The Sixers need more out of VJ Edgecombe. That’s their problem, not his.
Maybe we had been anticipating slightly an excessive amount of out of VJ Edgecombe. Not that anyone thought he was going to hold the Sixers to the Eastern Conference semifinals by means of the sheer pressure of his will. But you would be forgiven should you had been hoping for one thing more than the 13 factors on 6-of-16 taking pictures that the rookie produced in a Game 1 blowout loss to the Celtics.
Was that basically an excessive amount of to ask?
Well, yeah, it in all probability was.
» READ MORE: The Sixers’ shooting was a big problem in Game 1. The bigger problem is it might not have mattered.
It has been 16 years since a 20-year-old Brandon Jennings scored 34 factors in a Bucks loss to the Hawks. No rookie has damaged 30 factors in his playoff debut since. Only one has scored 20: Donovan Mitchell, who dropped 27 for the Jazz in a loss to the Thunder in 2018.
In reality, you will not discover many rookies who even topped Edgecombe’s output within the Sixers’ 123-91 loss to Boston on Sunday. Jayson Tatum scored 19 on 8-of-18 taking pictures in his playoff debut. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 on 6-of-16 taking pictures. Just behind them is the immortal Ben Simmons, who scored 17 on 5-of-13 taking pictures within the Sixers’ 130-103 win over the Heat in 2018.
This is partly a operate of pattern dimension. There merely aren’t rather a lot of future stars who made the playoffs as rookies. Most of the present-day greats did not get their first style of the postseason till Year 2 or 3 of their careers. Great gamers are likely to get drafted by unhealthy groups, in spite of everything. But there are sufficient examples to conclude that Edgecombe’s lackluster debut towards the Celtics was the norm.
His 13 factors in Game 1 had been more than double Kawhi Leonard’s playoff debut (six factors, 2012). He outscored rookies Jaylen Brown and Derrick White mixed. I’ve outscored Desmond Bane (eight factors) and OG Anunoby (12 factors). He has outscored Domantas Sabonis (4 factors) and Draymond Green (two factors). And, sure, Edgecombe outscored Paul George (two factors) and Tyrese Maxey (three factors).
sixers coach Nick Nurse is a lot conversant in postseason progress curves. He was an assistant on the Raptors’ employees throughout Anunoby’s rookie playoff run. When Toronto performed the Sixers within the first spherical in 2022, Scottie Barnes was a first-year main scorer. The expertise issues more than the stat line.
“It’s super, super important,” Nurse stated. “I think I mentioned this a bunch of times, you have to get in these things, you have to get in the playoffs to get these guys the feel of it, the experience of it. It’s just invaluable experience for them to see what it’s like. They’re just getting started. They’ve got a game under their belt now.
“Now they’re seeing what it is like going towards and over the identical workforce, the prep and the changes and all that stuff. It’s tremendous invaluable. We must get into this factor as typically as you’ll be able to so these guys can develop and be taught and get higher from it.”
» READ MORE: Sixers defense offers ‘no resistance’ in Game 1 blowout loss to Celtics and ‘you’re not going to win like that’
Edgecombe played a big role in the Sixers’ shooting woes in Game 1, missing all five of his three-point attempts. Including their play-in win over the Magic, he is 1-for-10 from three-point range and 13-for-32 from the field overall. But there’s nothing problematic about his performance. The problem is that the Sixers are relying on him to be something that most rookies aren’t prepared to be.
It will continue to be a problem, in all likelihood. Edgecombe isn’t going to suddenly morph into a full-grown, physically mature man who can bang with guys like Tatum, Brown and White. He looked small out there in Game 1. He missed some shots he could have made, sure. For the most part, he looked physically overmatched. Because he is.
“I’m going to be honest, intensity,” Edgecombe said on Sunday after the loss. “They’re a superb workforce. I simply suppose for us, it is simply we weren’t making pictures. Wide-open pictures. I’m gonna say wide-open. I imply, butt-naked open. Just pictures — ball entering into and out. Like, it is deflating. Especially, towards a very good workforce that is additionally taking pictures the ball rather well.”
That final half is necessary. The Celtics are as skilled and mature of a workforce as Edgecombe has ever confronted. Remember, he was nonetheless in highschool two years in the past. The model of Tatum that he noticed on Sunday was nothing just like the one who acquired his first postseason expertise as a 20-year-old rookie. In reality, Tatum is a reasonably good base case to check.
During the Celtics’ run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2017-18, Tatum averaged 13.2 factors in 32.4 minutes in his first 5 video games, taking pictures .393 from the sphere and .313 from three-point vary. Things trending up from there. In his final 14 video games of that 2017-18 postseason, he averaged 20.4 factors in 37.1 minutes whereas taking pictures .495 from the sphere and .327 from three-point vary. He performed a crucial position in pushing LeBron James’ Cavaliers to Game 7 within the convention finals. By that time, Tatum had performed more postseason video games than Anthony Edwards did in his first three NBA seasons mixed.
Tatum’s expertise on the finish of that postseason is perhaps triple what Edgecombe and fellow younger Sixers Adem Bona and Justin Edwards see this yr.
“I thought those guys played pretty good,” Nurse stated. “They didn’t make a ton of mistakes. They took shots they should’ve taken. They were pretty good. Just keep them confident, and again, just showing them areas where they can improve or change on the defensive end or other opportunities they may have on the offensive end.”
Those sound like affordable expectations.
