It took one bad night for V.J. Edgecombe to show the 76ers what he was truly about

After missing the Philadelphia 76ers’ last four Summer League games, V.J. Edgecombe was cleared to return to action against the Washington Wizards tonight. However, the excitement for his re-arrival evaporated after he went scoreless in the first half. Like the greats before him, Edgecombe didn’t let that deter him and came out in the last 24 minutes with a refusal to be denied. His 15-second-half points propelled Philadelphia to a 74-58 win.

Edgecombe stayed with it and that's what matters

Since Edgecombe missed one week of action, there would inevitably be some rust. He missed his first seven field goal attempts – often forcing contested inside looks off pick-and-rolls and clanking spot-up threes. The game started to slow down for him a bit in the second quarter where he started using his rim gravity to create easy looks for Keve Aluma, who finished with 12 points. 

It wasn’t until the first few minutes of the third period that Edgecombe truly started to assert himself. He scored his first four points at the foul line as a result of a pair of aggressive drives off the dribble. Edgecombe continued to tally points through fast-break opportunities created by Philadelphia’s defensive intensity, which was often headlined by him.

He finished the night shooting 4-14 from the field, 6-6 from the charity stripe, and 1-6 from deep. While his shooting left a bit to be desired, Edgecombe chipped in six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Ultimately, it wasn’t as electric as his Summer League debut, but the fact that he stayed aggressive and still provided defensive value counts. His ability to read passing lanes, navigate screens, and defend A.J. Johnson off the point-of-attack was eye-catching.

The others

Speaking of eye-catching, Johni Broome had multiple possessions where my jaw dropped. He repeatedly created advantages for himself and others off the dribble–spin–move, fade-away, finding Adem Bona off a back-cut, you name it. Broome also cashed in two spot-up threes and held up decently defensively. He didn’t have any standout defensive plays, but covered the ground needed. He finished with 14 points on 5-11 shooting from the field and five rebounds.

In a fulfilling turn of events, Justin Edwards led all scorers with 17 points on 5-14 shooting from the field and 5-10 shooting from downtown. He still forced some action off the dribble, but got to his off-ball spots more frequently with Edgecombe relieving a good amount of his ball-handling duties. Adem Bona also finished with a monstrous six blocks – displaying elite help defense.

Philadelphia will face the Cooper Flagg-less Dallas Mavericks on July 16th at 8 p.m. EST. It’s safe to assume that Edgecombe won’t play considering the 76ers are trying to be cautious and it’s the second end of a back-to-back.