Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe continues to impress for the Philadelphia 76ers, who’re off to their first 3-0 begin because the 2019-20 marketing campaign.
The Sixers look to stay unbeaten after they go to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
With heart Joel Embiid resting his surgically repaired left knee on the primary night time of a back-to-back, Tyrese Maxey scored 43 factors and Edgecombe added 26 in Philadelphia’s 136-124 residence win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Embiid is predicted to return towards Washington, which has dropped two of its first three video games. The Wizards misplaced 139-113 to the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Washington will look to decelerate the Sixers’ backcourt duo of Maxey and Edgecombe, who’ve mixed for 186 factors in three video games.
Philadelphia has thrived even with Paul George (left knee surgical procedure restoration), Jared McCain (proper thumb surgical procedure restoration) and Trendon Watford (left hamstring harm administration) all sidelined to start the season.
Edgecombe has been a revelation after being chosen third general in June’s NBA draft. The 19-year-old is averaging 24.5 factors, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists via three video games.
“It isn’t that shocking to me,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse mentioned. “I feel he is this good. I believed it instantly.”
Edgecombe leads all rookies in scoring and has rapidly gained the respect of his teammates.
“VJ could be very, excellent,” Sixers heart Andre Drummond mentioned. “I am not stunned by the way in which he is enjoying and simply his confidence stage.”
Philadelphia gained two of the three conferences final season towards Washington, whose rebuilding effort seems to be trending in the precise path.
The Wizards’ younger nucleus contains rookie Tre Johnson, second-year gamers Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington, and third-year ahead Bilal Coulibaly. Like most younger groups, nevertheless, the Wizards will be inconsistent.
One sport after beating the host Dallas Mavericks 117-107, Washington gave up 88 factors within the second half of the loss to Charlotte on Sunday.
The Wizards struggled to comprise Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, who recorded his eleventh profession triple-double with 38 factors, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
“Clearly, each night time will not be going to go how we would like it to go,” Sarr mentioned. “We have actually acquired to observe movie, get again at it. The advantage of (Sunday) is we all know what went fallacious — it was our protection.”
Coulibaly is recovering from offseason proper thumb surgical procedure, however the Wizards have been inspired by the play of Johnson and George.
Johnson is the primary Wizards rookie to attain at the very least 15 factors in every of his first three profession video games since Earl Monroe in 1967.
George scored a career-high 34 factors within the win over Dallas earlier than fouling out late within the sport on Sunday towards Charlotte. He had six factors, eight rebounds and 5 assists within the loss.
The 6-foot-8 George is averaging a team-high 20.3 factors and 9.3 rebounds and is tied for the crew lead with 4.3 assists via three video games.
“We’re within the strategy of getting higher, and I like the place our crew’s going,” Washington coach Brian Keefe mentioned. “I really feel actually good about it as a result of I can see, once we’re enjoying effectively, it is arduous to protect, and we defend fairly effectively. The consistency half, when groups make changes, that is a part of studying.”
–Subject Degree Media