The Sixers were once again blown out, this time by Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons by a final score of 131-109. VJ Edgecombe struggled as the team’s top option against one of the NBA’s top defenses, while MarJon Beauchamp led the team in scoring with 17 points, and Jabari Walker finished perfect from the field with 16 points.
Life as a team’s offensive focal point is not easy, just ask Tyrese Maxey. Without four of the team’s top five scoring options, Edgecombe was left as the top threat to Detroit, earning extra attention from the best defense in the Eastern Conference.
Trendon Watford and Quentin Grimes handled the bulk of the playmaking responsibilities, while Edgecombe mostly operated as a high-volume off-ball threat. In the opportunities he had to handle the ball, he was less-than-stellar, unable to work the half-court offense through the team’s progressions while dragging the offense late into the shot clock.
There remains a long road between where Edgecombe is as a playmaker and where he eventually needs to be, but in a game that most projected to be a loss entering the night, it was an opportunity for him to see where he needs to improve.
Beyond operating the offense, there’s also work to be done for Edgecombe to be able to create his own shot. He finished the game with just three made shots out of 14, and two of those came in garbage time. Far from his best performance, but one that he can and must use as a learning experience.
Two often-overlooked Sixers this season were among the team’s few bright spots and made a case for their long-term worth to the franchise. Yes, much of their play came after the Pistons were in clear control of the game — Beauchamp played the entire fourth quarter, while Edwards played nearly nine minutes to end the game. Still, both saw roughly 30 minutes of action throughout the game, and there were some positives to take away.
Edwards got the start and played a major role in the Sixers keeping the game within single digits by the half. It could be argued that if Edgecombe played a bit closer to his average performance, the Sixers could have kept the game even closer to that point, but there was little chance of a victory for the road team in this matchup.
Edwards thrived on both ends, at least compared to the majority of his teammates, and stuffed the statsheet with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. He went without a three-pointer in this game, only two attempts, which is far too few considering the players who could take the court in this game, but his presence was felt, particularly in the second quarter, in which he had four points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Edwards has often been an afterthought when the Sixers had Kelly Oubre and especially Paul George available to play, but he’s made the most of his time traveling back and forth between the Sixers and the Blue Coats, and has averaged 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals, while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 53.8 from three on 2.6 attempts per game since returning.
Beauchamp has had even fewer opportunities than Edwards this season, but expect him to be a fixture in the rotation from now on. Not because of his stellar play, although he has looked at times impressive in his four games, averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and a steal per game, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and a likely unsustainable 41.2 percent from three.
The reason Beauchamp is expected to remain with the team for at least most of the season is that the Sixers are running out of bodies, both due to injuries and limited two-way day availability.
Philadelphia has 16 games remaining this season. At least six will be without Paul George and Kelly Oubre, even fewer for Tyrese Maxey, and the jury is still undecided on Joel Embiid. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s newer two-way candidates are running out of NBA availability, since their days were prorated based on when they were signed.
Dalen Terry, who has already proved to be a favorite of head coach Nick Nurse only has eight games of availability remaining. Guard Tyrese Martin has even fewer with six games remaining. Beauchamp, who signed his two-way deal with the Sixers on Dec. 22, has 22 games remaining, but effectively 16, as he is ineligible to be on the postseason roster, including the Play-In tournament.
Beauchamp has shown growth in his offensive game this season with both the Sixers and the Blue Coats. He’s far from a finished product, but he’s added a few wrinkles to his game that should allow him to stick at the NBA level moving forward and would be worth a flyer next season if he and the team can agree on a standard deal this offseason.
The Dominic Barlow at center experiment had some low points, but overall it was a success. With Barlow down low, the Sixers were able to fill the passing lanes more effectively and forced Detroit into a number of turnovers. In terms of paint protection, there was little, but no less than an average night without Joel Embiid and Adem Bona, and much of the Pistons’ success inside came in transition, a known struggle for the Sixers. It’s not a long-term solution, but Nick Nurse has a decision to make if he’s going to return to Drummond this season, at least if Bona is available, and especially if Embiid is available.
On the Cam Payne front, that’s now two quality games in a row. One more, that’s called a streak. Sure, it wasn’t as impressive as his record-setting night on Tuesday, but Payne seems to have found both his shot and confidence and looks to be ready to be a meaningful regular-season contributor.
The position that Trendon Watford has been put in is well short of complementary to his skill set. Still, Watford is also to blame for some of not only his own struggles, but the offense’s. Watford is neither a scorer nor a shooter by nature, but this situation surrounding the Sixers is not natural. Some would call it supernatural. Either way, Watford needs to be more aggressive when given a clean look.
The Sixers are traveling back to Philadelphia for a back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets and the Portland Trail Blazers. After tonight’s loss and the Hawks' win over the Nets, the Sixers have fallen to the ninth seed. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 14.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.
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