Instant observations: VJ Edgecombe scores career-high 38 points in Sixers win over Kings

VJ Edgecombe scored a new career high 38 points in a comprehensive Sixers win over the Kings, leading Philadelphia to a 139-118 victory with his first 30-ball since opening night in Boston. Justin Edwards also set a new career high with 32 points and seven made threes.

Here’s what I saw.

A dominant VJ Edgecombe performance

The undermanned Sixers put together an almost perfect quarter on offense to start this game. Dropping 45 points in 12 minutes is a feat against any team, so while we can all grumble about it being the Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia played inch-perfect basketball and lit up the home team to finally arrive on their trip out west.

Mercifully, VJ Edgecombe arrived ready to beat up Sacramento, bouncing back from a brutal showing in Denver and a pedestrian shooting stretch since Tyrese Maxey went down. Keeping him aggressive has been a minor Sixers problem lately, with Edgecombe starting slow and rarely pulling himself out of the funk, but he opened his account with a nifty pass-fake runner and settled the nerves four or five minutes into this game.

From there, it was on. Edgecombe pulled a three in early offense and cashed out, hit his second triple on a coverage bust for Kings in the right corner, and was relentless attacking the offensive glass, pulling down Sixers misses and creating a few fruitful second-chance possessions. It wouldn’t take long for Edgecombe to complete one of the highlights of his rookie season, rising to meet an Edwards lob in transition and throwing it down with one hand.

But the bulk of his work was done with touch and finesse from the midrange, with the rookie operating with a special level of poise and pace there all night. He hit a right-to-left pull-up reminiscent of the legendary Chris Paul, multiple baseline turnarounds that barely touched the net, and the free-throw line jumper was all cash, with Edgecombe consistently getting his shoulders square against fairly apathetic Kings defenders. It was the sort of game he never would have attempted to have at Baylor, built on a shot that his college coach effectively banned, but a flash of the style that could eventually turn him into a star. He even had an ode to DeMar DeRozan in the second half, using a pump fake from the midrange to draw Killian Hayes into a foul, with Edgecombe calmly banking the shot in off the glass and converting the three-point play at the free-throw line. It was a masterclass in the basketball dark arts from a guy who will eventually add more grifting to his bag.

Though Nick Nurse gave him plenty of time to get his new career high in points, it didn’t feel like Edgecombe was chasing it at the expense of good offense. With Nurse letting him roll right into the start of the fourth quarter after a dominant third, Edgecombe was met with repeated doubles from Sacramento, and he made all the right passes to pick the Kings apart, using Andre Drummond as his safe set of hands in the middle of the floor. He managed to rack up 11 assists to go with the 36-point night,

Edgecombe’s shooting variance is what it is for now, but as he puts in further skill development, the ability to consistently get to his spots should be more meaningful than his current efficiency issues. I sometimes wonder what his year would have looked like on a different, younger team with lower expectations, but I sure am thankful to have watched his exploits in Sixers colors all year. A lot of fun basketball ahead for this kid.

Strong support

A very good Justin Edwards run continued in Sacramento, with the second-year wing scoring 13 early points and completely controlling the offense for a long stretch of the first quarter. Perhaps he had a little extra motivation against another Philly guy, with Germantown’s Daeqwon Plowden getting a start for Sacramento on Thursday, but this was more of the same inside-out scoring that we’ve seen from Edwards for the last week or so. An early pull-up three turned into another jumper off a screen, before he sprinkled in pull-ups from the midrange and a gorgeous reverse layup, putting a special touch on an individual scoring run.

But that would not prepare anyone for the run he would go on to make to close out the game, with Edwards eventually making seven threes to set a new career high of 32 points, increasingly ignoring any contest the Kings offered. On a team absolutely desperate for a bit of shooting, perhaps the guy they needed in the rotation was there all along, in need of consistent minutes and a bit of rope to rediscover his old form.

This recent breakout for Edwards is certainly an example of how important (and how finicky!) confidence is for the role players of the NBA. He had a burn-down-the-nets performance to beat the Boston Celtics early this season, but while operating on the margins around stars like Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, Edwards’ opportunities have been few and far between, with a 0/3 or 1/4 start from the field likely to doom him to the bench for most of the night. With no fear of that happening right now, he is playing freer and finding his groove, and the Sixers have designed looks for him accordingly.

And then there’s Quentin Grimes, who arguably had the best start to the game of anybody. Unleashing a 20-point half on Sacramento to open the game, this was a classic example of first-step devastation, Grimes operating at a speed the Kings were simply unable to match. Grimes was the beneficiary of a few kick outs on offensive rebounds, and his decisiveness in those moments made it borderline impossible for the Kings to get in front of him, with Grimes gliding to the rim over and over again for two points.

Grimes’ decision-making can be tough to live with at times, but he made some excellent combination plays in this one, including with Andre Drummond, who had a nice give-and-go moment with a cutting Grimes for a slam in the first half. Utilizing Grimes more as a cutter feels like a natural fit for his talents, and he did a lot of excellent work operating off-ball against a fairly sleepy Kings outfit.

The obligatory “But why?” section

I try to understand that NBA coaches have learned and forgotten more about basketball than I have ever known. Then I watch Nick Nurse put a Drummond/Watford/Grimes/Payne/Lowry lineup on the floor to open the second quarter and wonder if I should be so forgiving. I want you to look at that group again and tell me what they are supposed to do well. “Not much” would be your answer without even watching them play.

The problems are all over the place. You’re way too small, and you still can’t shoot, for starters, and Watford’s inclusion would appear to make playing Lowry pointless in the first place. Watching the Sixers dial up a Lowry drive-and-kick for a Watford catch-and-shoot three nearly caused me to throw my TV through my living room window, which would have been punishing a good piece of equipment for someone else’s ineptitude.

I have been a massive hater of carrying Kyle Lowry on the roster in the first place, and it adds insult to injury that he is being asked to play minutes after Jared McCain was sent packing at the deadline, due in part to the “crowded backcourt” and how little opportunity they have for him in Philadelphia. He was an absolute disaster in his first-half stint. Still, we should expect nothing less from a guy who is basically an assistant coach and literally a media contributor to Amazon Prime.

And it’s one thing to start the quarter with a goofy lineup, buying starters a few full minutes of rest after they dropped 45 points on the other team. I think what drove me most crazy was watching Nurse call a timeout after absorbing a huge Kings run in the first four minutes, and leaving that entire group on the floor without a single change. The Kings went on a 17-2 run and took the lead in a half that they were otherwise thoroughly outplayed in. Talk about giving more ammunition to people who are ready to see a different coach in the lead chair.

Other notes

— Andre Drummond somehow avoided a tech for shooting finger guns at the Kings’ bench, which was a very funny moment. Also, he now has more made threes this year than in the rest of his NBA career combined. Truly insane.

— Doug Christie challenging the free throws that would have gotten Edgecombe his first 40-point game with his team getting boatraced in the fourth really grinds my gears. I get it, but also, piss off, pal!