Sixes Bell Ringer regular season standings:
Tyrese Maxey-2
Guerschon Yabusele-2
Paul George-1
Jared McCain-1
Kelly Oubre, Jr. – 1

What else can you even say?

Without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers battled but couldn’t hang on with a Lakers team that shot the lights out in a 116-106 loss on Friday night. Philly falls to 1-7 as their miserable start to the season continues.

Los Angeles, a team that ranked 28th in the NBA in three-point percentage, couldn’t miss early. The Lakers jumped out to a 23-10 lead and it looked like that lead could be realized early. To the Sixers’ credit, they battled back led by the bench trio of Jared McCain, KJ Martin and Guerschon Yabusele. They trailed six to one despite LA hitting six threes.

The Sixers actually took the lead at one point in the second on some great ball movement, but an 8-0 run to end the quarter gave the Lakers an eight-point halftime lead.

Then the third quarter happened.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis took over as LA won the frame 28-21. The Sixers offense was stagnant and they seemed to be missing all the decent looks they were generating. From that point on, the game was never really close. The Lakers finished 16 of 35 from three.

The good news is that the trip to the West Coast is over and the Sixers welcome the Hornets to town on Sunday. The bad news is that Paul George will still be the only member of the team’s Big 3 available. Let’s go to Bell Ringer.

Jared McCain: 18 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

If you read the site regularly, you know I’m high on McCain. He was the right choice at 16th overall. On Friday, he beat out the player many thought the Sixers should have selected. But the fact that he already has a chance of getting his second whistleblower of the season is not great.

That said, at 20 years old, he looks like a legitimate rotation player. For a team that currently has little ability to create outside of George, McCain brought some juice. His ability to take off the dribble as a rookie was very encouraging.

On Friday, McCain did what he does best: shoot threes. He was 4-of-9 from deep and appears to be discovering his shooting stroke at the professional level. After missing the first six attempts of his career, McCain has now hit seven of his last 15 from three.

McCain is 6-foot-4 and not blessed with elite athletic ability, so the size and ability of a player like Davis will be difficult for him to contend with. McCain was just 2 of 8 from the arc. He’s crafty around the rim, but his biggest adjustment seems to be that.

One of his assists came on an impressive drive where he found KJ Martin for a dunk.

If you watch McCain with the team missing most of its star power, you’ll be interested to see what he looks like when the team is at full strength. He looks like a legitimate rotation player at this point.

Caleb Martin: 13 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Martin’s shooting woes through the first seven games of the season were concerning. Players are struggling – and Martin in particular can be porky – but this was especially worrying. He entered the night shooting 20% ​​from deep and failing to make multiple threes in a game.

That changed early when he was able to get into a shooting role on his first attempt from deep in this one. He made 3-of-4 that night.

Letting a few go early seemed to help the rest of Martin’s game. He had five assists, none better than this one to Kelly Oubre Jr., where Rui Hachimura couldn’t get to him on a close out, putting the entire Lakers defense in scramble mode.

This was one of the Sixers’ best offensive assets of the season and shows what they liked about Martin in free agency. He has a varied skill set and can read the floor well.

Overall, this was by far the best Martin looked offensively as a Sixer – although he still seemed to pass up a few decent looks from three. Still something solid to build on.

Guerschon Yabusele: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Small sample size caveat, but entering the game the Sixers had a net rating of -18.03 with Andre Drummond on the floor. For Guerschon Yabusele, their net rating was -4.23, according to PBP Stats. That trend continued on Friday. Drummond was a -19 while Yabusele was a +5.

We can start a backup center debate, but above all it looks like Yabusele is a man you need to make minutes for. He is a player with a high IQ and high motor skills, built like a tank. When he entered the match with the second unit, the team really picked up the pace.

This time it wasn’t on LeBron, but this was a fun, athletic dunk from the man they call Dancing Bear.

One of the bigger questions about Yabusele entering this season is whether he would space the floor enough. After going 3-for-4 from 3 against the Lakers, he is now 14-for-33 (42.4%) on the season. That will play.

Regardless of the position he plays and the matchup at the other end, Nick Nurse has to find a way to get this guy minutes.

KJ Martin: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

For a guy who was essentially re-signed to be traded, KJ Martin looked like a useful basketball player.

His energy and athleticism were huge assets against a big and athletic Lakers team. Those features were obviously there last season, but there is a level of comfort this year that simply wasn’t there before. Martin looks like he is where he should be, on both ends of the floor.

In a game that is increasingly positionless, Martin fits that bill. He has the length and athleticism of a wing, but has the strength and playing style of a big combo. There’s nothing wrong with players having unique abilities, as long as you know how to use them. The nurse seems to find his place with Martin.

This block is an example of what Martin has done this season. He makes a great rotation, challenges straight without making mistakes, and Dalton Knecht just bounces off him to the ground.