Instant observations: Swarming Sixers defense sparks preseason win over Nets

Anyone who skipped the Phillies game on Monday night got a taste of what the Sixers defense might look like under Nick Nurse, with Philadelphia forcing 26 Nets turnovers en route to a 127-119 win.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— The Sixers’ intensity in their previous preseason game against the Celtics was a disappointment overall. They sure changed that on Monday night, coming out of pregame warmups ready to attack the Nets from every possible angle.

Brooklyn finished the first half of this game with 17 freaking turnovers. While the Nets deserve their own portion of the blame, Philadelphia was terrific in their penultimate preseason game. They could have sat back and bunkered against a Nets team starting two non-shooters, but the Sixers stuck to the aggressive style Nick Nurse wants to play and thrived in it.

Go down the list and basically every guy made a positive defensive play of some sort. Paul Reed stripped Ben Simmons on a drive and ran out for a fast-break dunk:

De’Anthony Melton was all over lazy Nets passes, darting into passing lanes and getting into the chests of anybody he guarded. Tyrese Maxey came up with a steal on a wayward Ben Simmons pass. Jaden Springer ripped one away from the Nets in the backcourt, capitalizing on a momentary lapse in judgment from Simmons. And the team’s rotations were fairly crisp for the entire group, with the Sixers putting out a few fires when they didn’t create a steal and runout.

And Philadelphia built on those forced turnovers by running at a breakneck pace. That may be the most noticeable change from a year ago, as the Sixers have been hitting the turbo button at every possible opportunity during the preseason. While it remains to be seen if they can/will do so with Joel Embiid and/or James Harden on the floor, it has been wonderful to watch them embrace the pace.

— De’Anthony Melton was identified by Nick Nurse as a guy who looked sharp throughout summer workouts, and he was impossible for the Nets to deal with on Monday night. He had already come away with three steals by halftime, and he may be the most obvious example of a player who will gain from a change in philosophy on the coaching side.

Nurse seems prepared to just let him loose on defense. He’s going to have to take tough one-on-one assignments because there are few impact defenders on the perimeter, but he’s honestly better off if he can just focus on calculated gambling away from the ball. The Nets never seemed to get a read on when he was coming or where he was coming from, and Melton was happy to capitalize on poor Nets passes.

If he makes shots, that’s a bonus on top of the defensive impact, and Melton did much more than that. Melton came close to a preseason triple-double, packing the stat sheet with tough rebounds and connective passing. Excellent game for him.

— Danny Green having a pulse is one of the pleasant surprises of the preseason. He has gone from potential cut to all but certainly on the roster.

— Jaden Springer continues to make his case for a rotation spot, and I’m not sure there will be a credible argument against him once the preseason is over. Every game has featured at least one eye-catching move from Springer, who finished a beautiful reverse layup after coasting past Darius Bazley on a nice drive in the third quarter.

But it’s the little things that will add up over time. To free himself up for an above-the-break three in the fourth quarter, Springer looked off his defender and used a subtle pass fake to clear some space. When the defender bit on it, Springer rose up and canned an open three, and Sixers fans will savor every made jumper from the kid who just needs that to be a legitimate rotation guy.

(Also, I love watching him fly in for rebounds on both ends, careening off of bigger players and somehow coming down with the board almost every time.)

— I am willing to take back at least 25 percent of the negative things I said about Kelly Oubre when he signed here if he plays like he did in the first half of this one. He is trending toward having a nailed-on spot in the rotation, and he has certainly earned a modicum of trust to begin the year with the way he’s hooping right now.

Nick Nurse told Oubre that he had an opportunity here rather than a guarantee, and Oubre has carried himself as if he believes that. Though he has had a moment of hero ball splashed in here and there, he has bought into the team concept big time. In a spirited run to open the game, the veteran wing turned down multiple iffy shot opportunities in favor of swinging the ball and trying to find a better look for others. That patience would eventually pay off, as Oubre found his own looks through rebounding opportunities and transition play.

Maybe my favorite sequence of the game ended with an Oubre missed shot. He rotated in from the weakside for a sensational block at one end and then pinged the ball back and forth with De’Anthony Melton before letting the shot go. Putting team before self ended up getting Oubre a better quality shot.

Of course, by the time it was all said and done, Oubre had gotten a bit too comfortable, ending up with 21 points on 24 shots. That’s the duality of Oubre, and it’s the gunner tendencies the Sixers will hope to avoid.

— Paul Reed had a composed, efficient night on offense, and he managed that without needing to rely wholly on dunks and layups. The Sixers asked him to step out and hit a few midrange jumpers, and Reed showed off the touch in pick-and-roll opportunities that would normally go to Joel Embiid.

He also fouled far too much, but that’s why he’s better off as a backup. Oh well.

— I think a lot of people will get back on board with this team if they play this hard all of the time. They might not be a contender, and it might feel like a lost season in some respects, but this is a product people can get behind if it lasts.

The Bad

— Tyrese Maxey leaving the game clutching his lower back is arguably the only thing that matters coming out of this game. Sure, the Sixers forcing a billion turnovers and looking locked in 10 days before the season starts is great. But one of their three (and I would argue two) most important players picking up a knock is a major negative, to say the least.

I reached out to the team during halftime of the game, and they insisted Maxey’s removal was a simple precautionary measure. That said, back issues are as tricky as it gets and I’m going to give this one a bit of time before I suggest the Sixers are out of the woods.

— Mo Bamba is still waiting to have his first good stretch in a Sixers uniform. Filip Petrusev got first-half minutes over him on Monday, which is Nurse and the front office gathering info for a cut decision one way or another. Bamba couldn’t even finish easy buckets in garbage time.

(On the positive side of that battle, Petrusev actually looked decent on Monday night. Made a three to open the fourth quarter, showed decent positional instincts on defense, and most importantly, was not Bamba.)

— I love Patrick Beverley’s antics as a general rule of thumb, but picking up a tech for slapping at a ball in Nic Claxton’s hands after the whistle is just stupid. Getting a second tech in a preseason game is pure comedy.

The Ugly

— Some Ben Simmons advocates have taken preseason victory laps over his play so far. He certainly looks better physically than last year, but all the same problems are there. Do not get sucked into this toxic cycle again, if you’re even remotely considering doing so.

— The Sixers have spent most of the preseason talking about how different the offense is stylistically. While I don’t really think preseason matters on a broader scale, it probably would have helped to have your most important player on the floor more than a maximum of once before the regular season starts.