​The Sixers rode strong contributions from Dante Maddox and Isaac Johnson, complemented by solid showings from Labaron Philon and Johni Broome, to pull out a 101-93 Summer League win over the Pistons. Here’s what I observed. In the early moments of Philon’s Summer League debut, Philadelphia’s first-round pick stepped up and forced the Pistons into an early timeout almost on his own. He buried the team’s first bucket with a silky stepback three, drew pressure into the lane to set up a Johni Broome catch-and-shoot three, and then capitalized on an offensive rebound to notch his second three of the night. Philon didn’t pepper the floor with passes, and there were moments of tunnel vision, but his playmaking looked better than anticipated for a first game. There were only a few possessions where he dribbled the air out of the ball, and he repeatedly moved the ball away from pressure, flipping it to open shooters and rolling bigs as Detroit began to bring more pressure. Near the end of the first half, Philon delivered a gorgeous lookaway pass to a rolling Broome, who finished the sequence with a rim slam. The narrative around Philon becoming more of a setup man was reinforced by feedback he absorbed from NBA teams at the combine, and his growth was evident in a meaningful way during the opener.
That said, not everything glowed. Philon did look undersized at times near the basket, and while he had made strides as a finisher during his second year at Alabama, his frame and approach around the rim showed vulnerabilities against Detroit. I appreciated how often he worked himself into the paint, but Pistons defenders collapsed space quickly and forced him into difficult shots at the rim. Real NBA spacing should ease his task, and time to adjust to the game’s increased speed should help as well. The second half, however, was rough for Philon. Detroit applied more pressure defense, switching most ball screens to push the action up toward halfcourt. A hot shooting start gave way to a rough stretch, and Philon began forcing shots and chasing the game—most notably on a misadvised spinning layup in transition.
This sequence underscored why the Sixers added a contrast option like Anfernee Simons in free agency. When Philon was cooking early, he looked like a player who believed he was the best on the floor, in full command of his pace and the team’s offense. The ball-handling that stood out at Alabama showed up again in Vegas, as Philon created consistent separation with hesitation moves and slick behind-the-back dribbles at the point of attack. But when it went sideways, Philadelphia’s lead slipped away as he hunted one shot to get himself going again, losing sight of the bigger picture in the process. Overall, this game demonstrated the potential and the pitfalls of Philon as he adjusts to the NBA speed and defensive consistency of Summer League play.