Joel Embiid rejects the notion that anyone on the Sixers’ star-studded roster needs to sacrifice for the team to reach its goals, Kris Rhim writes for ESPN.com.

“I’m against the concept of sacrificing,” Embiid said after Friday’s preseason finale. “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.”

After struggling in his preseason debut against Brooklyn, the 7’0″ center from Cameroon played much better against Boston on Friday, recording 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. However, Philadelphia ended up losing the exhibition contest as the Celtics rested several of their rotation regulars.

“We’re not where we want to be yet,” Jaylen Brown said. “So that’s just a part of it. 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.”

Here’s more on the 76ers, who face the Knicks on Tuesday in their regular season opener:

• Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports shares his takeaways from Friday’s preseason finale, noting that the two-man game between Embiid and Tyrese Maxey looked sharp in their final tune-up before the regular season. LeBron James largely echoed Brown’s thoughts about the team continuing to improve over time. “We’re a couple weeks in. We’re still working on our rhythm, working out our kinks, and it’s not gonna be perfect. But we have some things we can build on. We did a lot of good things tonight,” James said after the game. “Every day we’re getting better and better, so we just gotta keep working at it.”
• Second-year guard VJ Edgecombe was held out of Friday’s contest after he woke up sore, but he was a full participant in Sunday’s practice and is on track to play Tuesday, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters, including Rhim (Twitter link).
• Forward Dean Wade rolled his left ankle in the first half of Friday’s game and did not return, per Neubeck. “Not a major concern, but just cautious because it’s a preseason game,” Nurse said after the game. Both Wade and Dominick Barlow (back soreness) sat out Sunday’s practice, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.