While most Philly fans were busy watching Bryce Harper beat the life out of the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia 76ers played the Boston Celtics in their second preseason game. The Sixers' first contest in front of the Wells Fargo Center crowd this season resulted in a 112-101 loss.
The Sixers started their preseason with a loss that featured moments of brilliance from Tyrese Maxey and Jaden Springer. Joel Embiid, James Harden and Furkan Korkmaz once again did not play tonight, though Nick Nurse said that he hopes they will play at some point in the preseason. De'Anthony Melton returned to action, Danuel House Jr. was a late scratch and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown sat this one out for Boston.
Here are three takeaways from the Sixers' 2023-24 preseason home opener.
5. The Sixers' defense stays active
When asked before the game what he liked and didn’t like from the Sixers' preseason opener, Nurse said that he liked the aggressive on-ball defense but did not like that his team often fouled, especially on non-shooting plays.
One thing from Sunday that Nick Nurse really liked from the Sixers: ball pressure
One thing to work on: excessive fouling pic.twitter.com/O5cr1cCgXW
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) October 11, 2023
In this one, the Sixers stayed aggressive, though the Celtics came to play with a great shooting night. It was a showing of great defense but better offense. While the fouling didn’t exactly go away —they only committed one fewer foul than on Sunday — they once again showed cohesion as a defensive unit.
The way the Sixers rotate on defense, covering for one another in a hurry and staying ready to plug up another hole if needed, indicates Nurse's coaching is resonating. Numerous Philly players made calculated swipes at the ball when Boston players drove into the lane — some were fouls but some ignited fast-break runs. Four different players recorded multiple steals. P.J. Tucker even took a charge against Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics had an unreal shooting night, getting many of their shots to go despite a hand in the shooter's face. They challenged their hosts by playing at a breakneck pace. The Sixers did a respectable job of limiting their fast breaks. While there were some mistakes to patch up, such as Oubre getting smoked backdoor and some miscommunication in the pick-and-roll, team defense should be a positive takeaway from this game.
4. Maxey's playmaking continues to come along
Maxey balanced his responsibilities between playmaking and scoring very well. While there isn't a gaudy assist total to speak of, the game tape will show that the budding star was comfortable getting his teammates involved as he looked for his own shots.
Reaching top sprint speeds that most players can only dream of didn’t stop Maxey from dishing to his open teammates. He fed Melton on a pair of triples and found Oubre for another as he navigated a screen. With and without the ball, he directed the offense. The onus to be the floor general is an obvious one for the guy who is on his way to becoming a star. Maxey is taking it in stride, becoming the reliable epicenter on offense that Philly will need regardless of what Harden does this season.
Maxey had a good sense that Boston was keying on him — early possessions where he got face-guarded away from the ball proved it — and used it to his advantage. The growth that Nurse has hoped to see out of him as a creator is happening right before our eyes. He ended the night with 17 points on 7-17 shooting.
3. Kelly Oubre Jr. shoots the lights out
Oubre was cooking in this one, though it wasn’t with the iso-ball-centric style that he is typically known for. He was as pure of a sniper as he could have been, sinking four triples with a Hall of Fame catch-and-shoot badge. Despite cooling off in the second half, his buckets was crucial for a Philly squad trying to keep pace with a Boston squad that just couldn’t miss. He scored a game-high 18 points.
The appeal of Oubre is that he's a great athlete who can score in different ways. Shooting is seen as one of his areas to improve in, as he has been one of the most inefficient volume shooters in the NBA over his career. While tonight may not definitely be a sign that he has become a great shooter, it certainly leaves behind a feeling of optimism. If he can sink enough of the open shots that come his way, it will go a long way in his quest for minutes.
Another promising part of Oubre's night was that, once again, he showed some promise as a defender. He won’t become a primary stopper for Philly but he has been a solid team defender. That's pretty much a requirement to play under Nurse.
2. Paul Reed's growing pains as a shooter
Reed said that he enjoyed the freedom that the new coaching staff is affording him when it comes to shooting from deep. But the Sixers' energetic big man has had only rough misses on the deep shots he has attempted so far. He did, though, hit a nice middie in the third quarter. It's extremely early in the season and he has not been asked to shoot those types of shots in NBA games before, so he can be given some grace for the time being.
From everywhere, Reed has shot the ball abysmally this preseason. But on the plus side, he had five assists — one of which was an alley-oop to Oubre — and kept the ball moving well on offense. He blocked a transition layup and forced Boston turnovers with his active hands.
The typical Bball Paul stuff is there while the new skill is very clearly a work in progress.
1. Danny Green fights tooth and nail for a roster spot
Green is a notable candidate for the Sixers to leave off their roster when the time comes to trim it to 15 guys because he is one of the oldest players in the league, is still working his way back from a major injury and has a contract that is only partially guaranteed. Tonight, he played like he knew it.
The Sixers fans who chose to spend their Wednesday on the hardwood instead of the baseball diamond provided some strong applause for Green, who is in his second stint with the team. He rewarded them with a very good game.
After beginning his game by back-peddling into the corner and draining a triple, he stole a pass and scored on a finger roll through traffic. The fact that there was traffic in the first place is indicative of the lack of speed he has at this stage in his career. Still, he got the shot to fall and continued balling out from there.
Welcome back to Philly, Danny Green 🙌pic.twitter.com/Iz3gOHjwGl
— Sixers Nation (@SixersNationCP) October 11, 2023
Green linked up with Oubre for three scores early on. He fed him an outlet pass that led to a shooting foul assisted him on a corner three with a long outlet pass and found him for another triple after securing the board on his own missed floater. On defense, Green showed no issue running across the court to contest a shot. Sprinkling in a few more buckets and nice feeds to teammates, the veteran served up a performance that won’t be overlooked when the front office has to decide who to move on from ahead of the regular season.
The Sixers will have their annual intrasquad scrimmage this Saturday and then face the Brooklyn Nets in Barclays Center on Monday.
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