Terrence Ross Spoiled Jimmy Butler’s Sixers Debut With A Game-Winning Three In Orlando

Jimmy Butler’s arrival in Philadelphia came with the expectation that it would make the Sixers a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference this season.

However, any time there’s a major roster move it takes time for everyone to get on the same page and for the new addition to learn all the nuances of his new system. Butler made his Sixers debut on Wednesday night in Orlando, a matchup that seemed like a good opportunity to get off on the right foot even if things were still new to him.

The Magic, on the other hand, had other ideas. Led by a 30-point outing from Nikola Vucevic and a 21-0 fourth quarter run, Orlando was able to catch up to the Sixers and take a late lead on a Terrence Ross three-pointer over Joel Embiid and Mike Muscala, as he had 15 points off the bench..

J.J. Redick would step out of bounds on a handoff play with Ben Simmons on the ensuing possession before he was able to knock down a game-tying three, and two Vucevic free throws iced the game as Orlando would win 111-106.

Butler had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in his debut, along with four rebounds and a pair of assists, but you could see the lack of comfort in game one for him and the rest of the Sixers, something they’ll undoubtedly work out in the coming days. Still, it’s a bad loss for Philadelphia, even understanding the growing pains of integrating a new star.

Joel Embiid came out on fire, scoring 11 points early including three three-pointers, but he finished the night 6-of-20 from the field with 19 points as he got out-dueled by Vucevic. J.J. Redick was the one that led Philly in scoring with 22 points as he returned to the starting lineup with Butler to provide some extra spacing. The Sixers offense stagnated late as Embiid couldn’t get things going and that will be the area that will be of most concern going forward.

One would expect the defense to improve once everyone gets on the same page, considering Embiid, Simmons, and Butler are all capable of defending at a high level. You could see some moments of confusion against Orlando on when to switch and when not to that resulted in some easy buckets for the Magic. Wednesday’s start to the Butler era isn’t a referendum on what they’ll be by season’s end, but it offers an understanding of how far they have to go before they are indeed in that contender status. The question is how fast can they make up that ground.