The Sixers cannot escape bizarre basketball games clouded by looming trades, can they?
For the second straight night, reported deals hung over the Sixers' 48 minutes of basketball. This time around, they were facing a Miami Heat team which was in the process of finalizing a massive blockbuster trade that will begin to reshape the complexion of their franchise. But to the players on the floor, this was merely a battle of two teams which faced off in the Play-In Tournament last season.
Despite the many possible distractions, the Heat came ready play after losing in Chicago on Tuesday. They asserted early control of the game and forced the Sixers to play from behind for much of the contest. As Tyrese Maxey got in a groove as the game went on, the Sixers were clearly going to be heard from, and they were, with Maxey leading a push that ignited the crowd briefly.
Ultimately, though, the Sixers looked like a team that did not have their best in this one, and the result was their 30th loss of the season. Here is what stood out from their 108-101 defeat:
Paul George returns after five-game absence
George suffered a sprain of the extensor tendon in his left pinky finger during the second quarter of the Sixers' Jan. 25 win over the Chicago Bulls, and after missing the remainder of that game, he missed another five contests. George was initially listed as doubtful to make his return against the Heat, and was later upgraded to questionable before being made available 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
As one could have predicted, George got off to a bit of a rusty start. Nurse had already indicated that George would likely be playing with a splint of sorts on his injured finger, and even on his non-shooting hand, that sort of thing can make a typical jumper feel unusual.
So, it was fairly surprising that by the time the third quarter had come to a close, all of George's points had come on three-point shots. The more concerning thing: there were only six points to account for. In his first 25 minutes before the final frame, George totaled six points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field, with both makes among his five three-point tries. George did not score until midway through the second quarter:
PG 3️⃣ from the top of the 🔑! pic.twitter.com/OtQztQgcYr
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 6, 2025
After posting a 29-point triple-double in his return from a 15-game absence on Tuesday, Joel Embiid said he was able to establish an early rhythm because he made a point to play with aggression from the outset rather than trying to figure things out as he got more comfortable.
When George returned to the floor with seven minutes and 39 seconds left in the game and the Sixers trailing by eight points, he continued to do the exact opposite, fading into the background time and time again. George knocked down his third triple of the night, but was just about silent otherwise. On a night when Maxey was just good, not great, the Sixers needed more from George offensively.
Miami trades Jimmy Butler during game
On Tuesday, the Sixers played a game against a team they had made a trade with hours earlier. On Wednesday, they played a team that appeared on the verge of making a franchise-altering deal. And during the second quarter of Sixers-Heat, news broke that Miami had finally put an end to its Jimmy Butler saga, trading the former Sixer and six-time All-Star to the Golden State Warriors in what appears to be a massive deal also including Detroit, Utah and possibly another team. The Heat will land Andrew Wiggins, former Sixer P.J. Tucker and a first-round pick in exchange for Butler, with tons of salaries being moved around elsewhere.
Before Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra's pregame media availability, media members were informed that Butler was a subject Spoelstra would not answer questions about — apparently a practice the Heat have been sticking with for at least the last few weeks. Soon, they will have to discuss the end of Butler's tenure with the team — at one point a representation of the perfect marriage of player and franchise before dissolving into a chaotic, public divorce.
In any case, it was fascinating to watch Miami's bench from nearby as news of the trade broke. Given how complicated of a trade it is turning into, it is very fair to assume the organization had known the deal was at least at the goal line by the time the game had started. Surely, their players were kept in the loop to some degree, but here is a fascinating video of a fan informing All-Star guard Tyler Herro and Kevin Love of the initial terms of the deal. Love asking the fan for clarification on which year the draft pick will be owed is good stuff:
This guy broke the Jimmy Butler trade news to the Heat right now 🤣 (via shantsolmaz/IG) pic.twitter.com/wDUb1hICfx
— Overtime (@overtime) February 6, 2025
The only other player being dealt by Miami in this deal, for salary purposes, is another former Sixer: Josh Richardson, who was inactive on Wednesday because of right heel inflammation. Richardson has now been traded for Butler and traded alongside Butler.
Odds and ends
Some more notes and observations from Wednesday's game:
• Quentin Grimes, the Sixers' lone trade acquisition so far, is in Philadelphia. On Tuesday morning he was a member of the Dallas Mavericks, participating in a shootaround at the Wells Fargo Center preparing to face the Sixers. Hours later, he was in the Sixers locker room greeting some of his new teammates.
The Sixers listed Grimes as questionable for Wednesday's game with the designation of "trade pending." But it became clear shortly before the game that he would likely not be available, as the trade has not yet been finalized to the degree that the players involved could suit up. The hope is that Grimes will play on Friday.
• The main decision facing Sixers head coach Nick Nurse as he crafted his rotation for this game: to give the ninth and final spot to Reggie Jackson or Ricky Council IV. There is no doubt that Council has been much better of late, but Nurse is fond of stacking bench lineups with as many competent ball-handlers as he can. So he went with Jackson, and the veteran point guard paid off that decision in a major way, staging a personal 8-0 run:
watch to see @Reggie_Jackson score 8 straight! pic.twitter.com/MAer8WWst8
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 6, 2025
Jackson has still not been consistently productive, but his strong performances have been more frequent over the last few weeks.
• Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry, who missed Tuesday's game due to various soreness designations (left knee for Gordon, right hip for Lowry), both returned in this one, and Nurse decided to return Gordon to the second unit in order to keep undrafted rookie two-way wing Justin Edwards in the starting five. With every passing game, the Sixers make another strong vote of confidence in Edwards, the hometown kid who has made good on every opportunity.
Up next: With a their longest stretch of home games in the rearview mirror, the Sixers will have Thursday off as the trade deadline passes in the afternoon. Then they will head to Detroit for a battle against the Pistons on Friday night.
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