Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
The most impressive plays of the previous 10 days in Philadelphia sports were one that didn’t count and one that didn’t happen. The one that didn’t count In the first half against the Magic on Monday, Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe was playing “help” defense; his man was in the left corner and the ball was on the right wing. The Magic’s play was designed to create an alley-oop dunk for 6-foot-11 center Goga Bitadze. Usually, the help defender is content to be alert to any skip pass thrown to his man, then to shuffle over and defend if that pass is made. Not VJ. » READ MORE: VJ Edgecombe’s Bahamian friends reveling in his stellar NBA debut: ‘It was so personal, and it was amazing’ Edgecombe sniffed out the play, stepped to the rim, leapt, and swatted the pass away. It didn’t count, really, because Edgecombe caught a piece of Bitadze’s hand, but it saved a point, since Bitadze missed one of his free throws. But the combination of innate ability, effort, and execution was simply breathtaking. Edgecombe is scoring like a veteran — he led rookies at 22.3 points per game before Friday — and defending like a madman and jumping out of the gym. But his genius lies in his instinct. That, as much as anything else, is why the Sixers started 4-0. The one that didn’t happen Matvei Michkov, the gifted, impetuous Flyers winger, found himself alone behind the goal with about five minutes to play in the second period Thursday against the Predators. It was a moment ripe for another try at a “Michigan,” a move in which the player pins the puck on his own blade, reaches over the goal, and stuffs it in behind the goalie. Michkov had often tried the move in his 89 NHL games, to the dismay of his coaches. He’s never made one. But this was the perfect chance … right? The Predators thought so, and they locked on him, but Michkov feinted, and then, to everyone’s surprise, he snapped a simple pass to Jamie Drysdale, who was open right in front of the goal. Drysdale potted it for a 2-0 lead in a game in which the Flyers had been drastically outplayed but eventually won, 4-1, behind two goals from scorching-hot new winger Trevor Zegras. Impressive. Not impressive like Saquon Barkley’s 65-yard touchdown run on the second play of the Eagles’ win last Sunday against the Giants, but, as impressive as that was, that’s what Saquon regularly does. We’re not sure just yet what Zegras and Michkov will regularly do. The same is true for the combination of Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, now in his sixth season but mostly unfettered by the lumbering presence of Joel Embiid. As such, entering the Halloween game Friday against the Celtics, Maxey led the NBA not only in scoring but also in fourth-quarter scoring. Jordan and Kobe scoring. A Brand New Day Like Lewis & Clark, Philadelphia is in discovery mode, finding breathtaking spectacles behind every mountain these players climb. That the discoveries often reveal themselves at Xfinity Mobile Arena (née Wells Fargo Center) only doubles that delight. It has been a joyless venue lately. For more than three seasons, South Philly’s dual-use arena has brought locals heartache and disappointment. The Sixers have been a joke since their second-round playoff collapse in 2023. The Flyers have been adrift since hiring combative retread John Tortorella in 2022. But now, Doc “Schedule Loss” Rivers is gone. So is Tortorella, a brilliant hockey mind with the emotional intelligence of Genghis Khan. So is eccentric guard James Harden. Embiid’s injuries have made him a role player for the foreseeable future. The specter of Carter Hart is removed — he and his fellow Team Canada defendants were acquitted of sexual assault and Hart now is with Vegas — and the Flyers have replaced him with a viable goaltending tandem in Sam Ersson, who’s hurt, and Dan Vladar, who, on Thursday, delivered a 33-save performance that was even more magnificent than the numbers. The page has turned. The Flyers have completely bought in to new coach Rick Tocchet’s system; in fact, guys are volunteering for extra work. “You can tell they’re attentive, and they want information, and they want to learn,” Tocchet said after Thursday’s uneven effort. “But I’m finding a lot of guys, whether they’re coming to your office watching video, or the coaches are on the ice early [before practice] with them working on their game, they’re craving that stuff. That’s a good sign, you know.” » READ MORE: Sixers mailbag: Joel Embiid’s minutes restrictions, Nick Nurse’s rotations, and more reader questions The Sixers saw that sign with Edgecombe this offseason, after Maxey, a noted workaholic, texted his teammates one evening that he’d be at the gym at 6 a.m. the next day. Edgecombe beat him there. What does it all mean? For now, it means both teams are more relevant than anyone imagined they would be. The Flyers entered their back-to-back home games Saturday and Sunday at 6-3-1. Injuries to Sean Couturier and Ersson might slow their roll, but they’re playing with an energy we haven’t seen since the COVID lockdown. The Sixers were supposed to be holding their breath while Embiid worked his way into game shape (again), while Paul George got his knee healthy (again), and while second-year guard Jared McCain recovered from a hand injury. Now, they’re holding their breath and hoping that reincorporating the injured players doesn’t spoil the fast-paced, guard-driven chemistry that has made the team fun to watch for the first time since Andre Iguodala led it in 2011. And both teams are finishing. On Thursday, the Flyers sleepwalked through two periods and stole a win on pure heart. Two days before, the Flyers beat the Penguins in a shootout, a game in which Sidney Crosby scored in the third period to tie it. The Sixers won back-to-back games: Monday, at home, holding off a late surge by the Magic, then Tuesday, at the Wizards, with comebacks in both the fourth quarter and overtime. » READ MORE: How the Sixers’ disastrous 2024-25 season fueled Nick Nurse: ‘You brush the dust off and get back to work’ The last few seasons, both teams lose all of those games. They couldn’t have finished. Zegras, a damaged-goods, high-ceiling trade product from the Ducks in June, scored twice Thursday. He leads the team with 12 points, and he has at least one point in his first seven home games, one game shy of a Flyers record. Stay tuned. They’re just getting started, short-term and long. Zegras is 24, and he’s a restricted free agent, and RFAs in hockey almost always stay at least one extra year, so he’s in for a while at least. Michkov is 20. Similarly, Maxey is 25, and signed through 2028-29. Edgecombe is 20. In this moment, for this moment, the future is bright. After years of futility, the “X” is the spot.
