The Philadelphia 76ers continued the preseason with a 112-104 preseason loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday in Abu Dhabi as they dropped both games in the UAE to begin the exhibition schedule. Philadelphia will now return stateside and host the Orlando Magic on Oct. 10 for its next preseason game.
After a miserable 3-for-35 showing from deep in Thursday’s preseason opener, the Sixers did knock down 12 triples on Saturday. So, that is a big positive for Philadelphia and rookie VJ Edgecombe had some nice moments in this one.
Tyrese Maxey had 16 points, Edgecombe had 10, and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 13 for the starting unit. Kennedy Chandler had 16 points off the bench, Malcolm Hill had 14 points, and Andre Drummond added seven points and 10 rebounds with Jabari Walker adding 10 points.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Saturday’s loss:
Edwards’ poor shooting
This is something the Sixers will have to hope Edwards can break out of going forward. It is just the preseason, so there is likely no reason to truly be alarmed, but when also combining his up and down summer league, one has to hope he can shake off the slow start and earn himself a spot in coach Nick Nurse’s rotation. He is a guy who can do so many positive things out on the floor, but the Sixers will need him to step up and knock down these open looks he’s getting from the perimeter. He shot 1-for-10 from deep in these two games and 1-for-13 overall.
Barlow shooting 3s
The Sixers will look for Barlow to step in and give them some production at multiple positions meaning they need him to likely play the 4 and the 3. At either spot, Nurse and his staff will want Barlow shooting the open 3s he sees within this offense. He knocked one down to start his performance and then was able to sprint to the corner and launch another wide-open one. He missed the second one, but the point is, he found an open look from deep and did not hesitate to shoot it. That is what the Sixers are looking for.
The backup center battle needs to play out
One has to give credit to Adem Bona and Andre Drummond for battling it out in this one. The Sixers started Bona for the second straight game and he had some really nice moments on either end of the floor while Drummond was a real presence on the glass and with his offensive ability around the basket, along with stepping up and knocking down a corner 3. Even rookie Johni Broome stepped in and had some really good moments for Philadelphia. Nurse and the staff will certainly need more time to figure out what comes next for the Sixers in terms of this important role.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following 2nd Abu Dhabi loss to Knicks
