It just felt right for VJ Edgecombe's first "game" as a member of the Sixers to come against Ace Bailey.
In the teams' opening game of Salt Lake City Summer League on Saturday night, No. 3 overall pick Edgecombe led the Summer Sixers against a Jazz squad headlined by Bailey, the No. 5 overall pick whose refusal to meet with the Sixers last month caused plenty of headlines.
Days of studying the colors of various practice pinnies indicated that the Sixers would start Edgecombe in the backcourt alongside Jalen Hood-Schifino, with Justin Edwards on the wing and a double-big pairing of No. 35 overall pick Johni Broome and Adem Bona rounding out the starting five. That incredible investigative reporting turned out to win the day, as the Sixers indeed started those players — with Broome's first professional appearance officially coming at power forward.
Here is what stood out from the Summer Sixers' opening contest, a 93-89 road loss against the Jazz. Spoiler alert: it was Edgecombe, whose dazzling display was a sight to behold as he massively outperformed Bailey:
VJ Edgecombe excels in Summer League debut
Summer League is not about results. For players and teams, it is about skill development. For fans, it is about fun. Enter Edgecombe:
Watching that sort of coast-to-coast attack will be a whole lot of fun, not just in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas this month but for many years to come. It was Edgecombe's finest play, but there were other enticing flashes. He swished a pull-up jumper on the baseline in the first quarter, moments after scoring his first points on a smooth scoop layup. He also knocked down a spot-up triple late in the first half and converted multiple baskets as a cutter. He was excellent in transition, just as he was at Baylor University:
The variety was there for Edgecombe as a scorer in addition to his clear go-getter mentality. That is a good sign — even if it was accompanied by some of the live-dribble turnovers and mishaps one would expect for a player still working on their handle. Edgecombe's on-ball work remains a work in progress; luckily that is where the Sixers do not expect to need much help from him in the short-term.
Edgecombe's athleticism is often associated with his leaping ability, which helped enable him to impact the game as a shot-blocker while crashing the glass time and time again en route to a double-double.
But what stood out the most on Saturday was the pure speed Edgecombe played with going from end to end. Everything happens so quickly. Summer Sixers head coach T.J. DiLeo said after the team's first practice that he wanted the team to play fast, and Edgecombe was the engine of their pace. It is a massive challenge for opposing players to keep up with him in the open floor, as the Jazz learned the hard way.
In light of Edgecombe's outstanding all-around performance, it is worth noting once again that results in these games largely prove to be irrelevant when it comes to predicting NBA futures. But if you are watching Summer League, it should be for entertainment. And Edgecombe provides top-tier entertainment:
Johni Broome knocks down a pair of triples
Meanwhile, the soon-to-be 23-year-old Broome's polish was evident immediately. His first basket came from beyond the arc on a pick-and-pop with Edgecombe, a good sign for a player whose shooting numbers in college were not all that inspiring. Starting alongside Bona, Broome was forced to spend more time on the perimeter on both sides of the ball, but logged plenty of minutes at the five as well.
Broome knocked down another triple in the third quarter,and while nobody should make any grand declarations about his long-term shooting prospects because with a sample of just a few shots, any evidence of growth in that area will be encouraging for the Sixers. Broome's chances of becoming a viable option at the four and the five hinge on the development of his jumper.
Even as an incoming rookie, Broome was one of the older players on the floor in this one. He did not need much of an adjustment period, quickly going to work on the glass and interior. He was a steady force pretty much all along and played better than his box score line would indicate — particularly because of a few tough bounces on shots around the rim.
The only general outcome that would have been all that notable for Broome was if he looked incapable of keeping up with the speed of the game; frankly not even that would not have provided much insight.
Lack of ball-handling hurts Summer Sixers
If a "hole" can exist on a Summer League roster, for the Summer Sixers it is reliable ball-handling. In an environment like this, sometimes it is extremely important to just have a competent table-setter to ensure an offense remains organized and cohesive.
This team does not have that. Hood-Schifino, Saturday's starting point guard, is not a primary initiator by any means, clearly miscast in this role. He struggled mightily, oddly looking much less comfortable in Summer League than he did in NBA games for the Sixers. He struggled during that six-week audition, but his best performances came when he could operate as a score-first player, not a shot creator.
Meanwhile, Edgecombe's handle is arguably his biggest weakness to date. Judah Mintz is a more trustworthy ball-handler off the bench, but he also had significant issues getting things organized on Saturday. So for much of the game, the Summer Sixers struggled to overcome Utah's constant ball pressure — with an especially difficult stretch early in the game. Sometimes it led to turnovers and sometimes it just led to stagnated offense and bad shots.
How much does all of this matter? Ultimately, the answer is not very much. Even when things are made tougher for players like Edgecombe and Broome, it can be viewed as an inherent positive. But it is easy to imagine DiLeo experiencing some frustration trying to get his team into any sort of offensive flow.
Odds and ends
Some more notes from the Sixers' opener in Salt Lake City:
• The best play of this game for the Summer Sixers might have been their very first basket.
Bona looking entirely too good for Summer League would be a positive sign, and he exhibited a remarkable combination of power and speed which continually overwhelmed the Jazz.
Bona kicked off the scoring with one of the more powerful rolls to the rim you will ever see, punctuated by an emphatic slam:
Bona's physical gifts were on display all night; he was constantly around the basket and finishing with authority. He did collect a comical number of fouls, but he played with far more physicality in this game than he would on an NBA floor given that a player only fouls out if they commit 10 personals in Summer League action.
• Tasked with defending Bailey to begin the game was Edwards, who held up well against the former Rutgers star while also playing with composure on the offensive end despite shots not going in. Edwards did not shoot well; Bailey shot horribly. Edwards will likely not play as many minutes this month as rookies or players competing for jobs as his standing within the Sixers' future is firm.
• Bailey's first basket came when he put back his own miss driving against Edgecombe, who responded with his own first bucket:
• The only notable absence from the rotation on Saturday was Hunter Sallis, an undrafted rookie quickly signed to a two-way deal by the Sixers.According to Tony Jones of The Athletic in Utah, Sallis was ruled out for the game with an ankle sprain, but is merely day-to-day and is expected to make his debut on Monday or Tuesday before the Summer Sixers depart Salt Lake City for Las Vegas.
• Utah's roster was loaded by Summer League standards, and that included old friend Jaden Springer coming off the bench. The former first-round pick was salary dumped by the Boston Celtics last year, but quickly landed in Utah and earned a multi-year contract with the Jazz.
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