Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey combine for 56 in Sixers win over Nets

Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey combined for 56 points to carry the Sixers to their third win of the season, a 113-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Cup.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— Jared McCain has been so good that half of the fanbase is ready to start building the team around him and Tyrese Maxey. I may even be underselling it, honestly, because that group is gaining supporters by the day. With their oldest star hurt and their best player apparently in Siberia, McCain has done his best to help the Sixers stay afloat. No matter what has happened around him, the kid has adapted.

Early in Friday’s game, McCain was relegated to a low-usage spot-up role alongside Maxey and the veteran wings. That still allows him to provide value even when he isn’t touching the ball, with McCain lurking and sliding around the perimeter to open up driving lanes. The Nets showed a level of respect for No. 20 that is slowly starting to become the new normal — they were willing to throw the occasional trap at the rookie ballhandler when he got on-ball reps, daring the Sixers to play four-on-three or hit a pick-and-pop jumper.

The most important thing McCain is showing is not the shooting (although that matters) but his composure and good decision-making. He has kept turnovers down while still making some high-leverage passes and moving the ball at exactly the right time. On a team with more consistent shooting around him, that would lead to better team results, but you can still see a noticeable difference in the offense when he’s on the floor. And it sure helps that he’s making shots himself, with McCain knocking down three threes in the first half alone. He even hit one with two defenders in his grill, bailing out what was otherwise a terrible possession:

It is remarkable that McCain is already being asked to prop up lineups 15 games into his career, and more remarkable that he is succeeding. With Maxey on a minute limit and the other stars in street clothes, McCain was the guy who had to carry the offense to open the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Despite Nets defenders riding him hard and preventing him from getting all the way to the rim, he found a way, probing until he got a couple of midrange jumpers to go down and relieve some pressure.

After Maxey came back, McCain got a bit more room to operate, and we saw the first flashes of a partnership that might provide hope for years to come. One possession, it was McCain sliding along the baseline for a layup as a cutter. The next possession, it might be the two guards sizing up their matchups until one drew a weak defender, with Maxey toasting a slower man for a layup.

Their shared ability to play and thrive either on or off ball makes them tough to hold down entirely, and both guys hit some huge shots to pull away from Brooklyn down the stretch. When you have two guys capable of this in the guts of the game, the sky is the limit on offense:

Regardless of what the future holds, it has been a good time watching this kid go to work.

— The big bummer on Friday night was not Tyrese Maxey’s play, but the minute restriction that kept him from leaving a bigger imprint. After struggling mightily in his return against Memphis, Maxey delivered a much better follow-up against the Nets, delivering a crucial counterpunch as it looked like Brooklyn might run away with the game in the third quarter.

Part of that run came from a surprising place: the defensive end. Maxey has never been known as a lockdown guy, but with the game slipping away and the other two stars out, there was a noticeable uptick in effort from Maxey on that end. It culminated with a play where he ripped the ball away from Cam Thomas after well-timed help arrived from Eric Gordon, with Maxey taking the ensuing steal all the way to the hoop:

That would not be the last time he came up with the ball on defense, sparking a runout the other way. With the season hanging in the balance, Maxey forced three different Nets turnovers and helped shove them in the right direction.

A lot was made about Maxey’s leadership in the much-publicized meeting on Monday, and while that was an important message to deliver to the big guy, leading by example means a heck of a lot more to a team dying for wins at the moment. Maxey’s energy was infectious not just for his team but the entire building, with No. 0 playing to the crowd after every big play, every stop, every successful trip to the basket.

With the way things are looking, they are going to need Maxey to lead in every which way. If McCain provides this much help, he may end up being up to the task.

— A stat-stuffing performance for Kelly Oubre, who was my unsung hero of the game. He had one of the best passes I’ve ever seen him make on a slash and kick in the second half, and this is the guy they need the rest of the year.

The Bad

— I would love to be able to sit here and heap praise on vets like Eric Gordon for being able to step up and fill a role in a pinch. Unfortunately, that is not the world we are living in, and the lack of veteran bench production continued for yet another night.

Gordon certainly made an effort to impact the game offensively, and he did a decent job of playmaking off of his drives. But he appears to think he is a younger, more explosive version of himself at the moment, with Gordon routinely driving into traffic and getting stuffed at the rim no matter who is back there as a safety valve.

— The Sixers were up 51-38 with 3:27 remaining in the first half. They went into halftime up 53-50. Their ability to give up game-changing runs heading into the second half remains unmatched.

— Caleb Martin for the love of god learn where the three-point line is, brother.

The Ugly

— Here is a fun situation that we’re going to have to untangle either immediately after the game or over a longer period in the days ahead: at 5:15, when Nick Nurse talked to reporters about his star center, the coach said that warmups would be used to determine whether Embiid could give it a go or not. He did not give it a go.

This is what I can tell you from the period between Nurse’s presser and the start of the game:

• Joel Embiid’s locker was completely untouched during the pregame locker room media period (5:45 to 6:15). The only evidence that he might be there at all was a phone in his chair, a knee brace, and a road travel bag that was placed by the locker
• The Sixers’ support staff — a group of ball boys and player development guys — were on the floor waiting during Embiid’s normal workout time slot from about the 45-minute mark pre-tip until 30 minutes before tip. They clearly expected someone to come out and give it a go
• Joel Embiid did not go through a pre-game warmup

Suffice it to say that I saw no evidence that he was in the two hours before tip-off, and at the very least, there did not seem to be a clear line of communication between Embiid and the Sixers’ staff. If there was, then they all put on a charade at Nurse’s presser and on the floor during warmups, for reasons that are not clear.

Right around the start of the second half, the Sixers delivered a fresh update on Embiid, which follows below:

So, at least there’s the fact that Embiid couldn’t get through two games in a week without his knee swelling to the point that he had to sit two more games at a minimum.

— Reggie Jackson dribbling out the shot clock to end the first quarter is a privilege that should be afforded to Jared McCain, who was on the floor with him. Know your place, vet!