By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-2 through their first three preseason games, but to most, the record matters very little compared to what we have actually gotten to see. After two years of waiting, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric made their Sixers debuts and it's been very fun to watch. While it's clear that there are adjustment periods for both, with Embiid having not played since 2014 and Saric catching up to the pace of the NBA, they've both shown signs of extreme potential through the first week of preseason play.
Although we got to see Nerlens Noel in one of the three games, a handful of Sixers remain sidelined due to injury, most notably Jahlil Okafor and Jerryd Bayless. Fortunately, with the amount of guys that were out, head coach Brett Brown got to see what kind of depth the team had.
Let's take a quick look back at the opening trio of preseason games for the Sixers:
Game 1: Sixers top Celtics, 92-89 – RECAP
Despite the injury to Ben Simmons, this game held a lot of excitement heading into it. Not only would we get to see Embiid and Saric, but both of them started against a Celtics team that is destined to finish in the top of the Eastern Conference this season. The Sixers fell behind early, but their second team and reserves chipped away and eventually were able to preserve a three-point win. In his first action since March 1, 2014, Embiid finished with six points, four rebounds and two blocks. His first shot was a 10-foot fadeaway over Tyler Zeller and his second make was a long-range jumper just inside the three-point line. Meanwhile, Dario Saric looked strong out of the gates, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds. Undrafted rookie Brandon Paul sparked the fourth quarter offense with 15 points in about 12 minutes on the floor while second-year center Richaun Holmes finished with 10 points and four rebounds in just under 13 minutes in the second half.
Game 2: Wizards beat Sixers in double OT marathon, 125-119 - RECAP
Philadelphia jumped out to an early 11-0 lead in this one, with Dario Saric scoring the first four points of the game. The 22-year-old forward finished with 14 points, shooting 71 percent from the floor. Embiid, in his second game, was a little too selfish with the ball in hopes of impressing the hometown crowd, so he forced things a bit. After he settled in and looked more comfortable, he showed some good signs, finishing with five points and three rebounds. Richaun Holmes led the Sixers in this one, earning a double-double off the bench with 20 points and 12 rebounds. T.J. McConnell had 12 points to go along with seven assists while Jerami Grant and Hollis Thompson finished with 17 and 15, respectively. Thompson tied the game up with 7.7 second to go in the first overtime, to send the game to double OT, where the Sixers eventually couldn't keep pace. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant his his first five shots from the floor and really showed nice range during this one.
Game 3: Sixers lose close one in Cleveland, 108-105 – RECAP
Joel Embiid had his best performance of the preseason in this one, showing everything from three-point range to power in the post. The 7-foot-2 center out of Kansas finished with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds. Dario Saric went through some growing pains in his third NBA contest, having the responsibility of guarding both Kevin Love and LeBron James at times. In what was definitely a learning experience for Saric, he shot 1-for-7 from the floor, good for four points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Once again, with the absences of Okafor and Noel combined with Embiid's minutes restriction, Richaun Holmes shined. In 25 minutes, Holmes scored 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting, took down six rebounds and also blocked two shots. Sergio Rodriguez scored 15 points off the bench to go along with eight assists.
Up Next:
This week, the Sixers travel to Memphis for a game on Tuesday at 8pm before heading to the nation's capitol for their second preseason matchup against the Wizards on Thursday at 7pm. They return home on Saturday, October 15, against the Pistons. Beyond that, they only have one more preseason game before opening up the regular season on October 26 at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
