Sixers takeaways: Poor starts, VJ Edgecombe is worn out, and more from loss at Cavaliers

The 76ers can’t overcome poor starts against competitive teams.

VJ Edgecombe looks exhausted.

And he and his teammates could really use Paul George right about now.

Those three things stood out Wednesday night in the Sixers’ 132-121 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.

The Sixers (5-3) may have been sluggish from playing their second game in as many days. Whatever the reason, they failed to match the Cavs’ effort to start the game. Tyrese Maxey sandwiched three turnovers around a jumper on the Sixers’ first four possessions.

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After Edgecombe drained a three-foot floater on their next possession, the Sixers missed five straight shots before Adem Bona committed their fourth turnover. The Cavs took advantage by building a 17-4 lead with 7 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first quarter.

Cleveland (5-3) extended its lead to 17 points in a quarter in which Maxey had four points on 1-for-3 shooting to go with four turnovers.

“I thought our offense kind of ignited their offense,” coach Nick Nurse told reporters. “Some turnovers to start kind of got us back on our heels a little bit.”

At that point, it appeared the Sixers were destined to suffer their second straight loss. And with six turnovers in the quarter, they were on pace to surpass the turnover count in losses to the Chicago Bulls (16) and Boston Celtics (18). They did just that, finishing with 19 turnovers.

However, Maxey, who finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, helped the Sixers raise their level of play. They tied the score, 72-72, two minutes into the third quarter.

But like in their loss to the Celtics, they couldn’t fully overcome their first-quarter woes. The Cavs responded with a 13-0 run to build a sizable lead and had a commanding 26-point cushion with 9:42 to play.

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“It seemed like if we didn’t score the ball, we were really struggling in transition,” Nurse said of what led to the Cavs’ second-half run. “So either we turned it over or we just missed a shot or a driving layup, whatever we missed. It was really hard to get back to their bigs at the rim. They kept finding them.

“Obviously [Donovan] Mitchell was cooking, too. He was playing fast and pulling up and driving. And when we started sending multiple people at him, he started finding a lot of dunks. We were a little late on some of those. And we weren’t protecting the rim.”

Mitchell had a game-high 46 points to go with eight assists. Cavs center Jarrett Allen had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and game highs of three steals and three blocks. Power forward Evan Mobley had 23 points, two blocks, and a steal.

The Sixers can easily point to Joel Embiid (left knee) and Jared McCain (right thumb) having the night off after playing in Tuesday’s 113-111 loss in Chicago. However, the Sixers have looked sluggish at times in every game they’ve played this season.

They must learn how to play with intensity and focus for 48 minutes. They barely overcame a poor start in a 139-134 road overtime victory against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 28. The Celtics and Cavs, however, are better teams.

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If the Sixers don’t fix this, they could be in trouble during their coming three-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors (Saturday), Detroit Pistons (Sunday), and Celtics (Tuesday).

After Edgecombe was selected third in June’s NBA draft, many thought he would be a role player this season. But he has been an integral part of the Sixers’ game plan because he has surpassed expectations while the team has been undermanned.

As a result, Edgecombe is averaging 38.6 minutes, second in the NBA, and Maxey is tops at 41.3. Edgecombe appeared exhausted against Cleveland.

The early Rookie of the Year front-runner had his worst game. He had a season-low seven points on 3-for-14 shooting — including going 0-for-5 on three-pointers — to go with four rebounds and four assists.

The 20-year-old has to do too much for a rookie. After eight games in 15 days, the minutes are piling up.

“The tricky part for us right now is, obviously, there’s probably four guys, maybe five, that are playing heavy minutes,” Nurse said. “... But the tricky part is we’ve got a whole bunch of guys on minutes restrictions, guys coming back, and we’ve got to get those guys in condition and in shape. So it’s a little bit of a tale of two teams. That’s where we are.”

The Sixers surely will get a lift once George makes his season debut. The forward has yet to play this season while recovering from left knee surgery in July. Maxey, Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Quentin Grimes won’t have to continue logging such heavy minutes once he returns.

The nine-time All-Star and four-time All-Defensive selection will take the pressure off Maxey and Edgecombe to guard opposing elite guards. George struggled while playing in just 41 games last season because of injuries.

The 35-year-old is determined to show that he’s still one of the league’s best two-way players.