VJ Edgecombe Proving His Worth Following Game 2’s 30-Point Playoff Double-Double

While many have known this all season long, VJ Edgecombe continues to prove to the world that he is a star in the making, and did so in a big way in Game 2 of the 76ers’ first-round series against the Celtics.

It’s safe to say Game 1 of the 76ers playoff series didn’t start the way that Nick Nurse and company thought it would. The Sixers not only shot horribly from not just beyond the arc, but everywhere, played terrible defense, giving up 17 layups and dunks, and let the Celtics basically control the entire game en route to a 32-point loss, the fourth-largest loss in franchise playoff history.

To put it simply, the 76ers were heavily embarrassed, and many after the game felt that the team was going to lay down, likely lose in a sweep, and call it a season. That would’ve been the case for Game 2 if it weren’t for a rookie from the Bahamas named VJ Edgecombe.

Edgecombe has been everything and some for the 76ers since drafting him third overall in last year’s draft, averaging 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists while shooting 43.8 from the field and 35.4 from three. He’s been a jolt for the 76ers, bringing youthful energy, effective defense, and at times fantastic scoring performances when needed throughout his rookie year. He’s a shoo-in for the All-Rookie First Team and will likely finish third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel.

Heading into the postseason, Edgecombe was ready to be a heavily involved scoring option on offense for Philadelphia, but Game 1 saw the rookie struggle in his first playoff game, scoring just 13 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field, and missing all five of his threes.

He wasn’t the only player to struggle as Tyrese Maxey and Paul George combined for just 38 points, and only Kelly Oubre Jr. scored over 10 points. After the game, George spoke about how the team wasn’t ready for Boston in any way.

“I don’t think we match their physicality or toughness,” George said. “They had a lot of possessions where they just walked to the rim for easy layups. There was just no resistance at a lot of times throughout the game, and that’s not playoff basketball.”

Well, Edgecombe must have taken that quote from George personally because not only did he bring the physicality and toughness, he made sure that the 76ers would play great playoff basketball and pull out a victory in Boston.

Edgecombe went off in his second career playoff game, dropping 30 points while adding 10 rebounds for his first career playoff double-double. 18 of his 30 points came from beyond the arc, improving from the zero three-pointers he hit in Game 1. He also did not shoot a single free throw all night.

The performance from Edgecombe marks the first time a rookie has recorded at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a single playoff game since Tim Duncan, and also became the youngest player in NBA playoff history to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game.

Throughout the night, Edgecombe was all over the floor, grabbing clutch boards on one end and knocking down clutch threes on the other. He brought the physicality that George mentioned they needed, and postgame spoke about how the entire team helped him have an all-time performance.

“This guy right here told me [referring to Maxey], keep shooting, and he keeps making the pass,” Edgecombe said. “Those passes are coming with some love on it, so I got to make the shot. Credit to my teammates. Just keeping me up. Everybody just telling me that I just gotta play hard.”

Following the game, Maxey spoke with the media about how Edgecombe’s mindset has improved after his and the team’s down Game 1 performances, continuing to preach to him to just shoot the ball

“We’ve been saying it all year, but what he showed tonight was maturity,” Maxey said. “Last game, a couple of times he missed those threes, and then he started driving, or he started cutting, and I told him Dude, you’re not gonna miss. Whenever they’re on the nail, and I wing it to you, you shoot it; I don’t care what the outcome is. If they help off, you shoot the ball, they go under, you shoot the ball, and he did that, and he hooped.”

Maxey isn’t the only one telling him this, as 76ers head coach Nurse emphasized that message to the rookie during his postgame media session on when he finds his opportunities to take them.

“I think it was just a matter of him realizing, like, okay, there’s gonna be some spots for me to get to, and some shots are gonna be there,” Nurse said. “I grab him and Tyreese together a lot and just continue to remind them to be super aggressive, fire it up there, like, keep shooting, no matter what.”

Nurse having full trust in Maxey is one thing. He’s a multi-time All-Star and soon-to-be All-NBA caliber player. But for him to trust a rookie as much as he does Edgecombe in the first two playoff games of his career speaks volumes to the impact Edgecombe has on this team.

It’s no secret that Edgecombe has been a major lifter for the 76ers this season, but showing up the way he did in Game 2 proves that he is truly the X-factor in this series against Boston. Winning a series against the Celtics is already going to be a near-impossible task, but if Edgecombe continues to play this type of basketball all series long, Boston is going to have their hands full trying to keep him in check.

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