Instant observations: VJ Edgecombe scores 35 points in Sixers’ loss to Thunder

Here’s what I saw. Good effort, rook Monday’s honorary Denzel Washington “I’m Leaving Here With Something! ” award goes to VJ Edgecombe, who was on a shot-per-minute pace to open the game and was the only player truly worth watching for Philadelphia.

The Thunder forced him into some uber-tough attempts from deep, crowding him on the release without fouling, but he was able to make enough jumpers to keep the defense honest and preserve hope that he could unlock the Thunder inside the arc. Spoiler alert: he did not unlock the Thunder inside the arc. But I’m not sure there’s anything he could have done to open the paint up, with Oklahoma City happy to cheat off the likes of Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, Trendon Watford, Marjon Beauchamp, and Dalen Terry, a group that made up half of Philadelphia’s available rotation players.

So Edgecombe was forced to attack through a variety of midrange attempts, defenders always within striking distance to wave a hand or two in his face. Frankly, he did better than expected on those shots, hitting some extraordinarily tough sidestep jumpers and runners as Chet Holmgren and Co. did their best to match him step for step.

The thing that made me happiest about Edgecombe’s outing is that it was a volume-scoring classic that came after he got off to a relatively slow start, 2/6 from the field and sputtering with Lu Dort chasing him all over the floor. We have seen games where Edgecombe has allowed a slow start to goad him into a tertiary role, but the Sixers did not have the luxury of standing in the corner and hoping someone else would drag this team toward respectability. After halftime, it was showtime for their star rookie, who unleashed a barrage of threes on the Thunder to do anything to keep the game within arm’s reach.