Last year’s No.1 pick, Markelle Fultz, made his preseason debut in the Starting Five and did a good job winning the Philadelphia 76ers. The Boston Celtics also celebrated a return, but lost out to the Charlotte Hornets.
The preseason kick-off for Philly was a success, and in several ways: The Sixers not only won the game, they also gained important insights, because for the first time ever, they launched last year’s No.1-Pick Markelle Fultz alongside Ben Simmons.
Fultz, who was in the top five for J.J. Redick, scored 14 points (6/11 FG) and 4 assists, plus a spectacular LeBron James-style Chasedown block that showed his still impressive athletics.
The stars of the game were the stars of the previous year: Simmons delivered 8 points and rebounds each, 14 assists, Joel Embiid was also in good early form and delivered 20 points and 10 rebounds. Only the spacing could keep coach Brett Brown a little busy: From the Starting Five of Embiid, Simmons, Fultz, Robert Covington and Dario Saric, only Embiid met a single trio in this game.
The rotation, however, is probably not yet carved in stone. Newcomer Wilson Chandler, for example, played just under four minutes. However, the clear victory against a well-managed guest team from Melbourne should give Philly hope. Top scorers among the Australians were Alex Pledger and the former Sixer Casper Ware with 19 points each.
Gordon Hayward had missed almost exactly one year after breaking his ankle last season on Matchday One. The preseason opening in Charlotte marked the long-awaited comeback for him and thus a milestone: “It’s good to get this out of the way. I didn’t feel like I was playing my best basketball, but it was fun and nice to be out there with the guys again,” commented Hayward.
The Swingman scored 10 points and helped Boston to score 37 points in the first quarter, the new Starting Five from him, Kyrie Irving (9 points), Jaylen Brown (14), Jayson Tatum (8) and Al Horford (3) had a lot of fun in any case. However, Boston lost their rhythm over the course of the game, especially as coach Brad Stevens tried a lot and bought ten bench players playing time.
Daniel Theis was also one of them, who scored 4 points and rebounds in 13:39 minutes each as well as one block. Marcus Morris (12) and Terry Rozier (11) were the best Celtics scorers from the bank.
But it wasn’t enough for the victory, because Charlotte presented herself even more balanced. The hosts scored seven players in Double Figures, with Jeremy Lamb the best scorer with 15 points.
Rookie Miles Bridges was particularly striking, collecting 10 points and 8 rebounds and putting a spectacular dunk in the basket. Tony Parker scored 0 points in his first game without the Spurs jersey, but played only 9 minutes.