LeBron James, 76ers 'working on our rhythm' as opener nears - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — As the Philadelphia 76ers begin a season with a star-laden roster, center Joel Embiid rejects the narrative that anyone needs to sacrifice for this team to succeed.

«I'm against the concept of sacrificing,» he said after Friday's preseason finale. «I think the way I explained it was you do what you do best, and we're going to support you.… I don't think anybody has to take a back seat.»

Albeit without second-year starting guard VJ Edgecombe, who was held out of Friday's 125-120 loss to the Boston Celtics for precautionary reasons, Sixers coach Nick Nurse gave the closest glimpse of what this Sixers team might look like this season.

The other active Sixers starters — LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Embiid — all had preseason highs in minutes and played well into the second half. Embiid, who struggled in his last appearance two games ago against the Brooklyn Nets, finishing with six points and eight turnovers, was dominant.​

He scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added five assists. In the third quarter, he had one of the game's best highlights when he threw down an emphatic dunk that drew roars from fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena. «It's good to dunk. I thought I would never dunk again,» Embiid said with a smile. «I guess I don't know what happened. I kind of got possessed.»

Still, the group never looked comfortable together on the floor, despite playing against Celtics reserves. After the game, players didn't shy away from their somewhat disjointed performance. Forward Jaylen Brown pointed to the team's spacing Friday night, which he said led to turnovers as one of the many things they will need to fix moving forward.

«We're not where we want to be yet,» he said. «So that's just a part