The Sixers kicked off their preseason with a bang, dropping 120 points on the defending champion New York Knicks for a 120-97 win Monday night. But just five minutes in, a potential costly injury to big man Ariel Hukporti cast a long shadow over the impressive victory. He left the game favoring his right ankle after what looked like a non-contact play, and honestly, everyone watching had to hold their breath.
Brown Is a Sixer, And He Looked GOOD
Talk about a statement debut! Jaylen Brown, in his very first game as a Sixer, wasted no time making his presence felt. He racked up 22 points, shooting an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor, adding two boards and two assists in just 16 minutes. Yeah, you read that right, 16 minutes! He got to his spots early, even if his first couple of shots and free throws didn’t fall. A layup rolled out, but Brown fought like crazy for the offensive rebound, put it back, and got fouled. That’s the kind of grit you want to see. He eventually caught fire, hitting three straight shots to put up 13 points in the first quarter alone.
VJ Edgecombe also showed out, playing 19 minutes and dropping 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, plus four rebounds and seven assists. He was consistently attacking the basket and finding success, even if his jumper wasn’t falling. Labaron Philon Jr., the first sub of the night, mostly deferred to Brown and Edgecombe while they were “cooking,” but he did hit his first shot, a smooth pull-up from midrange. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joined the party with a quick seven points to end the quarter, even drilling a three, although a missed boxout let OG Anunoby grab a board and get fouled. The offense was humming, no doubt about it.
Hukporti Down: Depth Takes a Major Hit
While the offense was clicking, the big story coming out of this win has to be Hukporti’s injury. Five minutes into the game, he went down favoring his right ankle. It looked like a non-contact injury, the kind that always makes you wince. His former Knicks teammates were quick to put an arm around him as he was helped off the floor, which tells you a lot about the severity and concern. Jabari Walker came in to replace him, and now he’s the only healthy backup five on the entire team. That’s a huge blow to their depth, especially so early in the preseason.
Coach Nick Nurse had already said he plans to get the starters in two of their four preseason games, and he wasn’t worried about the minor nicks picked up by Anfernee Simons and Dominick Barlow. But Hukporti’s injury feels different. LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Simons, and Adem Bona were all out for this game. You really want to get through preseason healthy, and losing a big man early is just brutal.
The Sixers definitely got the W, but the big question now is Hukporti’s ankle. Getting out of these preseason games healthy is 99% of the battle, and the Sixers just took a serious blow to their big man rotation. Everyone’s holding their breath, hoping it’s not as bad as it looked. We’ll be watching closely to see what happens next with him and when the other starters might hit the court.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Liberty Ballers.
Leave a Reply