On Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the University of Massachusetts, the Philadelphia 76ers opened their preseason schedule with a 92-89 victory over the Boston Celtics.
It took 831 days from the time the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Joel Embiid and Dario Saric (June 26, 2014) until the duo debuted (Oct. 4, 2016), but for many Sixers fans, it felt like a lifetime.
On Tuesday night, we got our first glimpse of both Joel Embiid and Dario Saric against another NBA team as the Sixers defeated the Boston Celtics 92-89 in their preseason opener.
The beginning of the game certainly wasn’t pretty, as the Sixers quickly went down 15-5 and struggled to chip away at the lead until the second half. While some fans are frustrated with the showing from the first half, it’s important to remember that this is just the preseason, and that experimentation is going to be heavy during this time.
There’s a lot that could be learned from the first preseason game of the season. This holds true for both fans and players, and there were a lot of subplots going on
With so many new faces sporting the Philly jersey for the first time this season, there’s plenty to take away from the victory, but five things in particular protruded more than the rest.
1. Joel Embiid is Definitely a Rookie
Although Joel Embiid finished with a more-than serviceable stat line (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks) in just under 13 minutes of play, it took him a little while to settle down.
Initially, his teammates were feeding him the ball in the high post, but Embiid appeared rushed and it looked like he was trying to do too much, too fast.
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In his first stint on the court (roughly four minutes), he turned the ball over three times and he missed his first three shot attempts. He appeared more poised during his second run and scored his first points on a turnaround jumper over Tyler Zeller (the shot looked very similar to the moves he’d been practicing in his Instagram videos).
He also had arguably the top defensive play of the night with a huge block on Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown.
Tuesday was a reminder that, while Embiid certainly has the tools to become an All-Star caliber NBA player, his success is not going to come overnight and he still has a way to go.
But boy, wasn’t it good to see him finally on the floor after two-plus injury-plagued years of being sidelined?
2. Dario Saric is NBA-ready
While it took Embiid a little bit of time to get used to the flow of the game, Dario Saric appeared poised from start to finish.
He ran the floor well, sank his first two 3-pointers and did a nice job on defense (which isn’t exactly his strong suit), specifically while switching on picks.
In 18 minutes of play, he scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and blocked a shot.
Moving forward, he’ll need to improve his decision-making with the ball in his hands (he had four turnovers), but overall, it was a successful debut for the Croatian rookie.
And he proved that he belongs in the best basketball league in the world.
It was an important statement for the rookie, since he’s going to be one of the players competing for the opening at the starting power forward slot with Ben Simmons out for at least three months recovering from his surgery.
3. Sergio Rodriguez Should be the Sixers’ Starting Point Guard
There has been speculation all summer about who the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting point guard should be come opening day, but after Tuesday night’s game, I’m convinced that it’s Sergio Rodriguez’s job to lose.
Sure, T.J. McConnell had a nice game (we’ll get to that), but in 22 minutes of action, Rodriguez showed that he’s the best pure point guard on the team. Rodriguez led the Sixers with six assists and also contributed five points and one rebound.
He was a little sloppy at times, and he did commit four turnovers, but his ability to see the floor and deliver precision passes both on the break and in traffic put him in a tier of his own when it comes to the point guards in Philly.
At this point, it would be a surprise if anyone but Rodriguez started at the point during the season opener against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 26.
4. Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell Deserve to Make the Team
Even if they’re the last two players on the bench, Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell both proved that they belong in Philadelphia 76ers uniforms during the 2016-17 season.
For starters, they’re both on two of the most team-friendly contracts in the entire NBA. You’d be hard-pressed to find another duo in the entire NBA that produces as well as McConnell and Holmes for such a small price.
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And on Tuesday, McConnell was clearly the floor general when he was out there. As bizarre as it may seem, it appears that McConnell is one of the team leaders and plays like a veteran in just his second season in the league.
In a team-high 25 minutes, McConnell scored 13 points (6-11 from the field), dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds.
Holmes, who didn’t see the floor until the second half, was the most efficient Sixers’ player on the evening. In just 12 minutes, he scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two steals with one block and one assist. He also had one of the game’s biggest highlights when he threw down a monster-dunk on a dish from Sergio Rodriguez in traffic.
Holmes also led the Sixers in net rating at +13 come games end.
McConnell and Holmes are simply too talented of players on too good of contracts to just let them walk.
5. There Was Something (Someone) Missing
While it was certainly exciting to see Joel Embiid and Dario Saric make their NBA debuts, it would have been much more exciting had Ben Simmons been healthy and active for the game.
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Simmons, who the Philadelphia 76ers selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, had surgery earlier in the day to repair a broken bone in his foot and will be sidelined indefinitely because of the injury (although it seems as if three months is an okay assumption on return time).
Saric hit his first two 3-pointers. Embiid hit a turn-around jumper down-low and also sank a near 3-pointer. Sergio Rodriguez threaded the needle on multiple passes and led the team in assists. Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes both threw down big-time dunks.
And to top it all off, the Sixers came out with a win.
It was a very satisfying game for Sixers fans to watch on Tuesday night, the only thing missing was their No. 1 overall draft pick.
Next: Ben Simmons' Agent Might Not Let Rookie Play This Season
And just how the Sixers waited patiently for 831 days to see Embiid and Saric finally take the court, the waiting game begins again: this time for Simmons.