The Pistons controlled the boards from the opening tip, outrebounding the 76ers 54-37 in a wire-to-wire win on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. Adem Bona grabbed 13 of Philadelphia’s 37 rebounds by himself; the rest of the roster managed 24 between them.

James finished with 18 points, five assists and just two rebounds in his first start at center as a 76er. Tyrese Maxey carried the offense with 29 points, but Detroit countered with 26 points and eight assists from Cade Cunningham and a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double from John Collins, per the ESPN box score.

‘Not here to have a sustainable role at the five’

James did not sugar-coat where he fits in Nick Nurse’s rotation. Speaking after the loss, he told Fadeaway World that the switch had been a shock to his habits as much as his frame.

“I’m not here to have a sustainable role at the five; you’ve got Joel Embiid on the team,” James said, before describing the mechanical adjustment of moving inside: going from running the wing to becoming the hub in the middle, and from being the third line of defense to the second.

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He pushed back on calling it a burden. “I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge. I look at it as an opportunity to have a growth mindset,” he said.

The brief at the five was always meant to be a break-glass option. In the summer, after signing with Philadelphia, James told reporters that the center role was “a role that we know we can tap into if we need it” rather than one he was planning to live in.

Embiid and Edgecombe both out

Philadelphia was down two frontcourt starters. Embiid sat out the second night of a back-to-back for back management, and rookie guard VJ Edgecombe was also unavailable, according to Basketnews. Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took their spots in the opening five, with James sliding to the five for the first time since 2021-22 with the Lakers.

Detroit, playing without Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart themselves, still took 15 offensive rebounds to Philadelphia’s nine, giving Cunningham repeated second-chance looks against a thin interior.

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On the rebounding, James was blunt about where the work has to happen: his team has to do a better job of being man-on-man, body-on-body, he told Fadeaway World.

Pacers up next on the road

The loss drops the 76ers to 3-1 and leaves Detroit at 3-0, the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia travels to Indianapolis on Wednesday 28 October to face the Pacers, with Embiid expected back in the lineup.

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