Philadelphia 76ers: Some bright spots amid opening preseason loss

Despite suffering a comprehensive loss in their opening preseason game, there were still some bright spots for the Philadelphia 76ers.

On the surface, a 110-89 loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies is not an ideal start to the 2017-18 preseason for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Granted, the Sixers were without emerging center Joel Embiid and forward Dario Saric. However, the Grizzlies were without their leading duo of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.

After being within striking distance at the halftime break trailing 56-55, the Sixers were then outscored 30-17 in the third term on their way to an eventual 21-point loss.

No. 1 overall selection , Markell Fultz, struggled mightily in his debut, shooting just 2-of-13 from the field on his way to posting four points and three assists. Despite the Grizzlies shooting just 6-of-32 from 3-point range, the Sixers gave up 50 points inside the paint, where the absence of Embiid was most noticeable on the defensive end.

While the Sixers struggled overall from the field (34.8 percent) and gave up a ton of easy points, there were also some positives to keep in mind moving forward.

Ben Simmons, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, made his long-awaited debut after being sidelined all of last season with a foot injury. Starting at the point, Simmons played 22 minutes and recorded six points, seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists.

Despite appearing in his first game on an NBA floor, Simmons’ floor vision and feel for the game was evident from the beginning, when he had already registered five assists in the first quarter. Naturally following the game, head coach Brett Brown was excited with what he saw from Simmons:

"“His breakaway speed, his ability to get to the rim, the pace of which he plays, I love. His ability to see things, find corners. When defensive players just nudge him over, he can find stuff well.”"

Another significant positive to emerge from the game was the performance of Jahlil Okafor. As the No. 3 overall pick in 2015, Okafor became somewhat of a forgotten man last season amid the emergence of Embiid. However following a rigorous offseason that saw him lose 20 pounds, Okafor has got himself into tremendous physical shape, which was evident in this first outing.

In 19 minutes, Okafor posted 13 points and six rebounds, and was a team-high +6 while on the floor. Okafor’s lighter frame was plain to see, with his ability to put the ball on the floor and beat his opponents off the dribble just one of the impressive features of his game.

Furthermore, the integration of veteran J.J. Redick into the lineup was another favourable result from the night. Playing 22 minutes, Redick scored 11 points, which included going 2-of-2 from 3-point range. With Simmons and Fultz set to be the primary ball-handlers in the starting unit, Redick’s ability to play off the ball, combined his veteran leadership, appear to be a terrific fit for the young Sixers outfit.

But while there was some positives to glean from the night, coach Brown was under no illusion as to what lies ahead. Entering the season with a mantra of “defence, pace and space,” Brown was far from impressed with one aspect of this approach:

"“We were challenged defensively….clearly lots to work on. I thought the defense was poor….in general I didn’t think the defense was that good.”"

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So while it was a disappointing result, the Sixers have little time to dwell on it as they play host to the Boston Celtics Friday evening.