Three points after Sixers defeat New Zealand Breakers in preseason opener

After Monday morning’s Sixers shootaround session, both players were on display during their shootaround session for Friday night’s exhibition game against Minnesota Timberwolves in Des Moines, Iowa. Here are my observations of their impressive win against the Breakers:Drummond Letting Fly Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond made their starting debut for the Sixers on Saturday afternoon against the Breakers, with Drummond standing out as expected as one of its primary performers – scoring his team’s opening basket off Maxey hit-ahead feed inside off. He scored inside, which proved particularly revealing on this night as Maxey hit forward feeding and found Drummond for an easy finish inside on an assist from Maxey hit forward feed inside from Maxey hit-ahead feed to start off this matchup with ease and excitement from start to finish off Saturday’s victory on Saturday afternoon against an opponent that wasn’t there last time out and they didn’t look back this time around either; Maxey hit ahead feed and provided hit ahead feed; drummond especially interesting this game with Maxey hit-head feed with finished inside off an Eric Gordon/Andre Drummond tandem that first scored game’s opening basket off a Maxey hit ahead feed from Maxey hit ahead feed, scoring inside off Maxey hit ahead feed; finishing inside off Maxey hit ahead feed before scoring first goal scored off from Maxey hit forward feed from Maxey hit ahead feed from Maxey hit-head feed by Maxey hit-head feed from Maxey hit ahead feed by scoring inside from inside off Maxey hit ahead feed to score game first basket, finishing inside off Maxey hit-away feed that Maxe scored his initial score within off Maxe hit ahead feed off Maxe hit ahead feed in order. 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Maxe later to Maxe after Maxe hit ahead feed completed finished inside before finish finished inside and finished finished him later finished Maxe finished finished hit ahead feed off Maxe finish off Maxe later finished inside after Maxe finished inside off Gordon officially became a Sixers starter when he scored off of an offensive board from Drummond by sinking a three-point shot off of it. Maxey quickly showed his superior talent when his three-point shot increased the Sixers’ advantage to 13-1. Drummond then made history himself when he connected from deep with an elbow jumper from left corner – it marked Drummond’s first regular-season three since Feb 24 2020! Though unlikely, he appears capable of emerging as a serious shooting threat; nonetheless he’s been working on his jumper and appears ready to use it when wide open during games. Andre Drummond attempted another corner three-point shot later in the first quarter but missed.He fired three corner threes as part of Sixers shootaround prior to their preseason opener tonight against New Zealand Breakers: pic.twitter.com/gwhsCPvlYf– Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) October 7, 2024Drummond played for seven and change minutes early on and posted five points and five rebounds during that stretch of action. Unfortuately, he was charged with two early fouls that resulted in two early calls against him. Drummond likes to poke and probe for forced turnovers, something Sixers head coach Nick Nurse will likely tolerate more readily than most head coaches. Maxey and McCain’s Shotmaking Maxey delivered exactly as you’d expect of an All-Star in his debut — speed, shiftiness and an indestructible game against the Breakers were impossible for anyone else on the court to stop!. Fifth-year guard Jared McCain found an ideal balance between aggressive shotmaking and passing to teammates, too. McCain made 4 three-pointers on 9 long distance attempts during this game – including hitting an impressive step-back three followed by two catch-and-shoot threes during one consecutive sequence in the second quarter! An impressive performance by McCain bolstered both his confidence and learning of professional basketball; though he went 1 for 5 from inside the arc while being beat off-dribble defensively several times. Overall it was an uneven night for McCain. He shot 1-5 from within arc but lost several battles defensively against quicker guards off dribble. At 20 years old, 20-year-old Dwight Howard put forth 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists over 28 minutes – leading the team. Looking at the Rotation Picture Although Nurse on Media Day labeled Guerschon Yabusele “not really a three and not really a five,” this Frenchman played at center opposite Drummond for 28 minutes of action on Monday afternoon. Yabusele appears to be an attractive backup big man option in the NBA. Appearing for just the second time since 2019, he scored 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting and two assists on Monday morning – “it feels special, just to come into this arena. Everything has gone extremely well so far. It has been great.” “I’m enjoying myself as much as possible and striving to improve,” Yabusele stated, anticipating most of his minutes would come on full strength nights for the Sixers as power forward. However, it appears he should be capable of scoring by running the floor and driving into the paint whenever an ideal opportunity presents itself. He should find success as an aggressive screen roller as well.Rookie Adem Bona played as the Sixers’ third-string center against the Breakers in youthful lineups with teammates like McCain, Justin Edwards and Lester Quinones; Kyle Lowry joined Maxey for about five minutes of first quarter playing time as well.Other notable rotation items: Kyle Lowry had extended run alongside Maxey during that span as well. Veteran KJ Martin contributed five assists during 10 first-half minutes. Playing behind Caleb Martin as an emergency power forward and scoring six points while also collecting three rebounds and making two steals was Caleb Martin himself, contributing six points, three rebounds, and two steals himself. Nurse observed before Game 5 that Martin has made impressive strides as a shooter since last season for the Sixers. Ricky Council IV did not shoot any threes Monday, but we will soon learn if his progress translates into games. Ricky showed his explosive athleticism to score 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting with six rebounds – always an exciting sight when charging forward down the court! Like KJ Martin, Council will look to secure early season rotation time through solid preseason work.