Sixers-Pistons: VJ Edgecombe’s struggles and other things we learned in their 131-109 loss in Detroit

Unsurprisingly, the Sixers, down four starters, lost to the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons on Thursday.

Nick Nurse dug deep into his bench during the 131-109 loss, giving the Sixers reserves more opportunities for playing time.

Here’s what we learned from the undermanned Sixers’ loss in Detroit:

» READ MORE: Down four starters, the Sixers can’t keep pace with the Detroit Pistons in 131-109 loss

With Tyrese Maxey out, Nurse has expressed that he wants Edgecombe to get more opportunities as the primary ballhandler. During the draft process, Edgecombe was thought of as having point guard upside.

But he’s still working on that skill set. On Thursday in Detroit, Edgecombe had 10 points on 3-for-14 shooting from the field with three turnovers in 29 minutes, 12 seconds. He sat out the final 8:43 of the fourth quarter.

So far in his NBA career, Edgecombe has been a complementary player. He hasn’t drawn the majority of the defensive attention and has found opportunities in the pick-and-roll game with Joel Embiid and off the ball with Maxey.

Now, he’s the Sixers’ leading scorer, with all of the top players out, and the focus of the opponents’ game plans. Edgecombe has played a lot of minutes this season. The rookie ranked eighth in the NBA in minutes per game entering Friday.

With Maxey sidelined for at least three weeks, it will be valuable for Edgecombe to learn how to be the focal point on offense and for Nurse and the Sixers to assess whether he’s capable of it going forward.

At this point, the Sixers have more regular rotation players out than they do in the lineup. Embiid, Maxey, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona, and Andre Drummond missed Thursday’s game. That left the rotation extremely thin, especially in the frontcourt.

» READ MORE: Adem Bona, Andre Drummond will miss the Sixers’ game at Detroit Pistons with back injuries

Without Embiid, Drummond, and Bona, the Sixers had no centers active on game day, forcing the team into small-ball lineups with Dominick Barlow, MarJon Beauchamp, and Justin Edwards.

Beauchamp hasn’t played much since joining the Sixers on Dec. 26. Thursday was just his fourth appearance with the team, but he played nearly 31 solid minutes, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. In a 22-point loss, the Sixers were just minus-1 with him on the floor.

The Sixers’ deficiencies in the frontcourt didn’t impact them much on the glass. The Pistons outrebounded the Sixers, 40-35, but the Sixers grabbed more offensive rebounds, 11 to Detroit’s 10.

Still, if the Sixers are going to be without Bona, Drummond, and Embiid for an extended period, they might consider adding external help.

The Sixers have been historically bad in the third quarter during the 2025-26 season. Entering Thursday’s game, the Sixers’ third-quarter point differential was minus-285, and it got even worse after a minus-14 third quarter against Detroit.

Now, down a significant number of starters, the result wasn’t exactly unexpected. But with the Sixers down just nine points at the half after an even second quarter, the team again let the game spiral out of control.