The Philadelphia 76ers may be better off tanking for improved lottery odds at this point in the season. The problem is going to become running into other teams like the Portland Trail Blazers that are facing the same dilemma.
The Philadelphia 76ers avoided a 10-game loss streak when they defeated Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night thanks to a career-high 44 points from Quentin Grimes.
The hardest part, though, is that it was hard to conjure up many good feelings about it. A newcomer in Grimes having a career night, in any other season, might have sparked joy for this team and the fans watching them, but it all felt sort of bittersweet at this point. With all the talk of tanking and draft pick odds as the regular season barrels into its final quarter, the Sixers are in a weird spot — 23 games left, with each feeling simultaneously meaningful and completely meaningless.
But, the 23 games will be played regardless. So I suppose we should just focus on what they could mean. Next up on the schedule is the Sixers hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
For Philadelphia, Joel Embiid was officially shut down for the remainder of the 2024-25 season late last week. In addition to the big fella, Eric Gordon (wrist surgery) and Kyle Lowry (hip) are also ruled out for Monday’s contest due to injuries. A new name to pop back up on the injury report is Paul George, who is questionable as of Sunday night due to groin soreness. For whatever it’s worth, the team has not publicly entertained the idea of shutting down George nor Tyrese Maxey with the final quarter of the season still ahead as it stands. Jalen Hood-Schifino and Alex Reese are both currently listed as out (two-way contracts), but that may change before tipoff.
The Trail Blazers’ injury report will not be available until Monday afternoon, as they are on the second-half of a back-to-back. Portland fell in overtime Sunday afternoon 133-129 to the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
We are at the point in this tragedy of a season for the Sixers where we can only really look at each individual game in terms of what outcome the opponents are hoping for — whether a win or a strategic loss — and how each outcome could affect Philadelphia.
So, let’s look at the 27-34 Trail Blazers. They are the second-youngest team in the NBA this season that is still rebuilding and, frankly, have looked like it most of the year. They have a number of incredibly talented younger players, from 25-year-old Anfernee Simons to 21-year-old Shaedon Sharpe and 20-year-old Scoot Henderson, but they simply aren’t there yet in a way that has translated to meaningful, consistent basketball. Portland has been incredibly streaky as of late — six straight wins, four straight losses, four straight wins dating back to Jan. 28 — but stringing victories together was a major struggle overall this year. It took until the midway point of their campaign for the Trail Blazers to notch just their third multi-game win streak of the season.
It has all resulted in Portland currently occupying 12th in the Western Conference with five games between themselves and the No. 10 spot for the Play-In Tournament, currently occupied by the 32-29 Dallas Mavericks. The 28-32 Phoenix Suns are sandwiched between at No. 11, currently a game above Portland but still four behind Dallas. Bottom line: there would be whole lot of ground to cover for the Trail Blazers in their last 21 games if they wanted to try to squeeze into a Play-In spot.
So, as is the case with the Sixers, attention may turn to draft pick positioning as the regular season draws toward a close. Portland keeps their 2025 NBA Draft first-round pick as long as they do not make the playoffs (protected for picks 1-14). At their current position of 10th-worst team in the NBA, the Trail Blazers are in the lottery with a 13.9% chance at a top-four pick and a 3.0% chance of landing the No. 1 overall selection. Those odds would increase if Portland were able to fall to a “worse” position in the league, with the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls just ahead of them in the lottery as it stands.
The timing for a loss is there, too. It’s worth noting that the Trail Blazers had four players on the floor for over 38 minutes in their overtime battle just yesterday afternoon — three played over 40 minutes. All this to say, losing Monday night wouldn’t be a complete nightmare for Portland.
Philadelphia is currently the seventh-worst team in the NBA, with a 31.9% chance of holding on to their first-round pick (protected for picks 1-6). The Brooklyn Nets are just ahead of them in the lottery and do not play again until Tuesday. If the Sixers lose to the Trail Blazers on Monday, they will move to being tied with the Nets for sixth-worst in the association for the moment. A Philadelphia win, on the other hand, would give an opportunity for the Bulls and the Spurs, both just behind the Sixers in current lottery position, to “gain” a loss on them in their respective pursuits for better lottery odds.
We might officially be in the “which team can lose better” phase of regular season games.
Twenty-three to go. Sixers and Trail Blazers tip off at 7 p.m. ET.
Game Details
When: Monday, March 3, 2025, 7 p.m. ET
Where: The Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers