The month since the Sixers pivoted to ducking the luxury tax and resetting in advance of next season has largely been upsetting for most fans. Joel Embiid was shut down for the season, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have grappled with their own injury-related issues and losses have piled up. They have lost so much, in fact, that many fans are now rooting for the Sixers to continue losing, with an eye on their top-six protected first-round pick.
If there has been one positive during the last month, it is Quentin Grimes, the 24-year-old trade deadline acquisition who has done nothing but impress since joining the Sixers. Grimes arrived in Philadelphia with a strong reputation as a spot-up three-point shooter and strong perimeter defender with occasional glimpses of scoring chops. But Grimes has already made enormous strides as a scorer and facilitator in his short Sixers tenure.
Grimes, who has asserted on multiple occasions since the trade took place that he was ready for more ball-handling responsibilities, has followed through in every way. Grimes grabbed plenty of headlines with a 44-point outburst on national television against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, then followed up his career-best scoring performance by posting a career-high nine assists on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
"I feel like I've shown that really the whole year in Dallas," Grimes said last month about his ball-handling capabilities. "[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."
Despite initially being listed as questionable on the second night of a back-to-back with soreness in his bicep, Grimes suited up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night and dropped 30 points with a 12-for-18 shooting line. Upon rewatching the game, Grimes' scoring display in Minneapolis might have been more impressive than the one he had against the Warriors because of the massive number of baskets that Grimes created all on his own.
For this week's edition of Friday film, enjoy this wide variety of ways Grimes is showing he can score, making everybody reevaluate just how high his ceiling is:
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While Grimes does not have the frame of Paul George or even Kelly Oubre Jr., he is far from an undersized player. Grimes is a viable wing, but is in his ideal role as a bigger guard. That not only gives him strength advantages in some defensive assignments, but also enables him to occasionally bully a small guard en route to an easy basket. That is how he started his night in Minnesota:
Quentin Grimes is not necessarily wing-sized, but he is on the bigger side for a guard. Grimes has the ability to play bully ball against a very small defender: pic.twitter.com/Sh7chIq0dA
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
Grimes has always been viewed as an off-ball player, but he has not acted or been used like one with the Sixers, who started him at point guard in Minnesota with Maxey sidelined. He has not only showed off impressive skills as a passer, but also an assertive ball-handler who can pressure the rim or kickstart transition offense. Here, Grimes does the latter, aggressively pursuing the ball and beating multiple defenders down the floor before freezing the final man in between himself and the basket:
Quentin Grimes freezes the defender with a gorgeous hesitation move en route to the basket for a transition layup: pic.twitter.com/T8xGopMuzU
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
Later on in the game, Grimes pulled a defensive rebound and began to push the pace. In all, he discarded four different Timberwolves defenders on his way to the rim for an acrobatic finish through contact. Watch as Grimes spins around one defender, crosses over to prevent the second from stripping him of his handle, euro-steps around a third man and then finishes through a fourth:
What can you even say about this grab-and-go transition bucket from Quentin Grimes? pic.twitter.com/y34HLI7Vcr
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
Even with all of these newfound scoring tools at Grimes' disposal, the top bullet point on opposing teams' scouting reports of him will pertain to his three-point shooting. Grimes knows that and is learning to take advantage. Here, he leverages the threat of his three-point shot to attack a closeout and get in the lane before a nice move helps him get around his former teammate Donte DiVincenzo. This is perhaps the most encouraging play Grimes made in Minnesota when considering the ideal scenario in which he is a long-term piece surrounding high-usage players like Embiid, Maxey and George:
Quentin Grimes leverages the threat of his three-point shot to beat a closeout, then steps around the next line of defense on his way to the rim: pic.twitter.com/NI4AOV9huT
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
Grimes going to work as a one-on-one scorer is basically uncharted territory for him in his fourth NBA season, but he is beginning to look like a natural. Here, he makes quick work of another former teammate, Julius Randle, calmly settling into an open pull-up jumper in the mid-range:
Quentin Grimes dazzles as a one-on-one scorer, going to a step-back in the mid-range area on an isolation opportunity: pic.twitter.com/hxefswpOj7
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
In fact, Grimes had a few enticing plays in the mid-range area against the Timberwolves, including this off-balance jumper with an extremely high degree of difficulty:
Quentin Grimes comes off a screen and rises up, connecting on a tough mid-range jumper: pic.twitter.com/RjjbCPRRQx
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
Eventually, Minnesota decided to be more aggressive with its coverages against Grimes. These coverages are bound to give Grimes fits as he becomes accustomed to handling the ball routinely, but on this play he has no issue splitting two before rising up for a jumper:
Quentin Grimes comes off a screen and immediately splits two defenders, then rises up for a jumper at the free throw line: pic.twitter.com/XNhaK632P7
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
This illustrates the dilemma opposing defenses will have when covering Grimes if he can consistently create for himself off the dribble and as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. Above all else, he is a terrific jump-shooter, and even before joining the Sixers was posting excellent efficiency marks as a pull-up shooter. If the offensive big sets a solid screen for him and the defensive big drops, Grimes will happily pull up for shots like these, which are the ones that could truly launch him to another stratosphere as a player:
If a big sets an effective screen for Quentin Grimes, he is an immediate threat to rise up from anywhere on the floor: pic.twitter.com/PddWeeVNfN
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 6, 2025
In a time where there has been a lot to be disappointed about, the newcomer Grimes has provided some reason for optimism in the final weeks of a disastrous, hellish, cataclysmic season. And as he prepares to become a restricted free agent this summer, he is making himself a whole lot of money in the process.
Grimes will very likely experience growing pains against blitzes and double-teams in the remaining weeks of the season. That was the case on Thursday night in Boston, when the Celtics keyed in on Grimes and held him to just six points on 2-for-11 shooting. But the Sixers hope all of this will help him quite a bit in the long run.
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