The Philadelphia 76ers returned on Monday for their second preseason game against the Orlando Magic.
After a successful win against Melbourne United, the Philadelphia 76ers played their first game against a real NBA team in the 2018-19 preseason. There is certainly a talent gap between the NBL and NBA, so there was a lot to take away from tonight’s contest.
The Sixers came out clicking offensively. Joel Embiid played “bully ball” early on against Nikola Vucevic and Mo Bamba in an effective manner, even drawing four quick fouls on Bamba.
The biggest story with this game would have to be Markelle Fultz. It was only his second game being mentally and physically healthy, and he looked like a vastly improved player; draining shot after shot. Fultz even managed to drain his first NBA three-pointer.
The final score is a bit misleading, as game was never partially close. The Sixers kept a decent lead for the majority of the game. Much like last game, the Sixers pulled the starters for the entire fourth quarter.
There are certainly a lot of takeaways from tonight’s game. We saw Fultz willingly take jump shot after jump shot — and more importantly, make them. If Fultz can build on tonight’s performance, expect him to start early on in the season.
J.J Redick was another bright spot in tonight’s win. He has thrived in the 6th man role, and provided a scoring punch off the bench, scoring 12 points.
Jerryd Bayless and Wilson Chandler will be out for a decent amount of time with their respective injuries, so expect the Sixers to give some of the young players (Shamet, Milton, Korkmaz, etc.) to be given an opportunity to earn minutes.
The Sixers will take a bit of a hiatus as they will travel to China to play the Dallas Mavericks this Friday, and this coming Monday.