The Sixers will be back in action this week, likely getting two practices in the next few days before taking the floor on Thursday night against the defending champion Boston Celtics. To help pass the team, may I interest you in another edition of 5 Sixers thoughts?
Quentin Grimes makes a terrific early impression
Grimes, 24, has only made four appearances as a Sixer since the team sent Caleb Martin and a 2030 second-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Grimes and the return of the Sixers' 2025 second-round pick — currently projected to be the No. 37 overall pick in June — but the early returns have been very promising.
Martin played through injuries for much of his short tenure in Philadelphia, and had a few stellar moments. But it is abundantly clear that Grimes is just capable of doing things offensively that Martin cannot pull off. The most important example is his three-point shooting. Grimes is much more accurate from beyond the arc, but also does it on significantly higher volume with much more difficult looks.
As Grimes has gotten more comfortable with his new team, though, he has flashed another strong skill: off-the-dribble penetration, which can lead to self-created scoring chances and also opportunities to set his teammates up to get good looks. Grimes' assist numbers have been impressive in a small sample size:
Quentin Grimes assist percentage by season/team:
2021-23 (NYK): 9.4%
2023-24 (NYK/DET): 8.7%
2024-25 (DAL): 13.1%
2024-25 (PHI): 18.3% pic.twitter.com/GBy3mDOlrU— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 16, 2025
The Sixers nearly staged a late-game comeback on Wednesday in Brooklyn because of a push made by a lineup which featured Grimes in a primary ball-handling role. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse clearly liked what he saw, and after the game Grimes mentioned how his time in Dallas prepared him for those duties.
"I feel like I've shown that really the whole year in Dallas," Grimes said. "[Mavericks head coach Jason] Kidd had me on the ball, whether it was with Luka [Dončić] or Kyrie [Irving] out, bringing the ball up, initiating the offense, making the right reads off of closeouts, attacking, whether it's throwing a lob to [Dereck Lively II] or whoever it may be, just making the right reads. And I feel like I've done a really good job with that so far this season."
While Grimes' on-ball responsibilities are more significant now than they ever have been during his NBA career, he has some experience in the role.
"I feel like I've always been good at that," Grimes said. "I was a PG predominantly in high school, even at [college] I was a two guard but still bringing the ball up getting us into stuff."
Nurse and Grimes have been a good match so far.
"Nick has done a great job of helping me," Grimes said. "You've got to build that trust, and I feel like we got a good feel for each other pretty early. I respected him, just the way he did it with Toronto… He knows what he's talking about, so I definitely feel very good about our relationship already."
MORE: Paul George scores 2 points, in Sixers' fifth straight loss before All-Star break
Jared Butler's strengths and weaknesses on display
Butler, the Sixers' other trade deadline acquisition, signed a standard NBA contract on Thursday night. A league source told PhillyVoice that the deal covers the remainder of this season with a team option for 2025-26. This structure enables the team to either bring Butler back for next year on an inexpensive salary or decline his option to enable a longer-term contract agreement.
While Butler has only played in three games as a Sixer, the 24-year-old has seen his role expand with each appearance. In his team debut, Butler played a small handful of spot minutes. The next time out, he was the team's lone backup ball-handler. And on Wednesday in Brooklyn, an injury to Tyrese Maxey thrusted Butler into the starting lineup.
The results against the Nets were mixed. In 25 minutes, Butler had more than enough time to show flashes of the characteristics which have drawn the Sixers to him. For example, he totaled a season-high nine assists, often with shrewd dribble-drive plays. The most impressive one involved no dribbling, though. Watch how Butler's smarts and awareness generate the Sixers a perfect shot — Grimes wide open in the corner — even when Paul George does not see he has the pass open:
A fun Jared Butler play: As Paul George draws multiple defenders on a drive, Butler points to Quentin Grimes open in the corner. George doesn't see it and instead kicks the ball out to Butler, who has the ball for just a fraction of a second, swinging it to Grimes for a three. pic.twitter.com/mvw50XQIpC
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 16, 2025
But a more intense workload also spotlighted the reasons Butler has yet to catch on as a rotation regular in the NBA. It is hard to thrive at the NBA level — especially as a point guard — without above-average size or athleticism. Butler has neither, and it caps his ceiling to some degree:
Jared Butler does not have good positional size or athleticism, which occasionally gives him trouble as a driver playing in crowds: pic.twitter.com/X9s7dTl3RH
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 16, 2025
If Butler can use the remaining two months of the season to earn a roster spot on next year's team and make a case that he should be considered for some reserve minutes, the Sixers will be pleased.
Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele honing high low game
After Yabusele's incredible and surprising emergence early in the season, Nurse hoped that when Embiid returned to action, the two bigs could form a partnership and give the Sixers a more significant interior presence. At first, the arrangement went poorly, in part because Embiid did not look like himself. Embiid and Yabusele failed to thrive alongside each other in their first four chances before Embiid returned to the inactive list for an extended period. Ever since, the pairing has been quite good, with tangible developments leading to their improvement.
| First 4 games | Next 12 games |
| 43 minutes | 126 minutes |
| 101.1 Offensive Rating | 113.9 Offensive Rating |
| 112.6 Defensive Rating | 106.8 Defensive Rating |
| -11.5 Net Rating | +7.1 Net Rating |
Nurse spent weeks, if not months, talking about his desire to utilize Yabusele's terrific scoring chops in the low post more often. With the lineups featuring the 29-year-old at power forward alongside Embiid, he found his avenue to do just that. Embiid and Yabusele are mastering the art of the high low. Asked about it last week, Embiid pointed to a game seven days prior against the Mavericks. Embiid collected 10 assists as part of a 29-point triple-double, and half of them came on high low connections with Yabusele.
If the Sixers believe Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele can start next to each other long-term, their win over Dallas on Feb. 4 stands represents what they should strive for: pic.twitter.com/zEvH57SZEJ
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 16, 2025
Conventional wisdom would suggest that Embiid be the one who stays around the basket no matter who he is sharing the floor with. But when Yabusele and Embiid are on the court at the same time, Yabusele gets to
"When we're on the floor together, we have a tendency of actually having him be in the low post because he's guarded by smaller guys," Embiid said.
The key will be limiting this sort of defensive possession, where Yabusele's subpar foot speed is exploited by a wing playing the four:
The concern for the Sixers when Guerschon Yabusele plays power forward is that he is liable to be beaten off the dribble by wing-sized fours: pic.twitter.com/iCoeQISIHE
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 11, 2025
As the Sixers begin weighing their options heading into Yabusele's free agency, having a significant sample of evidence about his fit alongside Embiid would be an incredibly helpful data point.
MORE: How can Sixers retain Grimes, Yabusele, other key role players this summer?
Jeff Dowtin Jr. plays in G League Next Up Game
Dowtin has yet to establish himself as a regular rotation point guard in the NBA, but by now it has become very clear that he can dominate his competition in the G League time and time again. Dowtin has been terrific in his appearances for the Delaware Blue Coats, and earned a nod in the "Next Up Game" as a result. He made one of his three shot attempts on Sunday afternoon.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. (@JeffD_11)’s season for the @blue_coats: 24.3 PPG, 51.5% FG, 44% 3FG (44-100) 🔥
Now representing the @sixers and Coats at the @nbagleague Up Next Game at #NBAAllStar in The Bay. pic.twitter.com/30KUOmP9dO— Matt Murphy (@Matt_Murphy04) February 16, 2025
"Definitely excited for the opportunity," Dowtin told PhillyVoice about his selection on Wednesday night in Brooklyn. "All-Star is definitely a big thing. It just shows work has been paid off. You get rewarded for putting in a lot of work over time, and I'm just excited for the opportunity."
Dowtin said on Wednesday that he still needed to scan the rosters in order to find out if he had any friends from around the league who would be partaking in the event. One player he faced was his teammate just a few months ago: Lester Quinones, waived from his two-way deal by the Sixers in early December, has continue to thrive as a scorer in the G League for the Birmingham Squadron, the G League affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. Quinones was red-hot for his team in the championship game, scoring 14 points (5-for-7 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range) in a 30-26 loss.
Mac McClung wins third consecutive NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Perhaps the biggest story from All-Star weekend had a Sixers tie. McClung won his third consecutive dunk contest, becoming the first player to ever accomplish that feat. He stole the show yet again with endless amounts of hops and creativity. McClung has truly mastered the art of the dunk contest:
EVERY MAC MCCLUNG DUNK FROM THE 2025 #ATTSlamDunk 🤯
He scored a 50 on EVERY dunk 📈 pic.twitter.com/AZ1tLQXHuF— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2025
McClung, of course, won his first trophy in a Sixers uniform. He had been added to the contest while playing for the Blue Coats, and was inked to a two-way deal shortly beforehand. But it was not merely a stunt; McClung was a genuine part of the Sixers organization. It may feel hard to believe, but two of his five regular season appearances as an NBA player came as a member of the Sixers:
Mac Madness going back-to-back! 👌 pic.twitter.com/QX0opjeYPW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 9, 2023
McClung scored 25 points across 41 minutes in his pair of games as a Sixer.
MORE: Checking in on former Sixers with new homes after trade deadline
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
