On Saturday morning, the Sixers wrapped up their preseason trip to Abu Dhabi with the second of two exhibitions against the New York Knicks. The team will soon return home, with close to a full week of practice availability before their next preseason contest on Oct. 10.
The Sixers ran back their starting lineup from Thursday's preseason opener, with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt and Kelly Oubre Jr., Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona in the frontcourt.
Joel Embiid, Paul George, Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain, Trendon Watford and Kyle Lowry all remained out for the Sixers while New York was much closer to full strength, as Josh Hart was the only key Knicks player sidelined.
One note on each member of the Sixers' regular rotation as the team fell to New York on Saturday, 112-104:
Tyrese Maxey
Maxey played the entire first quarter; most of those minutes came next to Edgecombe but some of them came next to another point guard, Kennedy Chandler. Chandler is not going to be on the Sixers' standard roster, so it is not as if the Sixers are focused on developing Maxey's chemistry with the 23-year-old like they are with Edgecombe.
Perhaps, then, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse is doing his best to prepare Maxey for what his role might be on a team that includes all three of Edgecombe, McCain and Grimes. Maxey being weaponized off the ball should be part of the Sixers' plans; it would diversify the team's offensive portfolio and prevent Maxey from being overburdened as a playmaker.
Another player who can help in that regard will be Watford, a 6-foot-9 point forward of sorts whose long-time friendship with Maxey should help the pair develop a strong on-court rapport.
VJ Edgecombe
Thursday's game offered many glimpses into Edgecombe's strengths and weaknesses. One of those strengths is a combination of tantalizing athleticism and complete fearlessness. Edgecombe went for a massive poster over Mitchell Robinson on Thursday and came up just short, but on Saturday he threw down a nasty slam early on over OG Anunoby:
Edgecombe will experience plenty of growing pains at the NBA level, particularly on offense as a developing shooter and suspect ball-handler. But the No. 3 overall pick's tremendous explosiveness will create opportunities for him that do not exist for most players, including these major dunks.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
It is worth wondering how much of a fit Edgecombe and Oubre are. They are both supreme athletes with defensive chops and cutting skills. Both players can make things happen around the rim, too. But they are also both off-ball perimeter players that defenses will comfortably help off of to apply more pressure to players like Maxey, Embiid and George on drives to the basket.
Certainly, Edgecombe and Oubre should share the floor at certain times; Oubre is the team's best healthy wing and Edgecombe's playing time should be maximized. But perhaps some sort of staggering of their minutes might make sense, as the Sixers would ensure they have a high-level athlete on the floor at most or all times while not consistently putting out units with poor spacing.
Dominick Barlow
Edgecombe's first assist of the game came on a strong drive-and-kick to Barlow, who calmly drained a triple from the left corner. The New Jersey native hit another shot from that corner early in the second quarter.
Barlow, 22, has drawn rave reviews early on for his rebounding, mobility and overall activity. Barlow said at Media Day last Friday that improving his three-point shot has been a priority; he is a career 25.0 percent long-range shooter on extremely low volume across three NBA seasons.
"Relentless energy," Barlow said. "Play the game really hard. Defend multiple positions. Worked a lot on shooting the basketball this summer. Do some things off the bounce, and just being a connector, playing that short-roll hub kind of position... Just understanding that and how I can help guys continue to do what they do."
Adem Bona
For the second straight game, Bona picked up an early pair of fouls. It is a concern for the second-year center, whose ability to step into a prominent role behind Embiid will, to a large degree, hinge on his ability to stay out of foul trouble and make sound decisions as a rim protector on a regular basis.
The 2024-25 Sixers season spiraling into chaos arguably benefitted Bona more than any other player; he entered the NBA raw with tremendous tools but the need for major polish. He neared 1,000 minutes by the end of the campaign, as player development became the Sixers' focus.
Bona's growth from the start of the year to the end of it was significant, and he had a long and productive summer. But he needs to find a way to strike a balance between aggressiveness as a shot-blocker and discipline as an interior defender, all while battling some strength disadvantages.
Justin Edwards
Edwards had a brutal preseason opener, missing all eight of his shots and posting an 0-for-7 line from beyond the arc. His offensive struggles persisted on Saturday.
While Edwards' production can be powered by his defense and feel for the game, part of that feel for the game shows its value in his quick decision-making as a spot-up shooter. He plays with a unique level of decisiveness that has endeared himself to Sixers coaches.
Ultimately, shots are going to have to go in for a player whose jumper has never been a strength. Edwards can be a volume over accuracy sort of player -- Oubre has been valuable in that mold for years -- but if he ends up hovering around 30 percent from beyond the arc as Oubre often has, it would be a disappointment for the hometown product after he shot 36.5 percent on three-point tries as an NBA rookie.
Jabari Walker
The Sixers' pair of games represented a disappointing stretch for Walker, the clear frontrunner to emerge from the Sixers' collection of two-way players into the rotation and onto an eventual standard contract before training camp began. Now that could be Barlow, a similar player from a positional perspective but a much different one in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
Walker will need to reliably knock down spot-up triples and make an impact on the offensive glass to stick, on top of maximizing his ability as a defender. Two poor preseason games should not be cause for alarm on Walker, but this is an important time for him to showcase his skills with a real avenue to earn minutes due to George's knee issues.
Andre Drummond
Bona's early fouling issues underscore how important Drummond is to this entire operation. It is easy to forget about someone not ticketed for rotation minutes when the Sixers are fully healthy, but the fact of the matter is Drummond is more likely to play than not on an average night. Bona possesses real upside that Drummond cannot reach, but there is a case to be made that the veteran's stellar rebounding alone makes him a more stable presence.
Whether one wants to believe in Drummond bouncing back or not, the Sixers will be reliant on him doing in their quest to piece together a reasonable center rotation behind Embiid. Drummond's first full season with the Sixers was looking like a massive disappointment even before a toe injury derailed his final four months. Drummond's toe is in much better shape now, and his mobility is also improved because of improved overall condition. Nurse said last week that he believes Drummond is 20 pounds lighter than he was during training camp last year.
Kennedy Chandler
Chandler, a late-offseason Exhibit 10 signee, will likely end up with the Delaware Blue Coats this season. During the preseason, his role is to help the Sixers get through games with enough viable ball-handling.
Chandler played with the Houston Rockets during the 2025 NBA Summer League, but his speed with the ball and defensive pressure would have provided a real lift to a Summer Sixers team that often struggled to initiate offense because of a lack of ball-handlers.Johni Broome
Broome did not check into the game until the middle of the second quarter -- on Thursday, he entered earlier because Bona and Drummond had both gotten into foul trouble. Broome quickly got to work, though, converting a pair of buckets in the paint in which his impressive touch around the rim was evident. The Sixers and Broome believe the No. 35 overall pick will develop into a viable three-point shooter despite very lackluster results from long range and the free throw line in college; part of that belief stems from his touch on shorter-range looks.
While Broome has largely been discussed as a center, it is not out of the question that he could fit into the Sixers' hole at power forward on occasion. The development of his shooting will be critical there. After the Sixers selected Broome, draft expert Maxwell Baumbach expressed optimism to PhillyVoice about his ability to coexist with Embiid at the four.
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