The Sixers opened their preseason on Monday night, hosting former Sixer second-round pick Jonah Bolden and the New Zealand Breakers in the first of six exhibitions.
Joel Embiid and Paul George rested for the Sixers, but the rest of the roster was listed as available for this contest. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse started Tyrese Maxey, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr., Caleb Martin and Andre Drummond.
"You get a chance to play somebody else after practicing for a week," Nurse said before the game when asked what the preseason offers his team. Nurse said the team's points of emphasis on both ends of the floor will be a bit more broad than they would be for a regular season game.
Here is what jumped out from the Sixers' first official game of the 2024-25 season, a 139-84 steamrolling of the Breakers:
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First Quarter
• Much has been made of Martin being the Sixers' power forward despite his reputation as a stopper against wings and guards. While Martin does have the requisite strength and physicality to hold his own at the four, he is at his best when hounding perimeter threats. Interestingly enough, to open the game, Nurse had Martin tracking New Zealand's small point guard, with Oubre defending Bolden, the Breakers' power forward. After a few minutes, Nurse flipped that assignment. This underscores the optionality Nurse should have defensively on a team filled with two-way wings.
• Speaking of Bolden, the athletic big found himself with a pair of fouls after just 95 seconds of play -- painfully reminiscent of one of the key issues that plagued him during his time in Philadelphia.
• The Sixers opened the game on a 13-1 run, forcing a Breakers timeout after three minutes and 32 seconds of play. One highlight: Drummond powering his way into an offensive rebound and kicking the ball out to Gordon, who spotted up with no hesitation and knocked down a long triple from the top of the key.
Drummond and Gordon figure to be fixtures of Nurse's second unit, and they both showed why on this play.
• Moments later, a stunning turn of events: Gordon drove to the basket and kicked the ball out to Drummond, who knocked down a corner triple. Entering this year, Drummond has made 15 total three-pointers in 12 NBA seasons -- and has not made one since 2019-20.
• With Embiid not playing and Drummond in the starting lineup, the Sixers' backup center was not rookie Adem Bona. Instead, Guerschon Yabusele got the nod. Nurse indicated pregame that Yabusele and KJ Martin were both players he would be comfortable using at the five if needed. Bona's potential is obvious, but so are his areas for improvement. Look for Yabusele and KJ Martin to be ahead of Bona in the pecking order at center for the time being.
• Maxey had nothing to prove during the first quarter of a preseason game against a non-NBA team, but that did not stop him from attacking. Maxey played the entire opening frame and dominated, posting 15 points while shooting 5-7 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range -- including a few tough movement threes -- while also dishing out three assists.
Maxey did not play for the remaining three quarters after his excellent showing to begin the game.
Second Quarter
• Jared McCain entered the game to begin the second quarter. The rookie shared the floor with Kyle Lowry, allowing him to play in an off-ball role as he got his feet wet. McCain got a strong ovation from the Philadelphia crowd as he stepped onto on NBA floor for the first time. The Duke product was the talk of Sixers training camp in The Bahamas.
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McCain's first point of the game came on a technical free throw after the Breakers were charged with their second delay of game violation in 15 minutes. Preseason for everybody!
McCain knocked down a step-back triple from the left wing for his first basket, flashing the skill that convinced the Sixers he was worth the No. 16 overall pick last June.
McCain clearly found a rhythm, because moments later he knocked down triples on back-to-back possessions. The first was a no-dip shot -- McCain caught the ball around his head and launched from the same spot. This is an incredibly difficult skill to master -- the only Sixer who could do it in recent years was Nic Batum -- but McCain has been working at it.
• Don't forget about Ricky Council IV. The high-flying wing who wants to make a major leap in his second NBA season had a few standout plays in transition, including a dunk before which he split a pair of defenders while in the air. If Council receives a fair share of minutes in any game, he will make at least one play that impresses.
Moments later, Council knocked down a pull-up, above-the-break triple. The Sixers will take that 10 times out of 10.
• Yabusele had three early buckets in this one, and he can thank Lowry. The veteran point guard -- a weapon for the Sixers because of his skills and his brain -- kept putting the ball where only Yabusele could get it on plays where the Frenchman found himself matched up with a guard in the paint.
Third Quarter
• Nurse opened the second half with McCain, Council, KJ Martin, Yabusele and veteran point guard Reggie Jackson (time will tell if it is meaningful that Jackson did not play in the first half while two-way point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. saw seven minutes of action before intermission). Jackson scored the team's first points of the half with a pair of free throws, the Sixers' first basket of the half came on a top-of-the-key triple by Yabusele, and then Jackson followed it up with one of his own.
In 10 minutes in the third quarter, Jackson scored 15 points and collected a pair of assists, shooting 5-7 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc.
Jackson is an established NBA veteran with an impressive resume, but it is fair to wonder whether for this team in particular, he offers more value than Dowtin. Jackson is a tough shot-maker and a more credible threat to score than Dowtin, but Dowtin has no apparent weaknesses in his game.
• Bona checked into the game for the first time midway through the third quarter, joined by two-way guard Lester Quinones. They were soon followed by the Sixers' third and final two-way player, rookie wing Justin Edwards. Bona's first basket came on an and-one finish around the rim, courtesy of a strong drive and drop-off from Dowtin.
Fourth Quarter
• Dowtin took command of the offense early on in the fourth quarter, sharing the floor with McCain, Quinones, Edwards and Bona. He used his effective change-of-pace style -- Nurse called it "herky-jerk" last week -- to get downhill and finish at the rim or draw fouls. Dowtin is perfectly aware of what he needs to do in order to create advantages without particularly notable explosiveness.
Dowtin discussed his next steps, goals for the season and unique relationship with Nurse in a one-on-one conversation with PhillyVoice last week:
• Quinones' first nine minutes or so were largely uneventful, but about three and a half minutes into the fourth quarter he emphatically blocked a jumper, ran the floor and received an assist from Edwards on a transition layup.
Quinones is not just someone who posts impressive box score stats in G League games; he has helped the Golden State Warriors in NBA games before. The path to minutes for the Sixers looks murky for Quinones at the moment, but he and Dowtin are both capable of helping the Sixers if they need it.
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