Outmatched without stars 🏀 | Sports Daily Newsletter

Heading into Wednesday night’s season opener, we knew the 76ers would be without their stars Paul George and Joel Embiid. The Sixers, though, still felt optimistic about having early season success with the newly assembled roster built around Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey.

But in their home opener, the Sixers were clearly undermanned in a 124-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks’ stars shined, with Damian Lillard scoring a game-high 30 points, Giannis Antetokoumpo adding 25, while Maxey paced the Sixers with 25 points of his own.

But even on an off-night for Maxey (he shot 10-of-31 from the field) there were some other notable takeaways from the game, including Caleb Martin’s big minutes and Philly’s disdain for former coach Doc Rivers, who now coaches Milwaukee. Inquirer writer Keith Pompey has more on what stood out during last night’s loss.

But there’s still a long season ahead for Sixers, who hope to be healthy come playoff time. And at least you can enjoy sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s if you venture outdoors today.

— Devin Jackson @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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All eyes were on the Eagles’ backfield against the Giants, with Saquon Barkley coming through with a dominating performance against his old team. But did you notice the new faces back there as well?

Linebacker Ben VanSumeren not only got snaps at fullback, but his blocking sprang Barkley and Kenneth Gainwell for big gains. For VanSumeren, who has experience on offense from his past, he’s happy to play wherever the Eagles need him.

Meanwhile, rookie running back Will Shipley got the first carries of his career in the fourth quarter after an act of selflessness from Barkley. Given the chance by coach Nick Sirianni to aim for his single-game career high in rushing yards, Barkley replied that he would “rather see the young boys eat.” For Shipley, that meant “something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Nights like last night? They aren’t good for anybody. Not the NBA. Not the Sixers. Certainly not their fans, roughly 20,000 of whom paid good money to watch what turned out to be a glorified exhibition game, columnist David Murphy writes. Everything was supposed to feel new, fresh, exciting, laden with potential. But without Embiid and George in the lineup, and their return dates not yet set, everything felt disconcertingly the same for the Sixers.

On a related note, the NBA plans to investigate why Embiid sat out the Sixers’ season opener. The 2023 Most Valuable Player did not participate in scrimmages or games during the preseason as part of the team’s plan to ramp up his readiness for the season and rest his left knee. The league often investigates when one of its marquee players skips a nationally televised game.

Before last night’s game, Bucks coach Rivers gave praise to one of the Sixers’ newest additions, Andre Drummond, who started in place of Embiid. The pair share a personal connection outside of Rivers coaching Drummond during the 2021 season: Adam Jones, a former teammate of Drummond’s and someone he refers to as a big brother, was legally adopted by Rivers.

Several problems have contributed to the Flyers’ disappointing 1-5-1 start, but could it be as simple as a lack of chemistry?

Thanks to drawing and taking many penalties, the Flyers had seen the lowest five-on-five ice time of any team in the NHL through six games. Coach John Tortorella has juggled his lines at an eye-opening rate while searching for offense. But has he done too much tinkering and prevented his top players from jelling?

The Flyers need to find some way to be more competitive soon before this season gets away from them.

The Orange and Black showed some fight in Washington on Wednesday night, but an early 4-0 deficit doomed the Flyers in a loss to the Capitals, their sixth straight setback.

For months, a dark cloud has quietly been hanging over Temple men’s basketball following allegations of gambling irregularities linked to the program. It’s been mostly kept quiet, but with just a week and change remaining until the start of the 2024-25 season, a few eyebrow-raising pieces have started to unravel.

Perhaps the biggest unknown arrived yesterday after the widespread announcement that former Owls guard Hysier Miller had been released from Virginia Tech. According to the school, the release stemmed from “circumstances prior to his enrollment” at the school.

Miller, a Neumann Goretti grad, played three seasons at Temple before transferring this past offseason to Virginia Tech. Furthermore, while the statement is vague in nature, it could refer to the earlier investigation involving the Temple, which sources tell the Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg may be nearing a resolution.

Neiburg has more on the situation, including what’s safe to assume in between the lines.

Oct. 24, 2023: The Phillies lost to the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park. Trust us, no additional details are needed.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Jeff Neiburg, EJ Smith, David Murphy, Aaron Carter, Ariel Simpson, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, and Mike Sielski.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading, Philly. Enjoy your Thursday. Jim will be back at the controls of Friday’s newsletter. — Devin