Here is our attempt at finding game scripts in which the Sixers win and we don’t freak out.
It is totally understandable to be disappointed over Sunday’s win for the Sixers in Dallas. A loss would have given Philadelphia sole-possession of the fifth lottery slot, which is a very coveted spot for the Sixers to end the season in as many are likely aware of by now.
But, unfortunately, we’re still too far away from the end of the season to pencil in losses for every game the rest of the way. There are going to be a few wins here or there. Out of the 14 games left on Philly’s schedule, 10 are against sub-.500 teams. That might be a bit scary given how close the Sixers are with the Nets and Raptors in the lottery standings, but the Sixers played three sub-.500 teams last week and only won one of the games.
If Philly plays the rest of its sub-.500 opponents at a similar clip, and loses all five of its games against teams over .500, that’s three more wins for the rest of the season. For the entire season, which of course includes games in which Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all participated in, the Sixers only have a .338 winning percentage. Continuing on that clip over the final 14 games would mean Philly wins five more games between now and game 82 and that feels like the maximum amount of wins we’ll have to deal with in jeopardizing the lottery chances.
Having just defeated Dallas, and with those 10 games remaining against sub-.500 opponents, now felt like a good time to make an effort at defining what kinds of wins we should be able to live with to close out 2024-25. First off, let’s start with something I already touched on. The wins must come against other bad teams. By now, we should all know the Sixers are far from the only abomination in the NBA this season and lots of other teams want to lose games too. If on any given night, the Sixers prove they’re less bad than the opponent, that’s not the worst thing in the world.
While we’ll be clinging to hope all the way until lottery night that the Sixers keep their first-round pick, if they are able to retain it, it is basically a foregone conclusion the Sixers do not have their first-round pick in 2026. The protection on the pick will only cover the top four in next year’s draft, and we’re all sweating bullets over Nets and Raptors games just hoping to stay in the top six at the end of the current season from hell. So, when you look at the box score from the Dallas win, you’ll see a lot of contributions from new faces. Philly had seven scorers in double figures. Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin Jr. were the only ones out of the seven that were on last year’s team and Council is still just 23 years old.
The other five scorers in double figures in Dallas on Sunday for the Sixers were Guerschon Yabusele, Justin Edwards, Quentin Grimes, Oshae Brissett and Jalen Hood-Schifino. Your guess is as good as mine regarding how many of these players are even on the Sixers next season, let alone become long-term roster pieces. But if a few of them shine here or there, return for next season to at least be a part of training camp, and go on to make next year’s roster, that’s a good thing given the team almost definitely won’t have its 2026 first-round pick provided it has one this year.
The point we’re making is that the Sixers have to find more creative ways to find young talent given the complications surrounding their first-round picks. Those complications will continue once the Oklahoma City first-round debt is paid as Philly still owes Brooklyn a first-rounder to complete the Ben Simmons-James Harden trade. In other words, Philly isn’t going to benefit from being horrible in the future, so a game that proves there are a handful of teams worse than even THIS Sixers team is probably a good thing. There’s really no better avenue for the short-term than trying to put together competitive rosters starting in 2025-26 anyway.
While the stakes are far from high, there’s probably some value in pulling out a close win here or there for these younger players as well. Sure, anyone can make the obvious observation that the Sixers are not good enough to blow teams out anyway, and they’d be correct as Philly has not won a game by double digits since Jan. 29 against Sacramento. But, the four games the Sixers have won since that Kings win were all tight in the fourth quarter. It might just be dumb luck, but if there’s even an ounce of mental growth that the younger players take from winning a game or two that’s close down the stretch, that could also be helpful in the future.
Now that we’ve explained what an acceptable win looks like, let’s get to what can’t happen. What can’t happen is what happened against Golden State to start March — or what nearly happened Monday night against Houston. The Sixers won that game against the Warriors at home 126-119 and shot a whopping 57.6% from three-point land as they made 19 of the 33 three-point field goals they attempted. Against the Rockets, the Sixers pushed the West’s No. 2 seed to overtime thanks to making a franchise-record 24 threes. They lost the game in the extra period despite Grimes setting another career high with 46 points.
The NBA is often described as a “make or miss league” and frankly that adage can be applicable to basketball at all levels these days. Any team that gets red hot from beyond the arc can win one game against any other opponent. If that were to happen against any of the four opponents remaining on Philly’s schedule that are over .500 and the Sixers win one of those games, it would not bode well for the lottery or for the team’s future.
Simply put, getting hot from the three-point line is not a skill that bad teams should expect to replicate. For ample context, in Sunday’s victory in Dallas, the Sixers actually scored more points than they did in the Golden State win, and shot 38.9% from behind the curved line. If the hot shooting nights happen against a few of the bad teams on the Sixers schedule who they might be able to beat anyway, that’s one thing. But stealing a win against a good team could be fatal.
Lastly, there’s Tyrese Maxey’s availability. Maxey is nursing hand and back injuries and did not play on Sunday in his hometown against the Mavericks. He’s been traveling with the team though which might signal a possible return before the current six-game road trip concludes in New Orleans next Monday. With the injury history of Joel Embiid and Paul George far more extensive than that of Maxey, and with Maxey much younger than Embiid and George, it’s understandable that Maxey would be allowed to play at some point before the end of the season.
Additionally, this season has been particularly challenging for Maxey who has admitted multiple times that losing is not something he’s done a lot of in his career and not something he ever wants to get used to. Maxey comes off as the kind of guy that would want to suit up for at least a handful of games to close out the season as Maxey would be missing the season’s final six weeks if shut down. That is not something that would sit well with his competitive juices. For tank enthusiasts, this is a necessary evil of having a player like Maxey on the roster. If he returns there is no doubt that he will be giving it his all. At full health, that might be enough for Maxey to win a game or two for the Sixers all by himself. If those Maxey games occur against some of the bottom feeders on the schedule, then it should be easier for everyone to deal with.
It seemed like most pro-tank fans earlier in the season when it was a discussion as to if the Sixers should tank or try to make the play-in tournament knew about the bumpy ride that would ensue. Taking a chance at the lottery always came with risk, but the pro-tanking side of this debate in December, January and February was centered around the fact that the lottery was worth playing and that this Sixers team was not going to do anything of consequence in the playoffs. That’s been proven correct, but what also looks to be accurate is the sweaty days, weeks and months we’re embarking upon leading up to the lottery. Buckle up, Sixers fans. This is going a bumpy ride over the last 14 games.