LeBron James cautioned against championship talk after the Philadelphia 76ers moved to an 8-1 start, even though his teams have reached the NBA Finals in each of the five previous seasons they started 7-1 or better.
“It’s too early to be talking about the Finals and things of that nature on Nov. 4,” James said after the Sixers beat the Detroit Pistons 112-106 on Wednesday night. “So we’ll continue just to buy into what we want to do. … We got a good team. Guys vibe with one another, guys like each other, guys enjoy being around each other.”
The win avenged Philadelphia’s only defeat of the season. Jaylen Brown delivered one of his best games as a Sixer, scoring a season-high 30 points and making a game-saving block on Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham. Joel Embiid added 26 points and 15 rebounds. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse shared James’ view of the start.
James Downplays Early Momentum
James has a strong record when his teams make a fast start. In the five seasons in which they opened 7-1, they reached the NBA Finals.
“I wouldn’t read any super long-term stuff into anything, cause it’s early,” he said. “I think we feel like that was another game where it feels like we’re getting a touch better. … But the goal right now is to stretch out those good periods of play and minimise those bad periods of play.”
The Sixers have also started 4-0 on the road for the first time since 2000-01, the last season they reached the NBA Finals. It is only the fifth time in the past 50 seasons that the 76ers have started 4-0 or better on the road, and they reached the Finals in each of the previous four instances.
“Well, those teams just had consistency throughout the whole year and every day we wanted to get better, every day,” James said. “We didn’t want to take too many steps backwards. Like I said, it can happen throughout the course of a marathon, but we understood what the assignment was and we all held each other accountable. And I think early on I kind of see that here as well.”
Injury Concerns
Tyrese Maxey injured his right pinkie finger late in the win while trying to split a double team in the final seconds. A Sixers athletic trainer briefly examined the swollen finger in the locker room afterwards.
“I’ll be fine,” Maxey said when a reporter pointed out the swelling. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you this is how my finger’s looked all season since last year. But I’m fine.”
Adem Bona also left the game in the fourth quarter with what Nurse described as a neck injury. Nurse said Bona appeared to be fine, but an official update would come on Thursday.
James finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The Sixers next face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, at the city where James began his career and won his first title.
“We know we got a long way to go,” James said.