Final Thoughts: LeBron James, Sixers’ starters thrill despite sloppy loss to Nets

The Sixers' new-look starting lineup took the court together for the first time Thursday night in Brooklyn in a preseason matchup against the Nets, as LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey joined Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe, giving a glimpse of what they can accomplish.

Here’s what stood out:

Point-LeBron is a joy to watch

LeBron James is a well-established man of many talents, but his playmaking ability made him an especially interesting fit in Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey thrived as a score-first lead guard and made strides as a facilitator, but the Sixers haven’t had an elite passer since James Harden’s infamous departure.

Head coach Nick Nurse alluded to James playing an involved role in controlling the team’s half-court offense, and that’s exactly what took place.

James’ rare combination of size, IQ and control gives him the skill set to be among the league’s most prolific passers, and he entered this game looking very intentional in his desire to find shots for his teammates instead of himself.

Whether pushing the ball in transition or initiating the Sixers’ half-court offense, he is able to read the open court like a book and dissect opposing defenses, making him particularly dangerous in any scheme, but an especially great fit for Nurse.

From decisive outlet passes to perfectly timed passes to teammates cutting baseline, he showed an impressive array of high-level passing that will go a long way toward the team’s efforts to contend. James found Edgecombe (twice), Maxey, Dean Wade and Jabari Walker for assists, but his impressive passing prowess not only led to direct assists but also kept the Sixers’ offense flowing.

Despite his pass-first approach, he still managed 10 points, shooting 1-for-1 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He’ll likely explore more opportunities for his own shot moving forward, but the emphasis on initiating the offense was an absolute success for James and the Sixers.

MORE: Nick Nurse discusses building the Sixers' offense, LeBron at the point

The Sixers look sloppy, especially Embiid

The playmaking was encouraging, but there is still much work to be done.

It’s going to take time to build proper chemistry as a unit, which comes as no surprise, but there is limited time to do so, especially as it’s unlikely that the team’s core rotation will make it through all 82 games of the regular season without an absence.

Communication lapses are likely to linger into the season, but the carelessness with the ball that the team, particularly Joel Embiid, displayed cannot.

Philadelphia was plagued by 21 total turnovers, including eight from Embiid. Some level of sloppiness is to be expected, as both the good and bad of preseason action deserve to be taken with a healthy grain of salt, but the concerns around Embiid’s performance are worth monitoring.

To his credit, he had a few passes that showed how the team can continue to utilize him as an offensive hub even with LeBron on the court and more importantly, he looked far more comfortable moving laterally compared to last season.

The effort and dedication that he put into transforming his body were noticeable just by looking at Embiid, but seeing him switch onto offensive players with ease is an even more important benchmark that he has cleared, at least initially.

Still, Embiid is trim, but he wasn’t exactly brimming with effort and focus, offering little rim protection, which isn’t uncommon in a preseason setting but cannot linger into the regular season, let alone the playoffs.

The Sixers need more — particularly defensively — from Embiid and at center in general, especially with Ariel Hukporti out for the season.

MORE: Exploring the Sixers’ options at center

Quick hits

• Jaylen Brown again starred offensively for the Sixers, leading all scorers with 18 points despite largely playing out of the dunker spot alongside the starters. Brown figures to be a particularly tricky piece to integrate into the starting offense, as does Joel Embiid, but Brown has also worked to build chemistry with plenty of teammates on the second unit. One has to wonder if Nurse is aiming to stagger Brown to allow him to carry the offense at times.
• Tyrese Maxey looks incredibly comfortable playing alongside LeBron James. The two have developed familiarity through offseason workouts despite this being their first game as teammates, but beyond that, their skill sets are so complementary that Maxey is able to execute almost effortlessly at times thanks to the attention garnered by his teammates and the ability to play off passes from James and Embiid.
• VJ Edgecombe is electric and will not be denied. He doesn’t have to hunt for his shot, as opportunities come frequently thanks to his effort, confidence and willingness to work his way into open opportunities.
• Off the bench, Dean Wade and Jabari Walker were impressive in their stints, which is crucial as both are expected to play a small-ball five role at times throughout the season after the Hukporti injury, according to Nick Nurse.

Up next for the Sixers

The Sixers will remain on the road for a matchup against the Celtics on Saturday, Oct. 10. Jaylen Brown has played in Philadelphia’s first two preseason matchups. Whether that trend continues as he returns to Boston will be an interesting storyline leading up to the game.

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