3 76ers takeaways from preseason win vs. Nets

In their final home game of the preseason, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Brooklyn Nets. The Sixers pulled out the win by a final score of 117-95, leading for most of the contest.

After undergoing an MRI on his knee, Paul George joined Joel Embiid on the list of 76ers ruled out for the rest of the preseason. Nick Nurse said there’s still a chance that he will be available for the season opener and that he’ll have a better idea of the statuses for him and Joel Embiid by Tuesday at the latest. Kyle Lowry was also held out of this game, along with former Sixer Ben Simmons. KJ Martin started while Caleb Martin came off the bench again.

Here are three takeaways from the Sixers’ preseason clash with the Nets.

1. Tyrese Maxey’s lobs and stepbacks

Maxey wasn’t necessarily hunting highlights in this game. But as it turned out, big-time plays became the open ones for him during his minutes. He threw a handful of lobs and whipped out stepback three-point attempts, flashing some of his notable improvements on his way to seven points (on 2-7 shooting) and five assists in 16 minutes.

At media day, Maxey explained how he worked on his playmaking during the offseason. It showed as he dished out wonderfully accurate alley-oops to Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin. He surprisingly abandoned this pass on a fast break with Ricky Council IV, opting for a bounce pass through traffic that pinballed off Council’s legs. But then he got back to business with another fast-break lob to KJ.

As for his stepback, Maxey’s shot release is quicker and his footwork is precise. It looks like a shot he’s excelled at for years. He made just one of his three attempts on this shot in this game but the groundwork has been laid for a barrage of stepbacks coming in the future. Every rep makes him more equipped to launch ’em as the season rolls along.

Maxey getting used to nights without Embiid and George will be helpful as the Sixers navigate the veterans’ health cautiously throughout the season. Although Philly would surely prefer to stagger their off nights, thus giving Maxey someone to lean on, it’s tough to imagine it working out just like the team wants it. Especially in the preseason, getting more reps as the indisputable top threat in the offense will help Maxey.

2. Oubre gets the tempo going

Nick Nurse wants the 76ers to play fast and push the ball ahead as often as possible. Whether he’ll get those results is unknown — he discussed a desire to see more tempo last season but didn’t get it. What’s clear right now, though, is that he has the pieces to assemble a pace-pushing puzzle.

Oubre spearheaded the charge to push the pace early in the game, earning himself two breakaway dunks and a trip to the foul line after the Sixers defense forced a turnover. He even won the battle for a lob from Maxey over Martin, hugging it out with him after the play. Even when Oubre collected a rebound along the baseline, he instantly looked ahead to get the ball up the court. He found Reggie Jackson, who passed it ahead to a cutting Guerschon Yabusele, who drew a shooting foul.

Unless Oubre makes a stark improvement as a three-point shooter, being the recipient of outlet passes and the endpoint on fast breaks will be his biggest contribution on offense to the Sixers. He’s got the athleticism and size to do some damage in the open court, fight his way to the free-throw line and serve as a great pass-catcher. The scale between his shots in transition and in the half-court should tip as heavily toward the former as possible.

Oubre’s night was made even better by the fact that he made multiple contested, off-the-dribble threes. He was the only player to post double-digit points at halftime, tallying 18 on 5-8 shooting from the field, 2-3 from deep and 6-7 shooting from the foul line.

3. More lineup tinkering

Nurse again brought Caleb Martin off the bench, just as he did in the Sixers’ win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. He remained firmly in the rotation but played behind the other Martin in this game. KJ did a fine job with his opportunity and while preseason is the time to mess around with lineups, Caleb should be seen as a fixture of the starting group.

It’s not a matter of Caleb’s ability or willingness to come off the bench — he clearly is fine with it, as he was with the Miami Heat. The deal is just that he’s such an impactful, versatile player that removing him from the starting group takes it down a peg. Eric Gordon’s ability to shoot from deep — he hit two triples from 27 feet out in the first quarter — makes him the most sensible substitute but it shouldn’t necessarily have to be for Martin, who had seven points on 2-4 shooting in 13 minutes tonight.

The fact that Martin has been the one player to be moved around the starting lineup (in the game where veterans actually play) is interesting. Oubre has yet to not appear in a preseason game he didn’t start despite his history of coming off the bench, even for the 76ers last season. It remains to be seen how available the veterans will be in the preseason finale, so there may not be a chance to flip the script before the real games begin.

As for the other Martin, he did a solid job running the floor, crashing the glass and playing defense. Barring major injuries, he probably won’t see the starting lineup for Philly again. Nonetheless, he remains a decent plug-and-play option at power forward.

There’s only one more preseason game to go for the 76ers: a matchup with the Orlando Magic on Friday night.