In one week, the Sixers will host the Milwaukee Bucks in front of a fired-up, sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd and officially kick off their 2024-25 season.
Wednesday’s matchup with the Nets was their last contest in Philadelphia before that game. They won it by a 117-95 margin, improving to 3-2 in the preseason.
Kelly Oubre Jr. was the the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
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The Sixers’ preseason finale is Friday night in Orlando against the Magic. Here are observations on their victory over Brooklyn:
Nurse testing out his forward options
As Sixers head coach Nick Nurse sorts through all his options, it’s obvious that he’s still actively exploring what he’s got with his role player forwards.
On Wednesday, he decided to start KJ Martin at the four. Martin played a solid game Monday in the Sixers’ exhibition win over the Hawks and has recently appeared to be ahead of Ricky Council IV in the team’s pecking order.
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The Sixers’ offense did not flow smoothly in the first few minutes against the Nets. Martin had a lefty layup blocked, Tyrese Maxey turned the ball over on a pass along the baseline, and the Sixers were generally tentative as a unit.
Eric Gordon remained in the starting five and helped the Sixers get cooking. He drained both of his three-point attempts in the first quarter and also nabbed a steal that fueled a fast-break alley-oop from Maxey to Oubre. A little later, Maxey spotted Martin sneaking open and set him up for a slam, too. The pair teamed up once more in the second quarter.
“He just tells me he’s going to throw it,” Martin said of his lob connection with Maxey. “He’s like, ‘I’m just going to throw it by the hoop, so wherever it is, go get it.’ I always tell him that I’m running, and he’s looking for me.
“He told me today, ‘We can get one of those every single game. … When it’s transition and the defense is kind of lollygagging back and backpedaling, just keep running,’ and he said he's going to give it to me.”
Although Martin declined a potential corner three-pointer late in the first quarter and stayed at 0 for 1 from long range this preseason, he again contributed in a variety of ways. He played 26 minutes and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.
“He was good,” Nurse said. “Really good. Again, just trying to take a look at some things, give him a chance to start. I thought he was really tough defensively. He was good on the glass as well. He finishes down there.
“And he plays with a pretty good sense of knowing what’s going on out there, too. He’s kind of a small power forward out there, but he’s capable of moving his feet on the perimeter and guarding good players.”
The Sixers’ other Martin — former Heat forward Caleb Martin — checked in off the bench for a second consecutive game.
Nurse noted Tuesday that he was “just experimenting a little bit” with the 29-year-old Martin on the second unit.
“What is he probably going to give us? He’s going to give us some energy off the bench, right? Which I thought we lacked in the previous game,” Nurse said. “So again, we’re just trying to solve that equation a little bit. It split up Kyle (Lowry) and Eric a little bit, which is also part of the plan. So it’s just kind of two different looks. I think it’ll be pretty fluid as we go here for a little while.”
Caleb Martin made an impressive play Wednesday when, with the Nets’ defense focused on Maxey, he brought the ball up, drove hard to the rim and scored a nifty and-one layup. Next time down, he got into the paint and kicked the ball out to Jared McCain, whose three-point try went in and out. Martin’s competency at just about everything means that experiments involving him are unlikely to fail.
Guerschon Yabusele still initially served as the Sixers’ backup center, but he also played at power forward late in the second quarter. With their Yabusele-Andre Drummond frontcourt, the Sixers turned to zone defense and used Caleb Martin and Oubre as their rangy perimeter pieces.
Yabusele made a highlight play just before the halftime buzzer, picking off a Dorian Finney-Smith inbounds pass and storming in for a dunk.
Once Joel Embiid’s available and Nurse gathers more in-game data about his new players, the team’s forward picture should grow clearer.
First-quarter McCain minutes, concerning moment in the fourth
Lowry (rest) sat out Wednesday’s game along with Embiid (left knee management) and Paul George (left knee bone bruise). Neither Embiid nor George will play in the Sixers’ preseason finale either. George is set to be re-evaluated early next week.
Lowry’s absence opened the door for first-quarter McCain minutes in the backcourt with Maxey. The 20-year-old at first looked a tad more comfortable than in the Sixers' preseason opener at Wells Fargo Center. He struggled in the third quarter, though. McCain committed four turnovers in his six-plus minutes of third-period action. The rookie was bothered by Brooklyn's ball pressure and unable to continue playing at his pace.
He had a worrisome moment in the fourth quarter when he missed a shot inside and then, after reaching up for the rebound, landed hard on his back.
Members of the Sixers' training staff attended to a shaken-up McCain and eventually assisted him back to the locker room. A Sixers official said postgame that McCain was being evaluated by medical staff, including for a concussion. Nurse added that McCain went to the hospital to be assessed.
“It was rough. ... Obviously, he was having some trouble breathing there,” Nurse said. “I thought maybe he got the wind knocked out of him. I’m not quite sure what was going on there. I’ve never quite seen one like that before, so let’s hope he’s OK and we’ll see what the report is from the hospital.”
Oubre in attack mode
Oubre played 21 minutes in the first half and produced plenty.
The Sixers forced 13 first-half turnovers, which enabled Oubre, Maxey and company to play regularly in transition. Oubre was decisive and effective in the half court as well. He shot 6 for 7 at the foul line and 2 for 3 beyond the arc. The 28-year-old lefty is at 6 for 17 (35.3 percent) this preseason from three-point range.
“I’m really aggressive, bro,” Oubre said. “Just being aggressive, honestly. Just trying to get downhill, not to be denied … just sticking to my strengths, especially earlier in the game or whenever the openings are there. I’ve always been a driver, too.”
According to Nurse, the Sixers have worked with Oubre on “attacking the rim and playing through some of the physicality.”
“I don’t like it when he gets stripped and thinks he gets fouled or whatever,” Nurse said. “We’ve really been on him about that. Tonight, he was getting hit, obviously, because he was getting fouls called. I think he had one that he coughed up, but other than that, he got to the line.
“Again, he just looks really comfortable out there. Teams have seemed to play off him a bit and when he’s going, he can rise up and hit those. He usually does it in bunches a little bit.”
The Sixers sat Oubre and most of their veterans for the second half, leaning on youngsters such as McCain and Council.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. was relatively experienced at 27 years old and played a nice second half, recording 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, three rebounds and three assists.