[Minus VJ Edgecombe, health precaution] The other active Sixers starters -- LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Embiid -- all played preseason highs in minutes and well into the second half.
...
Still, the group never looked comfortable together on the floor, despite playing against Celtics reserves. After the game, players didn't shy away from their somewhat disjointed performance.
[Jaylen and LeBron both acknowledged the players were not jelling yet. Both were confident that they would eventually.]
...
"I'm against the concept of sacrificing. ...I don't think anybody has to take a back seat."
--Joel Embiid
And last night was four days after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope breathed his chemistry concern: "Our chemistry is gonna be the biggest part for us. Us liking each other, being able to be around each other and have fun on and off the court."
Everybody's right. This is a team of superstars put together opportunistically. This is the preseason. Of course, all of the superstar parts are not going to fit perfectly together as a unit. LeBron has been through this before (not without problems). Jaylen and Jayson Tatum had no non-basketball chemistry, and it didn't matter on the court. Everybody's right, except maybe Joel. Being part of a team means you have to sacrifice. Is there enough ball to go around? Another reality of the preseason is that this group's temperament has not yet been tested. The first losing streak in the regular season will do that. If there is to be a casualty, and I predict that there will be, it's not going to be a superstar, it will be head coach Nick Nurse.
