Sixers Week One Recap, and a Preview Into Week Two of the 76ers Season

The Sixers close out the opening week of the NBA season with a much-needed win vs the Indiana Pacers.

Corey Chmara

The Philadelphia 76ers opened up their season shorthanded, with Joel Embiid and Paul George both missing the first three games of the season due to knee injuries. Philly opened up their season with a 124-109 loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. Damian Lillard (30 points) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (25 points) led the way for Milwaukee and were ultimately too much for the 76ers to keep up with scoring-wise, which is understandable considering the Sixers were without two of their three main guys. Tyrese Maxey led with the way vs Milwaukee with 25 points, shooting 10-31 on field goal attempts. Kelly Oubre also had a solid game with 21 points, although he had plus-minus of -20, the lowest on the team. Other players such as Andre Drummond (10 points, 13 reb.), Caleb Martin (12 points, 9 reb), Guerschon Yabusele (10 points), and Kyle Lowry (13 points, 6 ast.) all contributed and ultimately showed that the Sixers have legit bench depth, something they haven't really had in past seasons. 

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

After a disappointing loss to Milwaukee, the Sixers returned to action Friday night in Toronto, but fell short again. Philly was without Embiid and George again, meanwhile the Raptors were without RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, among others. The Raptors held Philly to 38% shooting from the field and gave Tyrese Maxey fits as he was held to 24 points, but on an abysmal 6-23 shooting performance. For Toronto, Scottie Barnes had 27 points and that was the edge as the Sixers dropped their second game of the season, 115-107. 

On Sunday, the Sixers finally got a win (118-114) in a hectic back and forth game vs the Indiana Pacers. The game went to overtime after an absurd double-clutch three pointer from Tyrese Haliburton, a shot that only goes in against the Sixers. But instead of talking about the Tyrese on Indiana, the headline from the game was the Tyrese on Philly. Tyrese Maxey had 45 points, the most points of any player in the NBA so far this season. Tyrese Maxey started off the game very slow, shooting tough shots and just couldn't really get anything to fall. He eventually found his groove and was attacking more in the paint, which is something he excels in. Although Maxey had 45 points, he still didn't look great which is a crazy thing to say, considering he had 45. 

Through three games, Tyrese Maxey is shooting just 29.6% from the field and 19% from three. While these numbers are poor, it's still exciting to see him be the first option for a bit. With Joel Embiid and Paul George are both injury-prone and essentially on a "games restriction," its crucial that Maxey has some experience as the first option this season. 

 (Marc Lebryk)

On the other hand, Kelly Oubre has been hooping to start off   the 24-25 campaign. Oubre is averaging 24.5 ppg, on 48.6% shooting and has looked extremely locked in on both offense and defense. Caleb Martin has also looked like an elite role player so far in his time with the Sixers. He's averaging 11.5 ppg, but his rebound totals are what's been the most impressive thing so far this season. Martin is only 6'5, but he's averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. We know Nick Nurse likes his spark off the bench but when the 76ers are fully healthy he definitely should be starting, if not playing at least 30+ minutes a night. 

My ideal lineup consists of Maxey, Martin, George, Oubre, and Embiid, a lineup that can score, defend, shoot, rebound, etc. Players such as Yabusele, Lowry, Drummond, and Eric Gordon have all impressed me as well, as they should only continue to get better when Embiid and Paul George return. 

Jared McCain hasn't really done much for the Sixers yet, however when he's played he's looked pretty solid. Guerschon Yabusele has also played much more than I anticipated to start the season, but that's warranted with all the injuries on the team. 

The Sixers have a two day break and then return to action at home on Wednesday, October 30th, vs the Detroit Pistons. We don't know yet if Joel Embiid and/or Paul George will play, but it's the homecoming of former Sixers' Tobias Harris and Paul Reed. There are tons of storylines in this game, especially if Paul George can make his Sixers debut or Embiid makes his season debut. 

Following Wednesday's game vs Detroit, the Sixers have another two day break before they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to town on Saturday night, who always seem to give the Sixers fits when they matchup. 

With only two games this week for the Sixers, it's ideal for Paul George and Joel Embiid to continue progressing towards playing and just get everybody else some rest. You obviously don't want to force anything, but it would be cool to get both superstars back on the court so we can get a good feel of what this team is about.

Sitting at 1-2 after the first week isn't great, but you can't really be upset or judge anything this early into the season, obviously without Paul George and Joel Embiid playing.