VJ Edgecombe has shown flashes of his immense potential as a rookie. Now he’ll be asked to help carry the banged-up 76ers down the stretch.
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DETROIT — VJ Edgecombe has a chance to be a star in the NBA.
That much has been established in his rookie season. The athleticism displayed by the Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard is rare. His ability to get to the basket off the dribble and to play to different spots on the floor bodes well for his growth. His maturity belies his years. His confidence quietly matches the width of his potential.
In a perfect world, Edgecombe would be allowed to blossom at his own pace. He should be allowed an offseason, or two, to add to his game and for his body and skill set to find its rhythm. But in this league, so much of what happens with a career has to do with circumstance.
To put it mildly, the 76ers are teetering. They are injured, almost beyond belief. And they need Edgecombe to grow up fast. Like a latch-key kid, Edgecombe is being asked to take on added responsibility. If the Sixers (35-31) are going to hold onto a playoff spot, they need Edgecombe to become an offensive engine.
“I just want to win, and I just want to do the things that allow my team to win,” Edgecombe told The Athletic. “If that means my team needs me to take more shots, I’m ready for that. But, mainly, I just need to do the things that my teams need me to do.”
Philadelphia’s situation is a precarious one. The 76ers are missing star center Joel Embiid, who has an oblique strain. They are missing star guard Tyrese Maxey, who has tendon damage in the pinky finger of his shooting hand. They are missing Paul George, who is serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy. They are missing Kelly Oubre Jr., who sprained an elbow. And on Thursday night, they were missing Adem Bona and Andre Drummond, both of whom had back spasms.
Their 131-109 loss to the Detroit Pistons dropped them to the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. Last week at this time, they were in the sixth spot. They are trying to keep a roster together with multiple guys who weren’t even on the team a month ago. They are trying to keep themselves within shouting distance of the No. 6 seed and the guaranteed playoff berth that comes with it.
Embiid will be evaluated on Friday. But if he doesn’t come back this weekend — the rest of the injuries outside of Bona and Drummond are longer-term ailments — Edgecombe is suddenly Philadelphia’s best player available. Two years ago, Edgecombe was playing high school basketball at Long Island Lutheran in New York. Last year, Edgecombe was in the Big 12 Conference, preparing for the NCAA Tournament as a freshman at Baylor. This March, he may well be the player the Sixers are counting on to keep them afloat.
“I think we’re trying to figure out what that looks like,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “Obviously, he’s going to have to score. I think he sparked us the other night (in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies) and got into the flow of the game the other night. He got everyone going with his defense and all of the things that he brings on the floor.”
What the Sixers are asking from Edgecombe is difficult. For much of this season, he’s thrived off the attention paid to Maxey, Embiid and others. He’s gotten out in transition for easy baskets. He’s made the open shots that have come his way.
The flashes he’s shown at times have people imagining what he could be. He started his career with 34 points in the season-opening road win over the Boston Celtics. He’s shown he can carry lineups over a string of second-unit minutes. His athleticism, coupled with his explosion off the dribble, has yielded special moments. He should be a lock for first-team All-Rookie. He will probably finish third or fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.
But the 76ers need him to grow up fast. And that is going to take some adjusting. He’s used to finishing plays. Now he has to start them. He’s used to feeding off the gravity created by Maxey. Now he has to create the gravity for himself and others. He’s used to being guarded by the second- or third-best perimeter defender on the opposing team. Now he’ll be guarded by the best defender.
Thursday night’s loss at Detroit, in this sense, became a learning moment for Edgecombe. He scored 10 points. He shot just 3-of-14 from the field. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts. It was an introduction to what the world of increased defensive attention has in store. Detroit made a point to send extra defensive bodies on his drives into the paint. He never got into a rhythm with his jumper. Offense became a chore for him, as the game got away from the 76ers for good in the third quarter.
If there is good news, it’s that Edgecombe got to his spots for most of the game. It’s just that he missed a lot of good looks.
Because of the injuries, the 76ers are playing with guys who haven’t been in the same lineup together. It’s like a team re-learning itself on the fly. That’s not a great recipe for winning games in March and April, when most winning teams are aiming to peak.
It’s a team trying to win. It’s a team thinking if it can just get to the playoffs healthy and whole, it will have a shot to do some damage. But it’s also a team that could slide as far as the 10th spot in the East, which would make simply qualifying for the playoffs a chore. As long as Philadelphia is missing the bulk of its best players, Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Cameron Payne will have to keep the team afloat.
“There will be ups and downs,” Edgecombe said. “I have to take the downs with the ups. But I have to stay the course.”
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Tony Jones is a Staff Writer at The Athletic covering the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA. A native of the East Coast and a journalism brat as a child, he has an addiction to hip-hop music and pickup basketball, and his Twitter page has been used for occasional debates concerning Biggie and Tupac. Follow Tony on Twitter @Tjonesonthenba