VJ Edgecombe has been sensational for the Philadelphia 76ers so far in his rookie season. He has managed to live up to his pre-draft hype and then some, swiftly emerging as a foundational piece for the franchise moving forward with his all-around skill set this early in his career. In fact, one can say that he is one of the only "untouchables" on the roster.
The Baylor product's body of work as a rookie has been wildly impressive, especially with the 76ers basically throwing him into the fire with such a heavy workload and responsibility right from the get-go. However, since his fiery start to the season, he has struggled in a lot of areas on offense, especially when it comes to being a ball handler.
In nearly 35 minutes per outing, Edgecombe is coughing the ball up almost twice a game. That is not a lot upon introspection, but from the eye test, one can easily spot his weakness when it comes to keeping the ball active and moving. But in reality, the 76ers should have seen this coming.
VJ Edgecombe is struggling as a ball handler for the 76ers
Edgecombe's playmaking was one of the bigger questions surrounding his game outside of college, but he quickly proved that those worries were more pronounced than warranted. He has done a good job of attacking the rim and leveraging his rim-running skills to suck in the defense and find open teammates, but since his encouraging start on that end, he has slowly become inefficient in that regard.
With defenses now game-planning to avoid giving him space as much as possible, he has often found himself stuck in not-so-ideal positions in the hardwood. He has that typically rookie-esque tendency of dribbling into traffic, and he has shown some lack of deliberativeness when it comes to making decisions with the ball in his hands when he is not scoring.
Having said that, this is far from anything deeply concerning. Edgecombe is, once more, a rookie. He needs some more time to get used to facing more aggressive defenses that are zoomed in on taking away his biggest strengths. Recognizing passing angles and getting into better positions to make plays are acquired skills that come with time and experience.
Still, it would be nice if Nick Nurse and the coaching staff also help him get exposed to a more holistic vision of the court. Not exerting him as much should also do him wonders. But until he matures, they must accept the reality that Edgecombe is going to struggle in the more technical aspects of the game –– such as ball handling and playmaking –– and that's fine.