On a special night, the first of 14 home games celebrating the 2000-01 Eastern Conference champion team, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Toronto Raptors as the Sixers were in sore need of some home cooking.
The crowd was packed and electric for the debut of the team’s court and jerseys honoring the fan-favorite team led by franchise legend Allen Iverson. Setting the tone was the bell-ringer, a blast from the past, Hip Hop, who was the team’s mascot from 1998 to 2011.
One notable change was the inclusion of Trendon Watford in the starting lineup, marking his first start with his new team. Watford was transcendent in his opportunity, as he messed around and got a triple-double, the first of his NBA career, with 20 points, 17 (career-high) rebounds, and 10 assists. Watford has come along slowly this season after dealing with a nagging hamstring injury to start the year, but has continued to improve, looking far more comfortable of late, averaging 13.3 points over his last three games, while making 63.6% of his shots from the floor and 75% of his shots from outside.
Certainly, no one expected this explosion, but it does showcase how well-suited Watford is to what head coach Nick Nurse hopes to accomplish with the offense.
Pace. That’s been the theme of the offense for the past two seasons, but this year, the former Raptors head coach finally has not only a roster better suited for his desired scheme, but also largely healthier than they were last season.
Watford’s ability to playmake at his size adds a new dynamic to the Sixers’ lineup structure. This season, Nurse has opted to roll out a three-guard lineup often, and it’s been effective. Watford’s ability not only adds some size to help Nurse limit those three-guard lineups, but he can also maximize their offensive impact by playing alongside them as well.
Watford allows both Maxey and Quentin Grimes to operate off the ball, which helps create open looks for themselves. However, he can also work as a pick-and-roll partner, able to either roll or pop, depending on the look. It’s a lot to expect Watford to roll out this level of performance every night, but it certainly seems like the Sixers have solved their power forward situation, at least until Paul George comes back—potentially next week.
Of course, Watford did not win the game on his own. The Sixers saw strong contributions from a number of players, including Tyrese Maxey—31 points, four rebounds, and seven assists, Joel Embiid—29 points, six rebounds, and four assists, Kelly Oubre—19 points, and rookie VJ Edgecombe—11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and several high-flying highlights.
Together, the Sixers held off the Raptors by a final score of 130-120, starting their three-game home stint off on the right foot.
The Sixers will turn right around tomorrow to face the Detroit Pistons, who sit atop the Eastern Conference, in an NBA Cup matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. EST, and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
