The Philadelphia 76ers are still searching for chemistry ahead of the regular season, with LeBron James and Joel Embiid acknowledging the team has plenty to improve despite its star-studded roster.
Philadelphia closed its preseason with a 125-120 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday, giving fans an extended look at James, Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown playing together.
While the talent was evident, the Sixers struggled to find consistency offensively, something James believes will improve with time.
“We’re getting there,” James said, according to ESPN. “I mean, obviously we are a couple of weeks in, so we’re still working on our rhythm, working on our kinks, and it’s not going to be perfect.”
Brown also acknowledged the team’s struggles, pointing to poor spacing and turnovers as areas that need immediate attention.
“We’re not where we want to be yet,” Brown said. “So that’s just a part of it. It’s a part of coming together, a new group with a bunch of guys, different style, but we just got to keep getting better every day.”
Despite Philadelphia’s offensive struggles, Embiid delivered an impressive individual performance, finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The former MVP also produced one of the night’s biggest highlights with a powerful third-quarter dunk that brought the home crowd to its feet.
“It’s good to dunk. I thought I would never dunk again,” Embiid said with a smile. “I guess I don’t know what happened. I kind of got possessed.”
Embiid also pushed back against suggestions that Philadelphia’s stars will need to sacrifice individual production to make the lineup work.
“I’m against the concept of sacrificing,” Embiid said. “I think the way I explained it was you do what you do best, and we’re going to support you. … I don’t think anybody has to take a back seat.”
Head coach Nick Nurse gave his starters their heaviest preseason workloads, although second-year guard VJ Edgecombe missed the contest for precautionary reasons.
With the preseason now complete, Philadelphia’s attention turns to Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the New York Knicks.
The Sixers have assembled one of the NBA’s most talented lineups, but Friday’s performance made it clear that building chemistry remains a work in progress.
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