2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22.5
VJ Edgecombe – 12
Joel Embiid – 10.5
Paul George – 8
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 5
Justin Edwards – 4
Quentin Grimes – 3
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Cam Payne – 1
Jabari Walker – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1
Well, that wasn’t great.
The Philadelphia 76ers fell 116-93 to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday evening. The game was the close of the 15th of 16 back-to-backs for the Sixers this season after they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves just last night. Unfortunately, the Sixers looked like a team on the end of a back-to-back.
Joel Embiid was out on Saturday for oblique injury management and illness (he hadn’t played both legs of any back-to-back this season, though). The Pistons were without Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart.
It’s a testament to the Pistons’ depth how good they still are even without a player like Cunningham. Every time the Sixers would pull close to them, Detroit would suddenly have a burst of scoring to stretch their lead again. For the first half, Philadelphia were doing an alright job hanging in and battling back and forth.
The third quarter, as it has been so many times this season, was a different story. The Sixers started falling victim more often to the Pistons defense, committing a number of turnovers (some relatively unforced, even) while the Detroit offense continued to cook. In what truly felt like one fell swoop, the Sixers were suddenly down nearly 20 points. The Sixers were never able to recover in any meaningful way from then on.
With tonight’s loss, Philadelphia falls to the No. 7 seed in the East at least temporarily, now half a game behind the Toronto Raptors who did not play on Saturday. The Pistons, meanwhile, clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference with their victory over the Sixers.
The Sixers get a day to rest on Sunday before getting back to work on Monday visiting the San Antonio Spurs. Just four games remain.
Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.
Paul George: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Paul George was available to play tonight after initially being listed as probable. Good thing, too, because he went right back to work doing exactly what he’s been able to do since returning from suspension: pretty much whatever he wants. He scored nine points in the first four minutes of the game by way of a catch-and-shoot three and a few mid-range jumpers. The only thing that slowed PG down was picking up two early fouls in the first. It didn’t stop him for long, however, with George reentering the game to start the second quarter and sinking yet another catch-and-shoot three in the first two minutes. By halftime, he was leading the field with 18 points on 6-for-7 field goal and 3-for-4 long range shooting in just under 14 and a half minutes on the floor.
PG’s night slowed down drastically from there as did the night for all of the Sixers, but it was still a good sign to see how well George is playing coming out of 25 games sidelined due to suspension.
George finished the game with 20 points on 7-for-14 field goal and 3-for-5 three-point shooting. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Tyrese Maxey hit a number of really tough twos in the first and led the Sixers with 14 points after one on 5-for-8 field goal shooting (1-for-2 from long range). That being said, Maxey was another Sixer hamstrung by early fouls, picking up two in the first frame (and he was NOT happy about it). He went scoreless in the second, but fortunately PG and Edgecombe picked up in the slack in that frame.
As the game went on, Maxey seemed to start to fall out of sorts. Not sure if it was the fatigue of playing last night, a testament to the Detroit defense, or maybe a bit of both, but Maxey struggled in the third frame with some sloppiness and missed shots. His body language and facial expressions seemed to match the issue, with Maxey looking tired and/or frustrated quite a bit as things went on. He struggled, and the Sixers struggled without his offensive production setting the tone and pace the way it typically does.
Nevertheless, Maxey still found ways to chip in offensively here and there, and it added up. Despite what could probably be considered a lackluster game by Maxey’s standards, he still led the Sixers with 23 points. He also finished the game with one rebound, one assist and one steal.
VJ Edgecombe: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block
It took a little bit for the rookie to get going tonight, posting just two points on 1-for-4 field goal shooting in the first frame, but he seemed to lock in quick once the second came around. Edgecombe began relying more on his speed and footwork and suddenly the shots started falling, totaling 11 points on 4-for-5 field goal shooting in the second quarter.
It just continues to be impressive to see the shots that the rookie is able to create for himself even against the better teams in the NBA. It doesn’t seem to matter how many defenders are right in his face, Edgecombe is able to use his athleticism and quick footwork to create just enough space that he’s able to sink buckets. Sometimes, I think we even take for granted just how good Edgecombe looks at just 20 years old, still in his first year as a professional. Sure, his efficiency shooting still leaves some to be desired on nights like tonight (he shot just 7-for-18 from the floor), but there’s so many positives to this rookie’s game night in and night out that it’s easier to have some grace for that… especially since no one else on the team can seem to shoot either at times.
The rookie finished with 19 points, six rebounds (three offensive), one assist, two steals and a block.
Adem Bona: 10 points (5-for-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Nick Nurse opted to start Andre Drummond instead of Adem Bona in place of the absent Embiid tonight, but Bona made the most of his minutes on the floor. He started his first stint with a tap-in put-back, something we have seen him do plenty of times. Then, however, he found success in a much different way: putting some genuinely nice footwork moves on Jalen Duren to find buckets. It was nothing incredibly wild, but it was really unexpected from someone we typically don’t see that from like Bona. Nevertheless, it paid off with six points on 3-for-3 field goal shooting in the first half (in addition to an offensive board and two assists).
Bona continued his efforts in the second half, seemingly having a lot more success against the Pistons (both offensively and defensively) than Drummond was able to at any point.
Bona finished the game with 10 points on perfect 5-for-5 field goal shooting with four rebounds (three offensive) and two assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
