Things Just Keep Getting BETTER For the Sixers...

The Philadelphia 76ers have officially moved to 5-1 to start the season following another gutsy, thrilling victory over the New York Knicks to take full control of the Eastern Conference. There are a ton of positive takeaways to get into in which we saw the first. Throwback performance of LeBron James turning back the clock and dominating the matchup on both sides of the floor. I do want to highlight a couple notable takeaways. I think one of the coolest storylines to me is the Sixers have found different ways to win just about each and every one of these games. Doing it without Jalen Brown last night, where LeBron very clearly took more of a driver's seat in the offense, taking control. And to ultimately dive into the box score that I do want to highlight here, LeBron with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, 8 of 15 from the field, a plus 8 in the victory. A 98-93 victory by the Philadelphia. Philadelphia 76ers, and despite some spark from the New York Knicks, the defending champion New York Knicks, the former cup champion New York Knicks, that the Sixers found a way to get the job done. Now, rounded out the rest of the starting lineup, not a great day for Joel Embiid. Ten points on three of 12 shooting. I will say I did like that he was kind of willing to take a backseat during the home stretch of the game, which did play into the hands of once again LeBron James taking control. But Joel did add seven assists and seven rebounds. Even while he was struggling as a shooter, I thought he did a nice job. From the perimeter serving as a playmaker, they really haven't utilized him in that type of role much throughout his career that primarily he's lined up at the elbow or the mid-range. He's drifted out to the three and it's not just all or nothing. Will he shoot the three ball or will he do that, you know, slow pump fake and drive the basket that he does? They're actually running sets with him as like a decision maker and playmaker of the offense that I think there have been some fair moments of success. Tyrese Maxey leading the charge and scoring once again with 27 points on 10 of 19 shooting three from eight from beyond the three point arc, added four rebounds and four assists of his own. Also had a steal and a block and VJ Edgecombe very much the connective piece in this starting unit that I do want to dive deeper into in a second, but he finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists. A massive three-pointer, the lone one that he made of the game at a huge moment of that matchup. And off the bench, have to start with Anthony Simons, who exploded for 21 points in 31 minutes of action. 5 of 8 from beyond the three-pointer arc, added two rebounds to the assist, and really has become such a crucial spark plug. Simons is a huge part of the Sixers team, man. And I kind of banged the table for him all offseason, especially as he was working his way back from injury. We did not get a chance to see from him in preseason. Then a couple struggles in the early parts of the season. We're seeing exactly what he can be and how crucial his ability... as a three-point shooter and floor spacer can be to the stars on this roster. Now, to stick with Simons a little bit, I do want to talk about the takeaways after the game and pull up this portion from the article. This coming from Sixers Wire, shout out to Kai Carlin there. And it writes, After knocking down six triples in Philadelphia's win over the Indiana Pacers, Simons knocked down another five against the Knicks. There were moments in the third where Simons stepped up and knocked down some huge triples in order to keep New York at bay and keep the scoreboard moving. The Sixers had gotten stagnant a bit in the offense as the defending champions began to flex their muscles. But Simons hopped off the bench and drilled some huge hoops. Those are the type of plays Philadelphia acquired the nine-year veteran for. He was huge in the win. Quote, just reading the game, letting the game come to him, come to me, Simons said after the win. Obviously, first half offensively was kind of slow, but kind of stuck with it. You know, the guys got going. I was able to get some good looks. Everybody pretty much found me out there on the wing or in the corner. So I was able to get going through there. So yeah, that's carryover for sure. When you play the right way, your stuff kind of comes naturally to you. Just how the game goes. And so I think that's what happened tonight, too. And that is a major takeaway that I do want to emphasize is this team is bought in and playing team basketball, man. This is not just the LeBron James show or the Tyrese Maxey show or the Jalen Brown show or Joel Embiid show that everyone is bought into. Sometimes I got to scale up my production. Sometimes I got to take a backseat. And the fact that there is that willingness to sacrifice is so huge for what this team can truly become when we do get into the postseason. And speaking of sacrifice. The guy I think really does headline that conversation is VJ Edgecombe, and I did want to highlight Vijay's performance last night. This article coming from Sixers Wire once again, which states the Sixers received 13 huge points from Edgecombe, including him knocking down a huge three-pointer late to put Philadelphia up by four. The second-year guard gave up a tough three-pointer to Knicks star Jalen Brunson that put New York up by one with 132 left to play, but James then made a tough shot to put the Sixers back up one, and Edgecombe then knocked down a huge three to give Philadelphia a 94-90 lead. With 33.6 seconds left, it was a reminder that he is still here and he is still a big part of this team's success. It was just like his rookie season when he would knock down tough shots in the clutch. Quote, he just does that, said Nurse. It's really who he is. I think we all know it. We even talk about it, that he's going to make plays in the crunch time of the game. He makes a huge three, comes flying in for a rebound, maybe blocks a shot like in the past and things like that. He really is a playmaker in crunch time, and he did it again tonight. And this is the point that I do not want to get lost in the star-studded shuffle this year, is Vijay Edgecombe is a dude, man. This guy has big balls for the big moments, and he wants the rock in his hand, he wants to make plays, and he's ready to deliver, especially when he's really struggled as a shooter to start this season. He's had some wide-open looks that just haven't fallen. He was 0-3 in the matchup from beyond the arc last night before that crucial three-pointer, but he's got an eye for the moment. He's ready to rise up to the occasion. He did that last night. There was also a huge defensive play that he made in which would have been a game-tying layup by the Knicks. I believe Jordan Clarkson had the ball. Edgecombe comes flying out of nowhere, sprays it free, ends up earning the ball back. He also got called for an absolute garbage phantom call on Jalen Brunson, who Brunson basically just rolled his ankle on a step and then Edgecombe got called for a foul for it. There was no contact. I understand they're going to do the hyper-focus replay in which they're zooming for every centimeter and get a little quote-unquote foot-to-foot contact. But there wasn't a foul. It was excellent defense by Vijay. And that was a story of the game. As he continued to strap up Jalen Brunson, I do think these Sixers had better looks so they can throw at this Knicks team defensively than any team in the league. I thought Jalen Brown was excellent in the first matchup between these two teams. Obviously, he was not available last night due to a knee injury. Hopefully, that does not keep him out in the long term as the Sixers are back in action against the Hornets tonight. It will be interesting to see how many of these bodies do suit up. But the fact you have Vijay as your second option Just speaks to the depth of this team. Now, speaking of the defense overall, that to me is far and away the number one positive storyline of the Sixers for the opening six games of the season. The reason I say that is I want to pull up this portion of the article that states, these Sixers entered the night ranked third in the league in defensive rating, and they flexed their defensive muscles in this one. Philadelphia finding a... Philadelphia finding a way to hold the Knicks to just 93 points and 40.7% shooting is impressive. The Sixers also forced 13 turnovers, which they turned into 23 points as they were able to take advantage of New York's mistakes. All night long, the Sixers were tough on the defensive end, even when the Knicks would go on their spurts to make the game closer. Philadelphia would then settle on that end and shut off New York's water to close out the champs for the second time. Quote, it's been very, very good, said coach Nick Nurse of the team's defense. I think that the half court especially has been phenomenal. of our starting and especially ending goes through some of those moments still, or getting it back and getting set up. And I thought I gave up a few too many second chance. I thought we gave up a few too many second shots, but when it's set, the physicality, the communication, the keeping the ball in front, the really not quitting on plays, just not biting on fakes, not giving up angles. We made them take 10 shots when they were just stuck and they just had to throw up a turnover and we just still challenged it. So you have that many good defensive possessions in the game that's going to take you a long way. This is blowing my mind how good this team is defensively. My full expectations coming into the season was that this is going to be an elite Sixers offense, and the defense should be good enough. It has been the inverse of that through the first six games. This has been an elite defense, and the offense is still a work in progress. Now, I'm very optimistic that the offense... We'll reach levels that we have not seen yet this year. This is still very early in the time frame of these guys learning to play with each other, sacrifice, figure out their spots on the floor properly. But the fact that there's this level of buy-in and commitment defensively really speaks to what this Sixers team can be. This has a chance to be every bit the championship contender that you envision on paper. This is not a super team that shows up with the arrogance that we can just beat anybody because we're that talented. They have grit. They have grind. They compete for all 48 minutes, and that was fully put on display by taking that defending chance for the second. Second time in the first six games of the season. Think about that is the bar of expectation. This was quote unquote, the best team in basketball. Even though I will throw out, I think it's a little bit of a blemish on the NBA that we allowed this team to be crowned champions. I do not think this role player super team is as good as they are made up to be, but regardless, they do hold the title. We have to acknowledge that as such. But the Sixers are braced for the moment, man. They're locked in, they're ready. And it's still encouraging to me to think this team's only going to get better. They're only going to figure out more ways that they can be dangerous. To rattle off a couple more team stats before finishing up with a LeBron James. Quote here, these Sixers in the matchup kind of hung in there from a defensive rebounding perspective. They were not blown off the boards in the same way, holding control for 97% of the matchup. The Knicks leading by just 1% of the game, which was on a major Jalen Brunson three-pointer when the moment was large. But ultimately, this is the type of stat profile that you should be largely encouraged. And perhaps what tells the story more than anything. As LeBron James dashed to the game. As it says, Sixers superstar LeBron James, after defeating the Knicks on Friday, was asked how much fun he's having. These Sixers are 5-1. And he said, quote, I am having a great time. I'm loving what we're bringing to the table right now. I love our competitive spirit. Guys show up to work. Guys ready to work hard. It's a fun group, too. I am more than happy that I made this decision. And boy, that is music in my ears. Think about some of the turmoil that has struck early in the 10 years of LeBron James in different situations. It has been... As great of a honeymoon period as you could hope for, for this guy leading the Sixers charge. And I do think this is here to stay. I do think these are like-minded individuals who are benefiting from sort of the expectation boost that comes with LeBron James being a part of the franchise. So ultimately, a 5-1 start to the season, 81-1 still on the table. This has a real chance to be the straight-up best team in basketball from start to finish this year, and they're still scratching the surface for what they can be collectively. So we're going to be breaking down the action for the Sixers team all year. We'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on the matchup below. So make sure you smash and subscribe to the channel. If you have not just yet, drop a like on this video. Give me your thoughts below. I'll be back talking to you next time right here on Sixers Digest. Peace.