The Philadelphia 76ers are finally home after a six-game road trip. After a win over the Mavericks to open the road trip, the Sixers are on a five-game losing streak. The Wizards hold the worst record in the league, and after a win over the Nuggets on March 15, they’ve been on their own five-game losing streak.
With the Nets playing the Raptors tonight, tonight’s game for Philadelphia will be huge as they need to hold the edge over the other two teams.
Sixers game information
Who: Washington Wizards (15-56) at Philadelphia 76ers (23-49)
When: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBA League Pass
Latest on the Sixers
In addition to the usual, with Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Eric Gordon out, the Sixers will still be missing Kelly Oubre Jr., Tyrese Maxey, Andre Drummond, and Lonnie Walker IV as they host the Wizards. With no Quentin Grimes listed, the Sixers should be closer to who they’ve had on the floor over the past two weeks, with Grimes and rookie Justin Edwards leading the way.
Despite having some shooting woes recently, Edwards has come back strong for the team in a starting role, averaging 14.9 points per game. More importantly, he’s averaged 18.8 points over his last six games and given the Sixers’ front office reason to be optimistic about his future with the team. Showing tremendous growth over the course of the season, the team has Edwards and Jared McCain from last year’s draft class to help them be successful in the future.
Grimes will return after missing the Pelicans game and will look to continue his recent run of success. He has averaged 30.3 points per game over his last eight games and has clearly been a major addition to the team since they acquired him.
The Sixers likely did not realize this was the type of player they were getting at the trade deadline. If the Sixers can retain the restricted free agent in the off-season, they will have a great group of young, talented players in Grimes, McCain, Edwards, Adem Bona, and —hopefully— their 2025 first-round pick to pair with Tyrese Maxey in the future.
Latest on the Wizards
The Wizards have been at the bottom of the conference for so long that it may seem like there’s no way out. They haven’t had a winning record since the 2017-18 season, when they finished 43-39. Bringing in players like Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, Saddiq Bey, and Marcus Smart hasn’t had the results that the team has been looking for. All four of those players are currently out, with Bey nearing a return from ACL surgery.
With Jordan Poole, Bub Carrington, and Alex Sarr, the team does have some young talent to move forward, but the team will need to be healthier and put together some sort of plan to get them to move up in the standings over the next couple of years.
The problem for the Wizards is that despite their poor record, they don’t have a wealth of draft picks in the next few years, except for multiple second-round picks that could be used to acquire talent from other teams. Perhaps they could continue to move multiple seconds for fringe first-rounders as they did with the Sixers at the deadline.
The Wizards need to focus on developing their younger players. With the exception of Khris Middleton’s $33 million player option for next season, they could be in a good position not to entice a top free agent but to take on some salaries from other teams to improve their draft capital for the next few years.
What to watch for tonight
At this point, the Wizards’ game is about playing for pride. With one more victory, they could eclipse last year’s win total, but that’s not saying much, as it would only be their 16th of the season. For the Sixers, a win tonight would need to be coupled with a Nets victory over the Raptors for them to continue to hold the fifth-worst record in the league.
Despite the team’s record and performance this season, the positives of being able to assess their young talent over so many games have been a hidden benefit for the team. As roster construction goes for the next couple of years, the Sixers were at one point looking to hopefully re-sign Guerschon Yabusele and hope that the team’s health improved for next year. With the addition and success of Grimes, they have another player that they’ll have to work to keep and build for the future.
Grimes and Edwards will, again, be putting on a show for the fans who’ve been packing the Wells Fargo Center all season despite the team’s woes. Having two talented and young players arrive when the team didn’t expect them is a blessing in disguise and gives them more weapons for the future. They’ve both been putting up points and providing quality defense in spurts. With Edwards’s recent shooting and Grimes’s volume, the Sixers will be looking at a rare win tonight, even if it only comes over the Wizards.
Prediction
Sixers 118 – Wizards 111
