Every rotation player for the Philadelphia 76ers will be eager to start the season with a productive performance when they kick things off against the defending-champion New York Knicks on Tuesday night. However, not every single Sixers player is going to be able to light it up every single night. Here's a look at three Sixers players who could have relatively quiet season debuts.
Labaron Philon Jr.
Rookie guard Labaron Philon Jr. will be making his NBA debut in the season opener after flashing some serious potential during Summer League and throughout preseason play. Philon played in all four of Philadelphia's preseason games and averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per performance. We shouldn't expect him to reach those numbers in the season opener though, as Philadelphia's starters will be playing much more than they did during the exhibitions and accounting for much more production overall.
As the only rookie on the roster, it remains to be seen how much Philon will play for Philadelphia, especially early in the season. The Sixers have some decent depth in the backcourt, and that depth could impact Philon's on-court opportunity. Plus, there could be some nerves at play for Philon during his first professional game. Given all of those factors, it wouldn't be surprising if Philon had a relatively quiet debut.
Anfernee Simons
Anfernee Simons is a player who has averaged over 20 points per game in a season twice in his career, so he's certainly capable of filling up the stat sheet. But we probably shouldn't expect a stat-stuffing performance from Simons in the season opener, if he plays. Simons missed the entirety of the preseason due to hamstring soreness, and he's listed as questionable for the season opener on the official injury report.
If Simons doesn't play, it will obviously be a very quiet Sixers debut for the veteran guard. Even if he does play, expectations should be tempered. Since he didn't get to play in the preseason at all, head coach Nick Nurse will likely limit his minutes until he gets up to speed. Rust could also be a factor that could contribute to a relatively quiet evening for Simons.
VJ Edgecombe
With all of the firepower in Philadelphia's new-look starting five, someone is going to have to sacrifice in a statistical sense. That could end up being a different player every night, and in the season opener it could very well end up being second-year guard VJ Edgecombe. For all of the promise that he flashed as a rookie last season, Edgecombe is still the least experienced and accomplished player in Philadelphia's starting five, so he would be a natural candidate to take a backseat. Whatever role the Sixers need Edgecombe to play in his second season, he's ready to embrace it.
“I just want to win. I’m going to still be aggressive, still be myself. If that comes with less shots or more shots, who knows,” Edgecombe said of his role in August. “I don’t know how the course of the game is going to go. I’m just excited to play alongside my teammates. I think we have a chance to do something really special.”
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