Sixers ‘see how good we can be,' look like they might have fun road ahead originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
VJ Edgecombe surely spoke for just about everyone in the cramped visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden when he paused during the middle of his media scrum with an admission.
“I don’t even know what today is,” Edgecombe said.
Whatever the day — Saturday, it turns out — Edgecombe’s first long NBA road trip ended in fun fashion. No one minded thinking about the Sixers’ road ahead, too.
The 19-14 Sixers concluded their five-game trip with three straight wins. There was minimal daydreaming required for those inclined to picture a best-case playoff scenario where the Sixers’ stars are healthy, their backcourt a youthful, joyful powerhouse, their role players ready and able to do valuable, unglamorous jobs.
It’s no coincidence that only Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) have been sidelined lately.
“I think for three games in a row, we’ve had the same lineup,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “You’d have to check your notes, that might be a record for us. … I really don’t remember that happening for a long time. So we’ll take that, and we can hopefully get to four on Monday (vs. the Nuggets).”
Both Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey made many special plays on both ends of the floor in Saturday’s victory over the Knicks. They also appeared tireless and sometimes even immune to misses. The pair totaled 62 points on 24-for-38 shooting. Joel Embiid joined them in the highly efficient department with 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
“I think the main thing is we see how good we can be when we’re gelling,” Edgecombe said, “when everybody’s touching the rock, when everybody’s playing hard, when everybody’s bought into their role. I think we see how good we can be.”
Embiid was in a tongue-in-cheek mood after the game. The seven-time All-Star’s final make was his first dunk all season, an unguarded flush with 24.9 seconds left. He raised his arms, grinned and ran down the floor with one finger in the air.
“Feels good,” Embiid said. “Easy one. I wish it would’ve been one off the backboard. That’s the next step.”
In his career, Embiid has a 17-4 regular-season record against the Knicks. He’s heard plenty of boos over the years in New York.
“It’s always good to be here and talk back to the fans,” he said. “They were quiet today, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re losing the whole game. But I always have fun going back and forth with them. Sometimes it’s good to be liked, sometimes it’s good to be hated.”
As Embiid himself would acknowledge, nothing is ever set in stone for him and the Sixers. He’s played very well during the team’s three-game streak — 27.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists per contest — but sustained health has been elusive since Embiid suffered a left knee lateral meniscus tear in late January of 2024. Going back much further, he knows all about strange, sad plot twists that have derailed promising seasons.
That doesn’t mean the Sixers are foolish to like how they’re playing and believe they can keep improving.
After enduring a nightmare of a season, they’re on track to win far more than 24 games.
“It’s super rewarding, given the season we had last year and everything we had to deal with — the injuries, new players, just gaining rhythm with one another,” Paul George said. “This year we’ve still been battling injuries and have still had some unfortunate luck on that side, but I think the biggest difference is we just feel better as a group. We trust in the process of this team. … You just naturally gain camaraderie and I think it’s carrying over.
“I think it’s safe to say everyone in this locker room is starting to enjoy being out on that floor, playing on both ends. We’re just gelling. … Everything that we’ve been trying to connect, it’s translating on the court.”
Does Nurse find the recent success satisfying after a year full of hardship exception signings and undermanned, outmatched nights?
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “I told you at the start of the season that we were in a big hole we had to dig out of. We’re still digging. Still, conditioning, rhythm, health can get a little better. I think we just build on that.”
Eric Samulski
