Six games in, six ways these Sixers already feel different originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
For 22 seconds Friday night, the Sixers’ latest meeting with the New York Knicks felt painfully familiar.
Jalen Brunson buried a three-pointer with 1:32 remaining, erasing what had once been a 14-point Sixers lead and putting New York ahead, 90-89.
The Knicks had walked them down. Their fans inside Xfinity Mobile Arena had found their voices. Another promising Sixers night against the team that swept them out of the playoffs five months earlier appeared to be slipping away.
It was a scene the Sixers had experienced far too often. Across the previous two seasons, including the playoffs, they went 2-10 against New York. Extend the window through 2023-24, and they were 5-17.
Then LeBron James answered with a fadeaway over OG Anunoby.
VJ Edgecombe knocked down a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. James followed Tyrese Maxey’s miss for a putback, and the Sixers finished the game on a 9-3 run to beat the Knicks, 98-93.
A familiar situation produced a different ending.
The Sixers are 5-1 despite their preferred starting lineup opening only three games together. Maxey is the only starter who has appeared in all six. Joel Embiid, James, Jaylen Brown and Edgecombe have each missed a contest.
Six games cannot define what the Sixers will become or determine where they belong in the Eastern Conference. Injuries have also complicated evaluations around the league.
Still, the early differences are difficult to miss.
1. They have answers late
The Sixers have played four games decided by single digits and won three.
They have trailed late, surrendered leads and faced the types of opposing runs that previously sent games spiraling. Their response against New York was their latest example of keeping control.
“[The Knicks] have kind of made an art out of pulling those out,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “So, I think it was very important that we answered immediately. It was a pretty good shot and a pretty quick answer to take the lead right back. That’s always huge, just momentum-wise.”
James finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in what Nurse called his best game as a Sixer. His influence in the final minutes extended beyond the box score.
“Leadership,” Maxey said.
“[He’s a] calming presence… he’ll get a lot of rebounds, maybe come get the ball, calm it down. He’s great. And he’s someone, at the end of the day, he’s LeBron James. He can do stuff like he did tonight.”
James has played in virtually every late-game scenario imaginable. When the atmosphere tightens, he has tried to prevent the Sixers from doing the same.
“If the other team makes a run, come to the sideline, ‘We good. Let’s move on to the next play,’” James said. “Let’s figure out how we can be better for this play and the rest of the game.”
The Sixers are now 2-0 against the defending champions. They will not see the Knicks again until Feb. 11 in Philadelphia, followed by their season-series finale Feb. 27 at Madison Square Garden
2. Superstar Maxey remains the constant
The Sixers added James and Brown to an offense that already featured Embiid. Maxey has not receded into the background.
The 25-year-old is on a different planet.
He is averaging 28.2 points and has scored at least 26 in every game. He has also carried the heaviest workload, playing 225 minutes while every other starter has missed at least one contest.
Maxey’s relationship with James did not begin when they became teammates. They worked out together during each of the previous six summers, giving James a close view of the habits behind Maxey’s ascent.
“He has never been late for a workout,” James said. “We worked out for six straight summers, and he’s never been late. He actually tried to beat me to a couple workouts, in which he was successful. That’s when I knew he was going to be great.”
James is now contributing to that growth from beside Maxey rather than from afar.
Maxey led the Sixers with 27 points Friday. When the Knicks began trapping him late, he did not attempt to split two defenders or force a shot. He found his teammates.
“When they trap me, I’m going to make the right play,” Maxey said. “Get the ball to Bron, get the ball to Joel, get the ball to VJ, whoever it is that’s open, and we’re going to play from there. We trust each other.”
His scoring remains essential, but the new roster allows Maxey to affect games without carrying every possession.
That support has not diminished his role. It has given him more options.
3. Edgecombe’s role changed, not his impact
Edgecombe does not have the same offensive responsibilities he carried last season. He does not need to.
His impact has appeared through difficult defensive assignments, rebounding, cutting around Embiid and making timely plays.
Edgecombe recorded 13 points and eight rebounds Friday. He also spent significant time guarding Brunson, who scored 24 points but needed 22 shots. He shot 2-for-7 when covered by the Sixer.
Brunson briefly beat him on the three-pointer that gave New York the lead. Edgecombe did not allow the make to linger.
“When you’re guarding the best player almost every night, what I’ve come to realize is that they’re going to make tough shots,” Edgecombe said. “I can’t hang my head down and get mad because he made a tough shot. He shot it over me. I kind of did my job.”
Before the possession that produced his corner three, Edgecombe told Maxey he planned to screen for him. New York sent two defenders toward Maxey, creating the opening Edgecombe expected.
“I literally told him right before we came out of the timeout, ‘I’m going to come up and set a screen for you, and we’re going to make something shake from there,’” Edgecombe said.
Nurse has already come to expect those moments.
“He just does that,” Nurse said. “It’s really who he is. We even talk about it, that he’s going to make plays in the crunch time of the game. He really is a playmaker in crunch time, and he did it again tonight.”
4. Simons changes the second-unit equation
Simons has provided another early difference: instant offense from the bench.
He scored 21 points Friday and made 5 of 8 three-pointers. He produced 13 points over the final 5½ minutes of the third quarter, stopping New York’s push and rebuilding the Sixers’ advantage.
It was his second consecutive 20-point performance.
According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank, Simons became the first Sixer to shoot at least 60 percent from three with five or more makes in consecutive games off the bench. Kyle Korver, Shake Milton and Tobias Harris are the only Sixers to do it in any role.
“When one person’s out, somebody else fills the void,” Simons said. “We’ve got so many guys that are capable.”
Maxey recognized Simons’ rhythm and adjusted his approach.
“I wasn’t even thinking about shooting the ball when he was out there,” Maxey said. “I was trying to find Ant, run plays for him, get him going.”
Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have combined to shoot 25 for 61 from three, a 41 percent clip. Nurse can ride Simons’ scoring when he catches fire or turn more heavily toward Caldwell-Pope’s defense and catch-and-shoot ability.
That flexibility becomes especially valuable when one of the stars is unavailable. Brown sat Friday with left patellar tendinopathy. Simons supplied the missing scoring without requiring the Sixers to rebuild their offense around him.
5. Embiid’s passing keeps the offense connected
Embiid shot 3 for 12 Friday. He still found a way to influence nearly every part of the game.
He finished with seven rebounds and seven assists, helping the Sixers record 26 assists on 37 made baskets. James added eight assists, giving Philadelphia 15 from its two biggest frontcourt playmakers.
Embiid is averaging 5.2 assists through five appearances, third among 53 qualified centers, according to NBA Courtside. The last two seasons in which he finished among the top three centers in assists per game were 2021-22 and 2022-23.
His scoring efficiency has not reached its usual level. His passing has helped prevent those difficult shooting nights from stopping the offense.
Embiid has increasingly operated as a hub when defenses crowd him. Edgecombe has become one of his primary cutting targets, while James, Caldwell-Pope and others have taken advantage of the attention directed toward the former MVP.
“He acts like he can’t pass, but he can pass,” Edgecombe said with a smile. “He doesn’t want to pass. Let me say that. But he can pass.”
Nurse said Philadelphia’s low-post possessions have consistently produced either a basket, a cut to the rim or an open three. That variety has helped the Sixers avoid relying exclusively on isolation possessions.
It has also helped them play faster without becoming careless.
The Sixers entered Friday ranked fifth in pace and average the second fewest turnovers per game — despite incorporating several new ball handlers and looking to create more early offense.
A roster this new could reasonably be expected to encounter more confusion. Instead, the Sixers have generally known where the next pass should go.
6. The defense gives everything else time
Philadelphia’s offense remains unfinished. Its defense has developed faster.
The Sixers have allowed 103.6 points per 100 possessions, the NBA’s second-best defensive rating. They held New York to 93 points and 40.7 percent shooting Friday. Five of their first six opponents have scored fewer than 110 points.
“The half court especially has been phenomenal,” Nurse said. “When it’s set, the physicality, the communication, the keeping the ball in front, the really not quitting on plays — it’s going to take you a long way.”
Dean Wade provided a fitting example Friday. He did not attempt a shot in nearly 27 minutes but recorded three steals and repeatedly handled difficult assignments.
“The stat sheet doesn’t always determine winning plays,” James said. “He can play for any team, and he’s always going to make winning plays.”
Nurse credited the group’s “intent, focus and energy from day one of training camp” for accelerating the process. James believes defense is the simplest place for a new roster to establish common ground.
“When you have such a new group coming together, I think the quickest thing to be able to get right is the defense,” James said. “The offense usually comes after figuring it out and being on the floor with one another.”
The Sixers have not established where they belong in the East. They have shown traits that can last beyond an encouraging opening week.
They can survive an off shooting night from Embiid. They can replace an absent scorer with production from the bench. They can trust Edgecombe in the final minute and rely on Maxey to carry a larger burden without dominating every possession.
Most importantly, when a game starts resembling the painful endings of previous seasons, they no longer appear resigned to the same result.
“The fact that we’ve been in some close games this year and we’ve actually prevailed — teams have made runs, teams have gotten up on us, we’ve gotten up on teams and they’ve come back, and we kept our cool — it’s very encouraging,” James said. “We’ll try to continue that trait going forward for the rest of the season.”
