Even after falling in the final seconds to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night due to an absurd late-game takeover from Nikola Jokić, the Sixers feel like a team which has made significant strides in its last five games. They won four in a row prior to their loss to Denver, with Tyrese Maxey's brilliant push leading the way.
Things will not get any easier for these Sixers, though, as they are set to play host to the defending champion Boston Celtics on Friday evening. Before they do, a batch of encouraging numbers in another edition of Sunday stats:
3.5
Guerschon Yabusele's assists per game over his last nine contests.
Yabusele's passing chops have been evident dating back to his time with Real Madrid, and the Sixers utilized that skill on occasion in the early part of the season. But Yabusele, who only averaged 1.7 assists across his first 37 appearances as a Sixer, has been unleashed as a short-roll passing threat recently, doubling that average over the last nine games.
The Sixers have gotten drastically better at countering when opposing defenses blitz Maxey, and Yabusele's comfort making quick decisions in 4-on-3 situations has been a massive part of that.
Guerschon Yabusele's passing chops makes him a terrific fit with any perimeter players who are good cutters. The Sixers have another one of those in Justin Edwards: pic.twitter.com/NFIZbyHbdm
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 30, 2025
"It's something that we know some teams will try to do, and something we work on in practice," Yabusele said on Friday. "When you get traps and you make the first pass, then where are we going, what are we doing? This is something that we definitely practice and also becomes, like automatic. When I catch the ball, somebody cuts, somebody goes to the corner, somebody's going to open for sure, because there are two guys on Tyrese. So we're just practicing our chemistry. Guys like [Kelly Oubre Jr.], when he cuts and you pass him the ball, most of the time he's going to be dunking it or getting an and-one."
A complete masterclass from Eric Gordon, Guerschon Yabusele and Kelly Oubre Jr. in how to beat teams who blitz Tyrese Maxey: pic.twitter.com/0Tjk8Qm0xO
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 30, 2025
With his impressive passing and terrific three-point stroke in addition to strong finishing around the rim and the occasional post-up scoring flurry, there is really not much Yabusele cannot do offensively.
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5
Ricky Council IV's total number of steals over his last three games (approximately 64 minutes).
Nobody would argue an assertion Council made on Tuesday night.
"I play my balls off every time I'm on the court," Council said with pride.
Indeed he does. But while Council does play with high energy — and that means something — the next step in his development is learning how to best channel all of that juice. With his frame and athletic gifts, Council has the capacity to be a defensive weapon for the Sixers. Far too often, though, the second-year wing has just not stood out there. Recently, though, his intensity as a defender has stood out quite a bit.
Particularly during the Sixers' loss to Denver, Council nearly swung the game with a stellar opening to the fourth quarter. After beginning the final frame with a corner triple, he forced back-to-back turnovers, both of which led to Sixers baskets. His focus was palpable in that moment.
Ricky Council IV nabbed back-to-back steals in the fourth quarter on Friday night, both leading to Sixers baskets in transition: pic.twitter.com/6oae7Doisw
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 2, 2025
8.5
Justin Edwards' three-point attempts per 100 possessions as a Sixer.
Listing all of the factors driving Edwards' emergence from undrafted rookie on a two-way contract to a possibly significant part of the Sixers' future would take quite a long time. But many of those factors stem from one overarching theme: a keen understanding of what he needs to do in order to help his team win his minutes. That manifests itself in timely cuts off the ball, reliable defense and an innate ability to simply get out of the way when players like Maxey are going to work.
But Edwards has quickly recognized something that is much harder for some young role players to process: the importance of selective aggression, particularly as a spot-up shooter. In reality, what matters more than whether Edwards makes a pass, takes a shot or initiates a drive is that he chooses one of those paths as soon as he gets the ball.
The hometown kid has found his lane as a high-volume three-point shooter, and so far has paired that with middling efficiency (34.3 three-point percentage).
Sixers two-way wing Justin Edwards is shooting 34.1 percent from three-point range as an NBA rookie, but the quickness of his release stands out: pic.twitter.com/7okY7Ve8CM
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 24, 2025
That combination alongside his strong cutting gives Edwards a pretty healthy baseline as an offensive player. If he can start to knock down a higher percentage of his long-range tries while maintaining this sort of volume, Edwards is going to be an invaluable part of this team for years to come.
MORE: Best plays from the Sixers' four-game winning streak
5
The number of consecutive games in which Kelly Oubre Jr. has recorded at least three assists.
For the second year in a row, Oubre has found a way to thrive in all sorts of different roles over the course of a season for the Sixers. With Paul George sidelined, the latest has been a more significant on-ball role. When none of the Sixers' stars are on the floor, Nurse has asked Oubre to be his primary source of offense. Typically, that strictly empowers Oubre to do so as a downhill scorer. But Oubre has learned to play with more control as a driver, and it has enabled him to find lanes to capitalize on his ability to pressure the rim with his passing:
Kelly Oubre Jr. assists in each of his last five games:
3
3
5
3
5 pic.twitter.com/X7fTXGH4HQ— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 2, 2025
"I just think he's done such a better job at getting to two feet," Nurse said on Friday. "It seems that when he goes in there and gets to two feet, he's got a little bit more strength, balance, and moves it around a little more than when he gets in there on one foot and he kind of is already committed to some certain direction or whatever."
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