The Philadelphia 76ers are finally playing a basketball team that actually benefits more from winning than losing as the Indiana Pacers come to town Friday night.
Update, 10:30 a.m. ET
This one might been even more lopsided than originally thought. Quentin Grimes (illness) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee sprain) have both appeared on the Philadelphia 76ers’ injury report on Friday morning as questionable to face the Indiana Pacers tonight. That update comes in addition to the slew of availability issues that we already knew about when we posted our original preview for Sixers-Pacers below.
Is anyone available to suit up for the Sixers tonight? Get down to the Wells Fargo Center, they might need you.
Sixers may not have enough players by tonight… Quentin Grimes (illness) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee sprain) are now QUESTIONABLE vs. Pacers
Drum, Justin Edwards and Alex Reese questionable
Embiid, PG, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry, Maxey, Jared McCain, Lonnie Walker IV are all OUT
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) March 14, 2025
In a wild change of events, the Philadelphia 76ers are playing a team Friday night that actually (probably) wants to win the game as the Indiana Pacers come to town.
The 36-28 Pacers are currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, with just half a game separating them and the No. 4 Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana most recently broke a three-game skid with a one-point victory over the Bucks on Tuesday evening.
The fact of the matter is just that the Sixers and the Pacers are on different trajectories this season. Nothing shows that better than the injury report comparison.
The Pacers have just one player on the report for injury in Isaiah Jackson, who has been out since Nov. 4, 2024 with a right Achilles tear. That’s it. RayJ Dennis and Quenton Jackson are both probable with Enrique Freeman doubtful — all three with the G League on two-way contracts. Can you remember a time the Sixers’ only had one injury designation this season? Or seemingly ever?
Tonight is certainly not that time. In addition to the slew of injury absences we’ve gotten used to at this point, Lonnie Walker IV has appeared on the report, out with a concussion after taking a fall against the Raptors on Wednesday night. We have Andre Drummond (toe sprain), Justin Edwards (ankle sprain) and Alex Reese (shoulder contusion) all questionable. Then we have of course Joel Embiid, Paul George, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry, Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain remaining sidelined for injuries.
The Pacers have a solid squad this season, led by Pascal Siakam putting up 20.8 points per game this season averaging 52.4% shooting from the floor and 40.1% from three-point range over 64 games. He alone might be able to overpower this current iteration of the hospital/tanking Sixers. That’s not even mentioning Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner or any of the perfectly serviceable rotation players that round out their roster.
Plus, former Sixer T.J. McConnell. Hi T.J.!
Put simply: the Sixers and Pacers are practically in different leagues playing different games for different reasons right now.
Which, brings us back to Philadelphia — instead of talking conference standings, we turn over to the NBA Draft lottery standings. Here are the relevant teams for Sixers’ fans.
Last night, the Brooklyn Nets conveniently blew another big fourth quarter lead and ultimately fell to the Chicago Bulls. This moves the Nets slightly ahead of the Sixers for fifth in lottery position, but Philadelphia has a game in hand. Tonight, with a loss, the Sixers will move back into tied for fifth with the Nets. Ending up fifth in the lottery (no ties) would give Philadelphia a 63.9% shot to hold on to their first round pick (protected 1-6) and a 10.5% shot at the first overall pick.
Fifth lottery position is realistically the best-case scenario for the Sixers, who are five games behind the No. 4 lottery position holder New Orleans Pelicans team at 18-49. That is very likely too big of a gap to overcome with just 17 games left on the Sixers’ schedule, barring an unprecedented (and self-destructive) turnaround from the Pelicans into a winning team in these last few weeks.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors, trailing just behind the Sixers and Nets in the lottery, play the 15-51 Utah Jazz on Friday night. The Jazz are currently second in the draft lottery, just half a game behind the 14-51 Washington Wizards for first lottery position. Another riveting tank-off contest!
Back to the Pacers. Realistically, it would be an absolute shock if the Sixers won this one. The Pacers do play a much more important game Saturday facing the Bucks again, but they are coming into Friday night on two days rest and, for what its worth, it does not look like their starters miss many games just because of back-to-back scheduling. (Another thing that is hard to imagine as a current Sixers fan…)
The Sixers and Pacers tip off in South Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET.
Game Details
When: Friday, March 14, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers