Nov 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) reacts to his three pointer against the Brooklyn Nets during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
This game story was supposed to feature Guerschon Yabusele.
It would've praised Nick Nurse for addressing the elephant in the room, starting the small-ball big man over the struggling Andre Drummond.
For dusting KJ Martin off for some gritty minutes and athletic pop.
And then, the Sixers delivered some news about the guy who has long been the face of the franchise.
The priorities changed. Attention diverted away from the game.
In some ways, it was for the best.
You had to go back and re-watch the second half to properly take in how the Sixers, mired in a miserable 2-12 start to their season, rode their backcourt to a much-needed victory.
It was only the 6-9 Brooklyn Nets.
You take whatever you can get when you're 2-12.
Every data point of adversity overcome helps. Every memory you can draw on in moments that build character helps.
Friday's win over the Nets built some identity for a team that was lacking it.
A 24-year-old and a 20-year-old are at the heart of that identity. A guard who just signed his second NBA contract and a guard who is doing things no rookie has ever done before, both gifted with infectious smiles and killer instincts.
Philadelphia let a double-digit second-quarter lead trickle down to just three points by halftime. A barrage of Brooklyn threes early in the third quarter put the Sixers down by nine points.
The boos started. It was a movie everyone in Philadelphia has seen far too many times already this season.
"We played together. Guys stuck together. They went on the big run, I think at the beginning of the third. And, listen, it's been a constant theme of the past 14 games: teams go on a run, and we lay down and just let them continue pressing on," Tyrese Maxey said after Friday's victory.
"Today, they went on a run, called timeout, and we did what we're supposed to do: we hit them back, punched them right back. And now, we're right back into the game. Took the lead in the third quarter."
Coming out of that timeout Maxey mentioned, the Sixers started paying attention to the little details.
It started with making real, hard contact on screens to force switches.
Instead of standing around as the clock ticked away, the Sixers spammed simple actions. Ball screens for their two best players to get switches. They hunted Cam Johnson. Not an easy target, but it worked.
The Sixers led by two after the third, which has been a disastrous quarter for them this season.
The Nets fought back, taking a multi-possession lead early in the final frame. Nurse staggered Maxey and Jared McCain to ensure that at least one of his two best players was on the court at all times.
The early stages of the fourth quarter belonged to McCain. A hard ball screen isn't going to solve all of your problems. Not when the disparity in talent between your two best players and everyone else is as significant as it is.
McCain relied on his ability to absorb ball pressure long enough to get to his preferred spot off the dribble - the left elbow - to create space for jumpers:
He held down the fort long enough for Maxey to get his prescribed rest coming off the hamstring injury. Then, Nurse deployed them together one last time.
"They hit us again, I think in the early fourth, and we were resilient again. That's basketball. That's the NBA. It's a game of runs," Maxey said.
It was the Sixers' turn. They saw the game beautifully, picking apart every detail the Nets missed.
It started with McCain passing to Maxey out of a drive and relocating to the strong-side corner. Fan-favorite Ben Simmons closed out on Maxey with heavy feet, conceding the driving angle between the Sixers duo. Maxey reset off the catch, ensuring Simmons couldn't recover to help position, and got the ball back to McCain. The rookie shot-faked and attacked another heavy closeout for a finger roll.
That wasn't the only Brooklyn mistake the Sixers punished.
McCain reads the Nets' drag screen defense well, noticing the botched communication. It effectively turns into a drop coverage or an under on the screen by the ball defender. McCain has the confidence to pull the trigger off the dribble early in the shot clock.
Philadelphia also capitalized on Brooklyn's mistakes on offense. They used Ben Simmons being on the floor in crunch time against the Nets.
The Sixers were completely unthreatened by the Nets using Simmons as a screener. They know Cam Thomas loves himself some Cam Thomas. As soon as Simmons leaves the action, they blitz the ball, forcing Thomas into a live turnover.
At least for one night, Philadelphia forged an identity getting back to the simple stuff. The Sixers iced the game with ball screen offense, using Maxey as the screener to make things more challenging for Brooklyn.
Maxey's screen induces a switch, getting Dorian Finney-Smith off of McCain and Dennis Schroder on him. McCain is too strong and a few inches too tall. He bullies Schroder just below the left elbow for another midrange jumper.
And then, the knockout punch. Surprise, surprise - it starts with Maxey screening the ball.
Maxey's pick gets Nic Claxton off of Caleb Martin, who is able to take advantage of Johnson's defensive positioning by spinning back toward the basket. Claxton is attached to Maxey at the hip, unwilling to leave the star guard open for the sake of cutting off a driving angle. Martin springs for the middle of the floor, putting Brooklyn in rotation. Finney-Smith Xs out to Kelly Oubre Jr., taking away the corner three out of the baseline attack. It leaves McCain wide open near the top of the key.
Night night.
It's one win. But, there's a clear dynamism in the Sixers' backcourt. Maxey has the speed. McCain has the passing vision. They both have the shooting, craftiness and guts.
As McCain notched his seventh straight game of at least 20 points and Maxey looked much closer to the Maxey everyone knows, it became clear that their offensive fit is as clean in reality as it is in theory. You have to guard them at all times. There are no possessions off.
The Nets learned that the hard way.
The Sixers learned a little something about themselves.
