PHILADELPHIA – Maybe 82-0 was just a bit unrealistic.
For the first time in 2025-26, the Sixers lost on Friday night, dropping the opener of their NBA Cup Group Play slate, 109-108, to the Boston Celtics. They fell to 4-1.
The Sixers attempted to stage yet another remarkable comeback, and they did completely erase a 24-point deficit at one point. But on Friday, their defense was not good enough to win without out-of-this-world offensive production, and they did not have another scoring masterclass in them. They fought until the very end – again – but this time, they did not have enough. They never led despite bringing themselves to one shot away from stealing it at the end.
Takeaways from Friday night's action:
Sixers' significant defensive struggles continue
There is no way around it: the Sixers have fielded a competitive NBA-caliber defense in just a small number of quarters out of the 20 they have played in this season. For the most part, opposing offenses of varying calibers have been able to accomplish everything they want against this team. Boston initiated a three-point shooting barrage early in the game that might have taken place no matter how the Sixers defended, but on Friday night the Sixers' lack of defensive aptitude in the first half sunk them. Boston scored 68 points in the first half, and the Sixers turned out to have dug themselves too deep of a hole. It was a continuation of everything they had already put on tape.
Even after they improved to 4-0, it was clear that the Sixers were not doing enough guarding to keep winning at this pace. To some degree, it is a testament to how incredible their offense has been that the Sixers were even competitive in four consecutive games.
"We've got some challenges, there's no doubt about it," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the team's practice on Thursday. "We're trying to play to our strengths and cover up some of the challenges as best we can. I think there's going to be a lot of room for improvement... We're still learning about it. The games really help speed that learning process up. So there's lots of tweaks, lots of polish, schematically, there's lots of things we're seeing we need to add and subtract as we go."
Among those key challenges is the team's tendency to rely on undersized lineups. Three of the five best players on this team right now are guards; at full strength it will be four of the six best players who are suited for backcourt roles. And to be fair, three-guard lineups with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes were outstanding in the team's first four contests because there is so much offensive firepower within those units. But a balance is going to have to be struck, because scoring a lot of points does not mean all that much without getting stops.
Of course, the eventual return of Paul George will help here, particularly as the Sixers look for infusions of size without disrupting their floor spacing. If the nine-time All-Star is willing to cede much of his responsibility as a scorer and ball-handler to the aforementioned guards (plus Jared McCain) and buy into a defensive-oriented mindset, he could be enormously valuable to this group, even if it restricts his ability to make a salary exceeding $50 million look all that wise.
But ultimately, the Sixers have to maximize their talent level, and that is going to lead to a lot of smaller lineups. It is up to the players and coaches to find ways to make it a manageable fit on that end of the floor, because otherwise their tremendous offensive exploits will not be maximized.
VJ Edgecombe finding so many ways to impact winning
What is even more impressive than Edgecombe's outstanding scoring production through five NBA games is how many ways he has proved capable of helping the Sixers outside of putting the ball in the basket. Edgecombe's on-ball prowess has been such a revelation that perhaps many have forgotten that he came into the NBA expected to immediately help a team in other facets of the game. That has held true.
Edgecombe's passing is far more advanced than anticipated, and his absurd athletic capabilities have enabled him to soar in for critical rebounds time and time again. His rebounding numbers look good and still likely do not tell the full story; so many of his boards have been contested and in important moments. Edgecombe has been reliable as a spot-up three-point shooter, and his transition scoring has been tantalizing; this finish was a favorite of Friday's crowd:
He is an engaged, energetic defender and Nurse has had no qualms about putting him on some very good offensive players and asking him to turn the water off. Edgecombe turned in plenty of good defensive possessions on Friday night against each member of Boston's excellent guard trio of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons.
While it was jaw-dropping to watch Edgecombe dominate the ball and prove he has earned the right to do so early on, it is just as impressive for a 20-year-old rookie to immediately pivot to an off-ball role and show they have so many different pathways to impacting any given possession on either end of the floor.
Odds and ends
Some additional notes:
• Jared McCain (thumb) was one of three Sixers sidelined in this game – George and Dominick Barlow were the others – but the 21-year-old guard continues to make strides in his recovery after his surgery about a month ago. The latest indication of progress: McCain went through an intense pregame warmup routine on Friday.
• After 20 horrid minutes to begin this game – the Sixers' offense was merely okay and their defense was dreadful – Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond provided some life. Edgecombe knocked down a triple and finished an acrobatic and-one layup in transition, Oubre converted multiple impressive rim finishes and Drummond knocked down a corner three, and a terrific four-minute burst to close the half enabled the Sixers to shrink the lead to 11 points at intermission. That run provided what was far and away the most excitement in the building during the first half.
• It very much feels like Nurse's plan at backup center when Embiid plays is to ride the hot hand. On basically any occasion in which Drummond or Adem Bona has started producing, Nurse has just opted to ride them for a while. Nurse has talked before about empowering his situational pieces when he can find the right spot for them to play for a prolonged stretch. It is part of the give and take that comes with players in roles that might limit their playing time.
Up next: The Sixers will be back in action on the road on Sunday evening when they take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
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