Tyrese Maxey dropped his second 40-point game of the year, and VJ Edgecombe supplied an efficient 26 points and seven assists to power the Sixers to a 136-124 win over the Orlando Magic. Philadelphia is 3-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season, and the vibes are astronomically high.
Here’s what I saw.
The present and the future of the Sixers
It was not that long ago that long, heated arguments were had over the Sixers adding VJ Edgecombe to this basketball team. How could you not go with a better positional fit in Ace Bailey? The Sixers are loaded in the backcourt and could use the help elsewhere, the thinking went.
Do we think any of those skeptics are left after the first three games? Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey are not just thriving together and putting up big stats; they’re actively driving winning. They’re carrying the offense. They’re building a vision of the future while also propping Philadelphia up right now. It is downright special to watch a pair of players only just getting to know one another on the floor and still delivering results. These are the early days — just think of how amazing the later days might be!
Let’s start with Edgecombe, who is melting minds around the league with some of what he is showing for the Sixers. Edgecombe was a highly-regarded player in high school and college, a top-five recruit and state player of the year. But he is trying and successfully pulling off moves right now that you basically never saw him attempt while at Baylor or LuHi. Edgecombe hit the first pull-up three of his young career on Monday night, hitting a crisp crossover into his gather before rising up for a tough make:
Edgecombe had a rough night from midrange Saturday against Charlotte, but he bounced back nicely against Orlando, hitting some tough pull-up makes in traffic while showing off a developing floater package. There was one sequence in the first half that had Edgecombe spinning into a jumper, with the rookie guard squaring his shoulders and hitting a tough two that Scott Drew would never have let him take last season.
He is adding to a game that was already made to help teams win basketball games. Edgecombe is the same dynamic transition talent, a lightning bolt who just runs through and around most guys who try to keep up with him, on top of being a remarkably smart 20-year-old. Edgecombe went into halftime skunked in the assists department, but it was through no fault of his own, with several teammates (most notably Jabari Walker) squandering golden opportunities he set up for them in their sweet spots.
What was remarkable about his second half is that Edgecombe managed to make a huge impact while not being a featured player for a lot of the final 24 minutes. He made an incredible chase-down block to save two points in transition, had a critical late-quarter steal to close the third, and just kept popping up in the right spaces over and over again.
Alongside him in the backcourt is a player who seems determined not to let this season devolve into the same meaningless slop it did in 2024-25. Maxey has had some electric moments as a pull-up shooter to open the year, but what I’m in love with are the changes he has made driving the basketball. Too often last year, Maxey allowed the man guarding him to set the physical tone, leading to a lot of harmless layup and floater attempts as he fell away from the basket, complaining about blown calls in the process.
To start this year, Maxey has played the aggressor. He had several drives in the first half where he led with his shoulder into the chest of a defender, created separation without extending his arm, and then exploded out of the contact for a clean-ish attempt at the basket. That change in process is helping him make more layups and draw fouls, making him more dangerous than ever as an attacker.
Maxey was not as good on that specific front in the second half, and that’s not a shock, because sustaining the physicality for four quarters is much easier said than done. But as the game came down to the final three minutes, with Orlando breathing down their necks for a potential comeback, it was Maxey who provided the ultimate closing kick, undressing the Magic with a barrage of inside-out attacks. A speed drive to the basket, a catch-and-shoot three out of an Edgecombe trap, and another short runner took this game from in doubt to completely out of reach, and the fans serenaded him with “M-V-P!” chants at the free-throw line as his line climbed and climbed in the final minutes. You felt every shot he took was going to drop, perhaps because most of them did:
Both players have opened the season with a noticeable edge (heh) about them, and sometimes, scouting athletes can be a very simple process. Search for guys with elite physical traits and work ethic/competitiveness, and the rest will take care of itself. They combined for 69 of Philadelphia’s points, eight rebounds, and 15 assists from the backcourt. Truly insane stuff.
Take a bow, Kelly Oubre
As Philadelphia’s new-look backcourt stole most of the attention, Kelly Oubre managed to put together a 7/9 half to start this game. It was a midrange clinic for Oubre, who kept poking, prodding, and leaning his way toward Orlando’s rim, eventually finding a crack of daylight to rise into for two points.
The crazy thing is, the offense might be the part I care about the least. Oubre is their only reliable wing defender available right now, which means he has to switch across a bushel of matchups every game. Whether it’s a big, bruising 3/4 hybrid or a sleeker, quicker wing, Oubre is the guy most often asked to take the toughest matchup. And while he does that, Oubre still manages to chip in as a rebounder. He combined with Bona for a sequence that brought the crowd to its feet on Monday, drawing a foul on the second offensive rebound in a possession before hitting his trademark push-up after the contact knocked him down.
If you want to talk about guys who are establishing culture and setting a daily standard, I would absolutely include Oubre in that group. He was one of the only guys who held onto the rope for most of last season, and he has continued that trend in a big way.
Oubre’s ups and downs on offense are abrupt enough that I’m not certain I could ever buy all the way in on him. But with how consistent he has been with energy and all-around production in Philly, it sort of feels like he finally found a home after drifting around the league for a while.
(There were a few classic “Great shot, don’t ever do it again!” moments for Oubre early on, but he has more than earned the right to hijack a few possessions here and there with his commitment to the team over the opening stretch of games. And when he doesn’t have it rolling, he has gotten so much better about focusing on the little things and keeping the ball moving on offense.)
Real athletes!
The Sixers were not shy about how they were going to change their roster this offseason. Daryl Morey spoke repeatedly about the desire to get younger and more athletic after last year’s group looked old, creaky, and injured for most of the year. I know we are only three games into the new season, but I think it’s safe to say the mission was accomplished. This group is absolutely flying around compared to last year’s outfit.
In the span of about 45 seconds early in Monday’s first quarter, Adem Bona put together an awe-inspiring montage at the rim. The first block was probably a goaltend — the ball was close to the cylinder, at the very least — but the Sixers were quick to take advantage of the missed call, with VJ Edgecombe streaking down the floor for a quick two points. On Orlando’s next trip, Bona soared through the air for an even more hellacious block, which turned into a ridiculous pull-up three for Tyrese Maxey in transition, bringing the home crowd to their feet. The fun would end on the next possession as the Magic finally scored, but only after Bona pulled off a third consecutive block to the delight of the locals.
This is a faster, more dynamic team in every possible way. They have speed demons to push the pace in transition, glass cleaners who create extra possessions, and a competitive streak that went missing as last season went totally off the rails. Even some of their holdovers look more spry this season: Andre Drummond’s offseason commitment to conditioning appears to have paid off, with the veteran big man covering much more space than he did a year ago.
It’s a breath of fresh air for however long it lasts.
Size needed
This was a matchup where Philadelphia’s roster choices were put to the test for the first time. Orlando is huge by design, having spent most of the last 5-10 years assembling every 6’8″ and above athlete they can find. Even their guards, though not in that category, are bigger than their usual contemporaries, with good-to-great defensive chops.
It was a battle of advantages (or disadvantages, depending on your perspective). Philadelphia’s biggest problem was avoiding fouls while trying to cope with bigger players all over the floor. The Sixers were forced to gamble, reach, and converge on the Magic when they played bully ball inside the arc, leading to a free-throw parade for Orlando in the second quarter. The Magic were in the bonus for over 10 minutes of the second period, and it was the main thing that allowed them to hang around. Jabari Walker was their only non-center with forward-type size, and he had five fouls by the middle of the third quarter!
On the other hand, the Sixers were able to generate a lot of blow-bys, leaning on their speedy backcourt to attack bigger players. Guess you can’t argue with the results.
Other notes
— How about Eric Gordon coming out of cold storage to give Philadelphia some offense off of the bench? On top of the catch-and-shoot threes he delivered in the second half, Gordon even had a nice closeout attack for a layup, showing just enough live-dribble juice to get into the paint. A nice outing for the vet.
First Appeared on
Source link
