The Philadelphia 76ers are home on Monday night to take on the Portland Trail Blazers after a huge win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Despite having five games up on the Sixers, the Blazers are currently in 12th place in the loaded Western Conference, while the Sixers are in 11th in the Eastern Conference, having jumped the Brooklyn Nets with the win over the weekend.
Sixers game information
Who: Portland Trail Blazers (27-34) at Philadelphia 76ers (21-38)
When: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers had lost nine straight games and were sitting with the sixth-worst record in the league, closing in on being able to keep their first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Then, the Sixers hosted the Warriors, and Quentin Grimes decided that he would have the game of his life. Grimes scored 44 points, shooting 18-24 from the field and 6-9 on his three-point attempts, leading the Sixers to a huge, unexpected win.
Meanwhile, if they continue to lose, the team is in contention to have the Raptors jump them in the standings. Tyrese Maxey got the memo, shooting 2-14 from the field on his way to five points while contributing 11 assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George combined for 40 points and 10 rebounds, Andre Drummond chipped in 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Guerschon Yabusele had 18 points, shooting 5-7 on his three-point attempts. Besides Maxey, the team played one of their better games of the season.
What the Sixers aren’t doing is continuing to lose. The injuries have destroyed the team all season, while the first round, top six protected, looms over their head in a lost season. If the Sixers continue to lose, find some luck in the lottery, and remain in the top six picks of the draft, they could possibly draft a player that could help them in the immediate future. They’ve already accumulated a quality young group of players and have to look to move past the Embiid and Paul George contracts.
Latest on the Trail Blazers
The Blazers come to Philly after losing 133-129 to the Cavaliers in overtime on Sunday. The team is 4-1 over its last five games and is five games out of the play-in tournament in a tough Western Conference. It has been winning games and just happened to run into a Cavaliers team that extended its winning streak to ten games.
Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and Deni Avdija lead a young and talented squad that isn’t quite ready to take the next step, especially in a conference that features so many talented teams. Simons is leading the team with 18.0 points and 5.0 assists per game, while Avdija is averaging 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. Sharpe has been steady for the team, with 17.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
The team needs more talent while developing the young players currently on the roster. The problem for the team is that they don’t have any treasure chest of future picks in the draft, have $75 million on the books for DeAndre Ayton, Jerami Grant, and Matisse Thybulle over the next two seasons, and won’t have much room to sign free agents. The Blazers, while not worrying about picking in the draft, could take on the role of spoilers at the end of the season for teams looking to improve their standings in the league.
What to watch for tonight
At this point in the season, it’s a roll of the dice as to which team will show up for the Sixers. With Maxey and George both battling hand injuries, one would think that the team would have a hard time winning any games, yet Grimes comes out against a good Warriors team and drops 44 points on them while the whole team shoots 57.6% on their three-pointers.
The Sixers should be losing. That should be the goal going forward—not throwing games or intentionally playing poorly, but by sitting George, giving Maxey a few nights off to rest, and letting the younger players get some reps as the season winds down so they can work towards securing their first-round pick. No one has told the younger players and the newer players, like Grimes, that they shouldn’t be playing tough.
Look for Tyrese Maxey to bounce back from the poor game against the Warriors, Oubre Jr. and George to continue to step up as needed, and Grimes to keep firing away as he’s comfortable in his role. Yabusele will continue to put up quality stats as he wants to secure a good contract in the off-season, and the younger players will be looking to show what they can do when given the chance.
Prediction
Sixers 121 – Trail Blazers 117
