Sixers star Tyrese Maxey has urged VJ Edgecombe to ‘go do that VJ stuff.’ Edgecombe is listening.
Edgecombe has been doing whatever the Sixers need for them to win. Against the Raptors, that included a little bit of everything on the stat sheet.
As VJ Edgecombe navigates a set of new, star-studded Sixers teammates and how he fits in with all the various lineups during his second year, Tyrese Maxey said he keeps repeating one thing for Edgecombe to remember whenever he may need some advice.
“Go do that VJ stuff,” Maxey said. “Literally, that’s exactly what I tell him. I say, ‘Hey, man, go do that VJ stuff that you do,’ and he literally goes out there and does VJ stuff.”
Among the things that make up “VJ stuff,” Maxey said, include getting loose balls, defending, making “winning plays.”
“He does it all,” Maxey said.
» READ MORE: Sixers overcome slow start, Joel Embiid’s injury scare in 123-112 win over Raptors
That was the case in the Sixers’ 123-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors, with “VJ stuff” including 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, one block.
With LeBron James out, the Sixers offense was missing some of its playmaking and passing. Edgecombe picked up the slack with those eight assists.
“I think this is like the second time he’s done this as well, when we’re down somebody that he just comes out a little bit more lively and assertive,” coach Nick Nurse said. “... He made some really decisive moves in the open floor, not necessarily break situations, but the flow is still going and he’s punching through.”
Punching through to the paint, making the defense collapse, then finding the right reads. It sounds simple, but in the thick of the game, that’s not always easy to do for a second-year player, especially when he may not have to do it on a nightly basis because of the roster around him.
“Some opportunities might not be there, but I think I’m getting better mentally, and that’s the most important part of the game,” Edgecombe said. “Sometimes, you got to be mentally strong.”
Another night, with different lineups on the floor, the Sixers might need something different from Edgecombe. Maybe he has to be in a corner and a threat to shoot. Maybe he has to cut and create open space on the floor. Maybe it’s to play even more intense defense than he usually does, or attack the glass more regularly. In other words, sometimes the team may not need him to score, which, for some players, might be a tough role to accept so early in their career. Nurse has said at the top of Edgecombe’s “priority list” every night is to provide energy. Edgecombe has been adamant he will do whatever it takes to win.
» READ MORE: Jabari Walker keeping Sixers’ backup center group afloat and making ‘impactful plays’ for star-studded roster
“I don’t wanna be a cancer because I ain’t getting the shots that I want to get. I’m still learning. I’m in Year 2,” Edgecombe said Nov. 2. “I know everyone’s expecting this big super leap. They expecting me to average 20 something, but it’s fine. The most important thing to do is win and whatever I got to do every night I go there, that’s rebounding, defending, whatever I do.”
Edgecombe has said his teammates, especially Maxey and Joel Embiid, have been a big help in maintaining his confidence. That when the game gets tough for him, or his night hasn’t been going the way he might want, they are there to say “keep going” and, like Maxey said, “do VJ stuff.”
“Obviously in Year 2, I’m seeing basketball from different standpoints,” Edgecombe said. “Some nights, two of them might be out, some nights one might be out, some nights none might be out, and to be able to just balance the different lineups and just trying to stay consistent throughout it all, I just want to shout my teammates for that.”
Edgecombe looked at ease on Thursday. Of his eight assists, he doled out two each for buckets by Dean Wade, Embiid, Maxey and Jaylen Brown. Edgecombe and Brown (18 points) have become fast friends with the Sixers, and Brown has had high praise for his younger teammate since the start of training camp. That he’s excited to see the multiple ways Edgecombe can grow his game, especially in an environment like the Sixers have this year.
“VJ is a dog, and he was aggressive tonight,” Brown said. “He looked good tonight on both ends, on offense and defense. VJ is just going to continue to accelerate his game, and it’s a joy to watch.”
