Philadelphia 76ers Weekly Report: A Tight Race to the Bottom

(Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)

Game 60: Monday March. 3rd, 2025

Portland Trail Blazers at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: POR 119 – PHI 102

The tank was mainly successful this week, although the Sixers keep ruining a potentially perfect week at the end—still, it was a good game in their race to the lowest possible pick. Paul George took a seat for this one while an injured Tyrese Maxey trotted out there to be terrible. Which in this context is great. His 2/13 shooting did a great job of neutralizing a rare great Andre Drummond game, which had 25/18, including six offensive boards. If only they could’ve gotten this play earlier in the season while Joel Embiid was hurt, but Drummond was either ineffective or also hurt.

Justin Edwards also had a solid game, which offset a rare poor shooting night by Quentin Grimes. As for other young prospects, the Sixers are hoping to see Jeff Dowtin Jr had a fine night, while Ricky Council IV didn’t. Adem Bona wasn’t able to see the floor a ton, and Drummond was playing well.

The most important thing here was the loss; losing to another sub-500 team is always nice—a successful win for the tank.

Game 61: Saturday March. 4th, 2025

Philadelphia 76ers at Minnesota Timberwolves

Final Score: MIN 126 – PHI 112

This one was a near perfect tank game, where the Sixers kep up for most of the game before “blowing it” in the fourth. Maxey was shut down for this one, hopefully for a long while, and he seems injured. Meanwhile, Paul George made what should be one of his final appearances of the season and was suitably unimpressive. At least it’s helpful this time. 

Quentin Grimes almost ruined the tank with another great performance, and luckily, he’ll be a restricted free agent. Dropping 30 on 12/18 shooting is fantastic, and it’s one of many he’s had as a Sixer in a very short time. Kelly Oubre Jr. is also playing well, and hopefully, he’ll take his player option for next year. Unfortunately, the really young guys didn’t get much run in this one, but a loss is more than acceptable. 

Game 62: Thursday March. 6th, 2025

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

Final Score: BOS 123 – PHI 105

Some of the lowest points of the season (and highest, to be fair) seem to come against the Celtics. Fitting, I suppose. The lineup the Sixers trotted out in this one was truly something to behold. Oubre was fine, Edwards scored well, and that was it for the positives. Grimes and Yabusele did their best to help the tank, which you can’t really complain about. 

The Celtics even knew the Sixers were phoning this one in, and only Jayson Tatum and Derrick White played out of their normal starters. Even they were reaching deep in the bag for some of these guys. While tanking is the best thing to do at this point, it must be depressing to go to these games, and this is the product they are putting out. This game wasn’t remotely close at any point, but that’s just how it has to be. Hopefully, it will before just the rest of this season—20 more games to go.

Game 63: Sunday March. 9th, 2025

Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: PHI 126 – UTA 122

This will probably go down as the absolute worst game of this season. The Sixers won, therefore putting them above the Brooklyn Nets and dropping their chance of getting their pick by 14%. Then, Sixers fans who spent good money were subject to this game, a battle of front offices trying to do whatever they possibly can to lose. The lineups both teams trotted out were heinous. The Sixers starters tried their best to give the game away, but the Jazz managed to out-tank the Sixers in the end. 

Lonnie Walker played a team-high 34 minutes and tied Quentin Grimes at the top with 25 points. The most notable performance was by Bona, who pulled down seven offensive boards and had 15 total. He also had five blocks and two steals. To be fair, the opponents he was playing against were subpar. Much of this game probably wouldn’t look completely out of place in the G-League, but hey, you play the competition you are given. The Jazz won the tank battle this time, and unfortunately, that did move the Sixers up in the standings.

Weekly Musing: Looking Ahead

Unfortunately, the Sixers have pulled ahead of the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets. Not by a lot, as they are just one game above the Nets and 1.5 over the Raptors, but every game counts. With their current seventh-worst record, they have just a 32% chance of keeping their pick. At sixth worst, that goes up to 46%, which is significantly better. If they can fall behind the Raptors, that chance flies all the way to 64%. That’s the goal, and it isn’t out of reach. The play-in is essentially out of reach, with the Chicago Bulls 3.5 games ahead now. The four teams below the Raptors are so far behind as to be uncatchable.

So, the Sixers will be competing with the Nets and Raptors in earnest. Looking at those three teams’ strength of schedule, the Sixers fall in the middle. The Nets have the 11th hardest remaining schedule, and looking at their next few, it’s not surprising. They have the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Celtics twice in their next six. The Sixers are all the way down at the 26th hardest remaining schedule, which is quite the gap. Luckily, the Raptors have the easiest remaining schedule by a lot. The Raptors also play the Nets and Sixers twice more each, while the Sixers and Nets are done playing each other. Those games will have a massive impact on the tank battle.

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Patrick Yen is a contributor on Back Sports Page.  He has written for NBC, SB Nation, and a few other websites during his journalism career. He has been the Back Sports Page beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrick, a graduate of Ohio State University, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but moved to Columbus, Ohio, early in his life and has lived there ever since. You can find more of Patrick on Twitter @pyen117.