A 120-97 Beatdown of the Champs Without LeBron — and the 76ers' Real Problem Is Already Here

Philadelphia's preseason opener was supposed to be the coronation. LeBron James in a Sixers uniform, finally, in front of a home crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Instead, James, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all sat out Monday night against the defending champion Knicks — and the 76ers won anyway, 120-97.

That's the headline, and it's a weirdly encouraging one. For one night, the story was the supporting cast.

Jaylen Brown didn't need a warmup

In his first action as a Sixer, Brown put up 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting with two rebounds, two assists and a block — in roughly 16-17 minutes. That's the version of Brown Philadelphia is paying for: a 28.7-point-per-game scorer (2025) who can carry an offense in short bursts and let Maxey and James operate off him.

VJ Edgecombe was right there with him. The second-year guard averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists across 75 games last season, and Maxey has already called him the most important player on this roster. Nights like Monday explain why.

The center room is the crack in the foundation

Here's the part that isn't a preseason overreaction. The 76ers' center depth is thinning fast: Adem Bona is out with a foot sprain from FIBA play, Tacko Fall was re-evaluated in two weeks with a hip strain, and Ariel Hukporti added an injury scare in the opener.

Nick Nurse has been open about wanting roles clearly defined. That's hard to do when the insurance policies behind Embiid keep dropping. Embiid averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games last season — the talent was never the question, the availability always was. Every center injury above him is a stress test on a 50.5 win total and a season that can't afford to run through Embiid for 82 games.

The Embiid news is genuinely different

Which is why the health reports matter more than the box score. Embiid is reportedly lighter this season, and LeBron — who played with him at the 2024 Paris Olympics — has said he's noticeably healthier than he was then. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne drew the Anthony Davis comparison, and it fits: a big man who only becomes a two-way problem when his body lets him.

James, at 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game in 2025, is being deployed as a creator. That's the right call. It also means the Embiid–LeBron pick-and-roll geometry is the thing Nurse actually has to solve, not the rotation math.

What the market and the schedule are saying

The 76ers sit at +850 to win the title — third behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio, both at +260 — with a 50.5 win total. That's a real contender's number for a team that went 45-37 last year with a point differential of minus-0.2.

And the Knicks reminder is unavoidable at both ends of the calendar. New York beat Philadelphia 8-2 across all meetings last season, including a playoff sweep in May. The regular-season opener? Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden.

Monday's win doesn't erase that. A 23-point preseason win over the champs without your three best players is a nice signal about depth and buy-in — but the Sixers' ceiling has never depended on their bench. It depends on Embiid's body, LeBron's fit and whether Nurse can keep enough centers upright to survive until the games count.