by showing up at the rim and going for the ball. On his lone block of the night, which came against Giannis Antetokounmpo, he wagged his finger a la Dikembe Mutombo. The scoring will come eventually but the fact that he was dominating on defense from day one under Nurse is very promising.

2. Tyrese Maxey will step into James Harden's shoes as a playmaker

The performance Maxey had inspires a lot of confidence moving forward — and it should. His 31-point, eight-assist, no-turnover stat line was great to see.  But the Sixers will still have a playmaking deficiency with Harden creeping out of the picture.

Compiling eight assists, all of which came in the final three quarters, and not a single turnover is a great start for Maxey. He kept his eyes up as he surveyed the floor and often found an open, rolling Embiid or a shooter running alongside him to flip it to.

Maxey, however, is not a natural passer. His feel for the floor is not at the level of guys who use the slivers of openings in defenses to get the ball to a teammate who otherwise looks covered. With the ball in his hands, Maxey still looks to score. This isn’t meant to slam Maxey for the way he plays or suggest that he won’t ever become a more pass-first player. At this stage in his career, at the outset of a season where he is being asked to grow in that area, that’s just where he's at.

The two biggest takeaways from Maxey's game that suggest he is going to be a truly lethal scorer are his foul drawing and his ability to create for himself in the half-court. Maxey shot 10 free throws, tying a career-high, and constantly brought out dribble moves that helped him get a step on his defender in open space. Even though the Bucks lack high-end perimeter defenders, Maxey impressed out there.

Maxey isn't going to replicate what Harden did because no one can. But what he can do is grow his own game to be more dangerous in his own ways.

1. Kelly Oubre Jr. will be a main scorer in the Sixers offense

The Sixers' needed an offensive boost with Embiid still finding his rhythm and Maxey's slow start. Tobias Harris quietly had 20 points on 8-9 shooting, 15 of which came in the second half. But it was Kelly Oubre Jr. who grabbed everyone's attention by scoring 27 points in five fewer minutes and shooting 5-6 from deep in his Philly debut. As fantastic as he played, it's important to temper expectations.

The Oubre experience will swing wildly throughout the season. He'll be a fan favorite one night and maligned the next. Streaky scorers have the confidence to keep firing regardless of the result, which can be their best trait one night or their worst the next. He could have stretches where he has 27 points over a couple of games, which is why he is buying into the Sixers' defensive identity.

For Oubre to keep getting minutes on the nights he shoots 5-19, he will have to remain vigilant as a defender. The fact that Nurse had him match up with Damian Lillard when De'Anthony Melton sat out speaks to the belief he has in him. Oubre's physical tools make him a worthwhile investment as a defender, though it's clear he has to improve in skills like screen navigation in order to become a true pest to his opponent.

The Sixers certainly knew Oubre was a score-first guy when they signed him for cheap. Taking a flyer on him will include some scintillating scoring outbursts and some cold spells. Nurse and his staff must sharpen Oubre's other areas to make sure he can still contribute something in between buckets. It will be interesting to see if Oubre can grow used to taking his opportunities here and there while doing other, less-heralded things to help Philly win.