Two heated rivals took to the hardwood the night of Wednesday, March 12. But this wasn’t the traditional rival game, as the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors — or, at the very least, their fans — were both actively hoping to come out of this game with a loss. Despite losing the game, the Sixers won the tank battle, failing upward ever closer to a top draft pick this summer.
What went right
Right, forget the traditional format; there will be no more pulling punches. The ultimate goal of this game was to come out of it in the best position for the team moving forward, which, at this point in the season, is to work their way down the standings, as close to the number one pick as possible.
Why is this the case? The quick explanation is that the Sixers have shown nothing to indicate they could attempt a successful play-in tournament run, let alone a playoff run. Given that, the team is better off not only maximizing its draft position but, more importantly, securing its pick altogether.
With that in mind, right is now wrong, and wrong is right, which is why Ricky Council IV was at the center of what went right tonight for Philadelphia.
Despite finishing the game as a +7 on the night, a reflection of the weakness of +/- as an end-all-be-all stat, Council was as electric offensively tonight as a rubber hose. Finishing the night with just three shots made on 14 attempts, Council did his part to shoot Philadelphia out of this game, and Sixers fans salute him for his service.
This loss is not solely on Council, of course; it was a group effort.
Philadelphia’s defensive shortcomings as a team are well-documented, and frankly, there is no need to re-litigate them at this point. The Sixers are a BAD defensive team. It’s the personnel, it’s the coaching, it’s the fallout from the injury situation, it’s everything.
The majority of the Sixers’ remaining personnel are best served as support players around a defensive anchor, such as Joel Embiid. They are also predominantly young, looking at Bona, Council, and Edwards particularly. They have the opportunity to grow into passable, even strong defenders, but that is not where they are at this point, at least not with so little support from their teammates and coaching staff.
What went wrong
Quentin Grimes can’t be stopped. That has become a fact of life, and as the 24-year-old guard heads toward restricted free agency, one cannot blame him for playing the best basketball of his life at the absolutely most opportune time.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. receives no such courtesy.
The assistant to the assistant to the head coach, Jeff Dowtin has carved a career supplying Nick Nurse with something similar to what Kyle Lowry has provided the Sixers’ head coach with since their days in Toronto. Nurse loves his heady guards who truly understand what he’s looking to accomplish on the court and effectively act as that extension of himself on the hardwood.
Not only did Dowtin provide that tonight, but he also scored a new career-high of 20 points on an efficient 9-14 night from the floor. Dowtin’s hot streak came at the precisely most inopportune time, scoring 15 points during the Sixers’ second-half push after being down as much as 22 points.
Dowtin was a smooth operator tonight, looking like an NBA-caliber player — admittedly against questionable competition. Thankfully, his night did not overshadow the purpose of tonight’s game.
Sixers standings update
The matchup between the Sixers and Raptors was the feature tonight, of course, and with the Sixers’ loss, they fall up, or down, or whatever direction you so choose, to a tie with the Brooklyn Nets for the fifth selection in the draft, pre lottery. The mention of the lottery is important as it is what will ultimately decide Philadelphia’s place in the draft, most importantly if the Sixers will actually retain their pick.
The Sixers’ 2025 first-round pick was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a part of the Al Horford salary dump during the 2020 offseason. The pick is top-six protected, so as long as Philadelphia winds up with a top-six pick in this draft, they retain their selection and will instead owe the Thunder their 2027 first-round pick.
Technically sitting in the sixth spot of the reverse standings as they have a better conference record than the Nets, the Sixers currently have a 45.8% chance of retaining their pick. If the Sixers can pass the Nets between now and the season’s end, their chances rise to 64%, but of course, there is a slight chance they could rise — or fall — even higher.
The New Orleans Pelicans are currently 4.5 games behind the Sixers but are on a hot streak relative to teams like Philadelphia. Winners of five of their last ten games, the Pelicans have been boosted by a rare series of health as Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, and CJ McCollum, while rookie Yves Missi has continued to grow as a rim protector.
It may be viewed as a longshot, and admittedly it is, but as low as the odds are, they’re not zero, and the Pelicans have a critical upcoming game against the Sixers on Monday, March 24. If Philadelphia were to fall below New Orleans, they would have an 81.1% chance of retaining their pick, a 48.1% chance of a top 4 pick, and a 12.5% chance of earning the top pick in the draft, widely expected to be Duke’s Cooper Flagg.
Up next for the Sixers
The Sixers will return to Philadelphia on Friday, March 14, to face the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are coming off a last-second win against the Milwaukee Bucks, a much-needed win after a three-game losing streak.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia or, as always, listen live at 97.5 FM, the Fanatic.
For the latest breaking news on your Philadelphia 76ers and other Philly sports, follow Zach Ciavolella on X — @CiavoNBA and Bluesky — @ciavo.bsky.social
