Somebody’s gotta win as Sixers head to Toronto

Two tanking teams enter. One comes away with an undesired tally in the win column.

You’ve heard of an unstoppable force going up against an immovable object. We have something of the polar opposite in store tonight as the Philadelphia 76ers head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors in a game neither club has any desire to win. Both squads have shifted firmly into tank mode, with Toronto currently tied for fifth in the lottery odds and the Sixers one-half game back in seventh. Accordingy, look at this absolute tanking masterpiece of an injury report from the Raptors:

Chef’s kiss to 25-year-old Immanuel Quickley getting the rest designation when this game is not a part of any back-to-back for Toronto. The Raptors are certainly not risking Ja’Kobe Walter hitting another game-wining shot like we saw a week ago over Orlando. Something also tells me Scottie Barnes’ knuckle isn’t going to recover in time to take the floor tonight.

The Sixers’ injury report looks tame by comparison:

Yes, the Big Three are out in addition to some others, and another starter in Kelly Oubre Jr. likely won’t play, but these are legitimate injuries. We are still over a month from the end of the season and teams like Toronto and Utah have been pulling these shenanigans for a while already. I hate to be the old man yells at cloud meme, but it’s really a gross situation for the league when 20 percent of the league spends months trying to lose. That’s the beauty of the relegation system in European football (soccer), but I don’t know the solution here. Let’s just give all 30 teams equal lottery odds, to heck with parity.

In actual on-the-floor stuff, Quentin Grimes will likely be the driving force again for the Sixers. He is averaging 25.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.0 steals in the month of March, as his agent’s eyeballs are slot machining into dollar signs like a cartoon character. The Sixers can match any offer with Grimes’ restricted free agent status, so I just hope Josh Harris is OK ponying up the dough now that the Commanders brought in Laremy Tunsil. Jared Butler moved into the starting lineup last game and has 15 assists across his last two appearances. Somebody like Lonnie Walker, Justin Edwards, or Adem Bona could pop off again. Who knows? We’re truly in silly season, as they say in fantasy basketball circles.

Ultimately, basketball is basketball and I remind myself that I’ll be watching lower quality stuff during the summer just because I want to scratch the itch so don’t take even this sort of game for granted. Still, some of these contests lately have made for rough watches. If you’re still tuning in and following along with us here, I see you and appreciate you. Let’s get some lottery combinations.

Game Details

When: Wednesday, March 11, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, Canada
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers