Sixers Blow Out New Zealand Breakers to Open Preseason: Likes and Dislikes

The Sixers pummeled the New Zealand Breakers, 139-84, on Monday to open their preseason schedule.

Here's what I saw.

Likes

- Everything here must be taken with some context because it was pretty clear from the jump that the Breakers did not belong on the court with an NBA team. Hard to tell what holds up against real competition. Having said that, you could see some of Maxey's offseason work at play very early on.

Although whistled for a foul that I personally didn't understand, Maxey made an astute read of an off-ball screen, navigating the pick and stripping the ball away to create an open-court opportunity for the home team. 

A short while later, he tapped into the James Harden and Kyle Lowry Schools of Playmaking, reading an Andre Drummond seal-off in the deep paint from beyond half-court and feeding the big man for an easy score at the hoop.

- Maxey talked about shot quality at least once between Media Day and training camp. Five of his seven field goal attempts in this game were threes. Shot quality, indeed. 

- New Zealand is pretty small, so it won't always look as easy as it did in this game. But, there are players on this team who simply have noses for the ball. They find ways to get a hand on the miss, be it a long pop off the rim or a basic fall by the restricted area. Those instincts don't go away against better competition. They're naturally within you. It's not just Drummond doing all that work, either. Kelly Oubre Jr., KJ Martin and Caleb Martin all have knacks for finding the ball and creating additional opportunities. The basketball gods aren't going to be kind to you every night. When shots aren't going down, that specific skill is critical. You can never have enough bites at the apple.

- Ricky Council IV dunked through two guys. That's a thing that happened:

SLICK RICK. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/1HAMW9R5g6

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 7, 2024

- We'll see what happens when you introduce real NBA defenders to the equation, but Jared McCain looked every bit an NBA sniper in this game. Stepped behind a ball screen and knocked one down, and then laced two off swing passes in consecutive possessions. The release was ultra quick and, more importantly, it was consistent. The mechanics, range and speed from touch to release are there, all signs of a real shooter.

- It was pleasantly surprising to see Guerschon Yabusele's mobility in the pick-and-roll. He could be seen going through reps on angled ball screens at training camp, rolling into space and finishing floaters in the paint. He said he wanted to be ready for anything, and he attacked on angles to consistent success in this game. The Sixers have had talks with him about playing both the four and the five. He has a feel for how to function at both spots, at least on offense.

Dislikes

- Two delay-of-game warnings on the Breakers in the second quarter. That's a technical foul. Just to add insult to injury.

- Calling a timeout with two minutes left in a 60-point blowout is criminal. We're talking real jail time.

Spare thoughts

- Oubre hit Freddie Gillespie with a mean forearm going through an off-ball screen and sent him to the hardwood. He did help him up, so at least we can say it wasn't that over the top for a preseason game. But, damn, made me think of Kobe going through Pau at the Olympics.

- It hit me that this game was a bloody murder when Drummond got a post touch just outside the right low block, backed his man down to the rim, pivoted to face the basket and dunked through him with two hands. That is called bullying.

- This matchup was so lopsided anyway that it would've been malpractice if either Joel Embiid or Paul George played even a minute each in this game.

The Sixers (1-0) will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0) for a preseason game in Iowa on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., Eastern time. The game will not be televised, but you can listen along on 97.5 The Fanatic.