NEW YORK – If there was ever a "get right" matchup for the stumbling Sixers – even with Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford sidelined – it was the 3-14 Brooklyn Nets, battling without leading scorers Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas.
Perhaps the Sixers were lucky to run into the right opponent on Friday night, though it should not entirely detract from a solid performance that featured Paul George's successful return from a right ankle sprain. But it is hard to be too enthused by a win like this one, especially when the prevailing takeaway is that the Sixers could be in serious trouble if they are without Andre Drummond moving forward. The veteran center went down with what appeared to be a painful right knee sprain in the second quarter. In the absence of Embiid for multiple weeks, Drummond has been the Sixers' savior inside and a beloved teammate. His loss would be a devastating blow for a team that has already suffered too many.
In less harrowing news, George scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting line in the first half alone; the Sixers opted to use nearly all of his minutes prior to intermission. George had total control on the offensive end and forced defenders to guard on their heels, a sight not seen enough during his Sixers tenure. Jared McCain's clear progression continued, too, with the Sixers building a healthy lead early on and coasting the rest of the way without even needing a dominant Tyrese Maxey scoring effort, en route to a 115-103 victory.
Takeaways from the Sixers' 10th win of the 2025-26 campaign, from the potential ramifications of a long-term Drummond absence to George's strong night and more:
Andre Drummond goes down
Drummond has been the toast of the Sixers lately, with teammates from all over the roster showering the 32-year-old with praise for his work on the glass, his confidence and his improved three-point shot. In the first quarter on Friday, Drummond knocked down his 10th triple of the season, doubling his previous career-high over any year of his career:
Drummond appeared primed for another impactful double-double, and then he went down under his own basket grabbing his right leg. The entire Sixers bench went across the court to huddle around him, with rookies Johni Broome and Hunter Sallis helping Drummond to the locker room. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype eventually reported that Drummond hyperextended his knee:
With Embiid's situation still very much uncertain – more on that later – Drummond's ability to not just produce but eat up significant chunks of playing time at the same time has been of enormous value to the Sixers, and it is not something anyone else on the roster can even come close to replacing.
If Drummond does miss time, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse will have a tremendous challenge ahead of him piecing together a 48-minute center rotation, whether Embiid's return is imminent or not. Adem Bona returned to action after a two-week absence, and even considering the second-year big's struggles before he sprained his right ankle it was an important return for a Sixers team desperate to find more production in the middle.
Nurse did not want to set expectations for Bona too high, but said "hopefully he can provide some energy and some balance for us" while spelling Drummond, whose recent workload has been enormous. Nurse believed that Bona providing sparks in short bursts would be more than enough to supplement Drummond's stability, but now that is no longer there.
Bona's first stint was particularly encouraging; he logged six minutes and change, made all three of his shots and collected a pair of blocks. But he also picked up a pair of fouls, and Bona's propensity for being whistled is perhaps the largest impediment preventing him from logging heavy minutes. By the time the first half of Friday's game ended, Nurse had four available bigs: Bona, two-way power forwards Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker, plus rookie tweener Johni Broome.
Prior to intermission, Bona had logged nine minutes, Barlow played seven minutes, Broome totaled five minutes and Walker was at four minutes. All four of them had three fouls.
If Drummond misses considerable time and Embiid does not return soon, Nurse will have no choice but to play the matchups, implore Bona to be more cautious with his fouls – even though it will come at the expense of his shot-blocking – trust Walker and Barlow to stand tall in small-ball lineups and give Broome an extended opportunity to find himself. It is not a pretty picture, but it is the best one available to the Sixers.
Paul George finds the right amount of aggression
George was extremely aggressive and assertive from the start on Friday, and his first half in this game was his best stretch of offensive basketball this season. But the key is that George played that way without being too ambitious. It is a balance he has at times struggled to strike during his Sixers tenure, which has been a bit surprising given George's reputation as one of the more lax star scorers in recent NBA history.
More and more over the last week and change, opposing defenses have been willing to load up against Maxey amid his torrid scoring stretch. The Sixers have been desperate for another player to be a credible off-the-dribble scoring threat capable of applying aggressive pressure.Quentin Grimes can fill that role at times, but when George is right he has an easier time inciting fear in opposing defenders and keeping the ball secure.
Particularly on nights with Embiid sidelined, George should be in attack mode early on to establish himself. It does not just mean breaking down defenders off the dribble, but also quickly stepping into spot-up triples like this one:
George's second half was far shorter than his first half; he remains on an unspecified minutes limit and played 14 minutes and 31 seconds in the first half to use up most of his availability. But his early burst was extremely encouraging, particularly given how infrequently he looked like a dangerous scorer last season.
Odds and ends
Some additional notes:
• For those wishing for an Embiid update, this is what Nurse said when asked about the former NBA MVP ahead of his ninth consecutive missed absence:
• A pretty shocking rotation twist from Nurse: instead of Jabari Walker, the ninth man in the Sixers' regular rotation in this one was Kyle Lowry, who has now made two appearances in Brooklyn this season and none elsewhere. Lowry was out there with McCain and Quentin Grimes, so he did not have any playmaking duties, but he did bring the ball up on a handful of occasions. The Sixers outscored Brooklyn by 11 points in nearly seven minutes with Lowry in the floor; he assisted a George triple and a 34-foot bomb from Maxey. Lowry logged three uneventful minutes to begin the fourth quarter, and did not register a shot in his 10 minutes or so.
Up next: The Sixers will return home and be back in action on Sunday evening against the Atlanta Hawks.
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