Sixers Bell Ringer: A few bright spots in the shorthanded season-opening loss to the Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers opened their regular season with… well, what looked like the first game of a new season, as the undermanned Sixers lost 124-109 to the Milwaukee Bucks

The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (injury treatment) and Paul George (left knee bruise) after both missed the team's season opener. Nevertheless, the show must go on as always.

Despite missing two quality players, Philadelphia looked good from the start. Strong offensive rebounds helped the Sixers take a one-point lead after the first frame. However, the dam began to break in the second minute as the Bucks began pouring in the points and the Sixers struggled to make any of their shots fall. At halftime, Milwaukee had an 11-point lead, and things got even worse in the third period as the Bucks continued to do everything they could, especially from distance, to build a lead of over 20 points.

The Sixers made a push in the fourth to reduce the deficit, but were never able to make a real run to mount any real threat of a comeback.

The Sixers shot terribly in this game, just 41.8% on field goals (41 of 98) and 25.8% from three-point range (8 of 31). In comparison, the Bucks shot 53.8% on FGs (43 for 80) and 43.2% on 3PTs (16 for 37). With this disparity, it is difficult for Philadelphia to win a game no matter who is on the court.

For a full recap of the game: Check out ours here!

The Sixers (again without Embiid, who has already been ruled out) will travel on the road for the first time this season on Friday night when they travel to Canada to take on the Toronto Raptors.

Until then, let’s get to our first Bell Ringer of the 2024-25 season! To be honest, no one really did it tonight. Here are a few guys who, let's just say, looked the most promising.

Tyrese Maxey: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The Sixers started the season with their first points of the season: a step-back triple. It's a move that Maxey has apparently been working on since James Harden was his teammate, and he's only getting better at it. Maxey's improved ability to control his speed and maneuver his momentum lures defenders into the arc before he stutter-steps his way clear of a comfortable chance for three points. This is just one of the ways his improved strength and stability in his feet and body has accelerated his production as a scorer each season.

Maxey's line of fire is deserted a lot leaves a lot to be desired, however, as they shot just 32.3% field goals (10 for 31) and 22.2% from three-point range (2 for 9). However, he's finding plenty of good shooting opportunities and isn't forcing as much as he did earlier in his career, even as he tries to fill the void left by the Sixers' two missing stars. Nick Nurse wants Maxey to shoot and he did. I just have to hope those shots come down a little more as the season goes on.

(And hopefully a fair whistle to send him to the line more often? Please.)

Maxey finished Wednesday's contest with 25 points to lead the Sixers. He also had six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.

Andre Drummond: 10 points, 13 rebounds (5 offense)

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

A nice double-double to start the season for Drummond, who starts in place of Embiid!

For the Sixers, having someone like Drummond struggling on the glass when Embiid isn't on the floor is night and day. The only reason the Sixers were in this game the entire first quarter was because of their good rebounding, especially on offense. After one frame, Drummond already had seven boards. Midway through the second period, he had 10 rebounds in just 12 minutes. He finished the game with 13, including five on offense.

Honestly, his rim protection was fine in this case – the problem was that it was ultimately irrelevant. With the way the Bucks sank threes, what happened in the paint was an afterthought.

The main problem with Drummond starting like he did tonight is that he doesn't score exactly like Embiid, especially when he's trying to do it against a guy like Brook Lopez. Still, Drummond scored 10 points on 4-for-8 field goal shooting tonight.

Guerschon Yabusele: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

It's really hard not to support Yabusele. He has been out of the NBA since 2019 and played internationally until turning heads with his performances for France at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He looked good in the preseason – but many of these games aren't exactly true NBA competition. Tonight was a big test for the player once affectionately known as “The Dancing Bear.”

I would say he passed with flying colors. Every time Yabu came off the bench he made an impact on both ends of the pitch. Yabusele scored his first NBA points in five years just two minutes after entering the game. From there, he was off to the races – aggressive on the boards, active on defense, comfortable setting screens and taking advantage of smart opportunities to score or throw down an assist. For a guy who hasn't played in this league for a long time, he was a great fit alongside some of the best big players the association has to offer.

Yabu finished the game with 10 points (4 of 8 FG), four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

His main problem was fouls. With just over four minutes left in the contest, Yabusele was fouled, but that's understandable at this point in the season as he's likely getting a little used to defending against NBA players again.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 21 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

That was a beautiful Oubre evening straight out of a picture book. Energetic, good for a nice shot burst, with some inefficient shooting. He just is who he is. When the Sixers' offense is stagnant, he creates his own opportunities with the ball, which is exactly when they need him most. He hit a few big balls in this game as the Sixers fought for their lives and even tried to mount a small comeback late. Oubre finished just behind Maxey in scoring for the Sixers with 21 points (8-for-18 FG shooting) as well as two rebounds and an assist.

Speaking of assists, it's nice to see that Oubre already has good synergies with the likes of Andre Drummond, whom he has perfectly set up for the alley-oop below.

Kyle Lowry: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Having Lowry on the court in his 19th season in the NBA is like having a coach on the court with the Sixers. When Lowry has control of the ball, he constantly organizes the offense in real time when the team starts to get sloppy or start to get things moving, and it pays off. He knows where his teammates need to be and helps them get there before passing the ball to them to finish. That's why he led the Sixers with six assists tonight. In addition to that veteran playmaking presence, Lowry also hit three triples to try and keep the Sixers in this game. He finished the game with 13 points on 4-for-7 field goal shooting.

Only on defense did Lowry seem to have a little trouble, especially when the Bucks fired a barrage of shots from the perimeter. But overall it wasn't a terrible performance from the vet.