LeBron, Embiid Drop Tell-All Quotes About 'Sacrificing,' What Needs Work After 76ers Lose to Celtics

Having wrapped up their first preseason together, LeBron James and Joel Embiid acknowledged there is still work to do before they become the best versions of themselves for this iteration of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Following Friday's 125-120 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, Embiid dismissed the idea "sacrificing" is necessary for anyone on the Sixers in order for them to succeed.

"I'm against the concept of sacrificing," Embiid told reporters . "I think the way I explained it was you do what you do best, and we're going to support you. ... I don't think anybody has to take a back seat."

James emphasized the importance of time and getting everyone in sync since there are multiple new pieces on the team.

"We're getting there," James said . "We're a couple of weeks in. We're still working on our rhythm, working on our kinks. It's not going to be perfect. Obviously, we're just getting together, so it's not going to be perfect. But we've got some things we can build on."

James' comments were echoed by Jaylen Brown, who said the 76ers are "not where we want to be yet" but that's to be expected as they keep learning to play together.

"It's a part of coming together, a new group with a bunch of guys, different style, but we just got to keep getting better every day," Brown added.

Head coach Nick Nurse did use James, Brown, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey more in this game than in the previous three preseason contests. All four of them played at least 25 minutes against the Celtics.

VJ Edgecombe, the other member of the normal starting unit, did not play on Friday night.

The only time all five expected starters were in a preseason game together was against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 8. They combined for 59 points of the team's 108 points on 15-of-29 shooting, 16 rebounds and 13 assists.

Much has been made regarding how ball-dominant James, Brown, Embiid and Maxey are, though last season with the Los Angeles Lakers proved James is capable of stepping back to benefit the team.

James specifically used the term " sacrifice " at one point to explain how it helped the Lakers with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves as their primary offensive engines.

There could be some growing pains along the way, as there have been in the past when James has switched teams. The 2010-11 Miami Heat were 9-8 after 17 games before going on a 12-game winning streak.

The 76ers shouldn't necessarily be expected to recreate that version of the Heat, but they have all the pieces in place to be a dominant team capable of competing for a championship once they figure out how best to play with each other.

We will find out how far along this group is when the Sixers open the regular season on Tuesday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.