There is no doubt that Saturday's game between the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets was meaningful. But exactly why a game between two 20-35 teams was important depends on one's perspective.
The point of view of an optimist: the Sixers and Nets, both within arm's reach of the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference and a spot in the Play-In Tournament, each needed a victory to bolster their chances of making a spirited postseason push.
And then, the overwhelming sentiment: the loser of this individual battle would be the winner of the war, improving their chances of maximizing draft lottery odds in what is believed to a stacked class of talented young prospects. For the Sixers in particular, securing the best odds possible could be crucial, as they will only keep their first-round pick in June if it falls within the top six slots.
For once, the outcome of a Sixers game fell in line with the hopes of the majority of fans.
The Sixers lost to the Nets on their home floor on Saturday, 105-103, giving the team sole possession of the sixth slot in the draft lottery at the conclusion of their season series with Brooklyn. Nets center Nic Claxton put back a missed shot as the clock expired.
Here is what stood out from a bizarre game on Saturday night:
Sixers' abominable first half sinks them in seventh straight loss
The Sixers' performance in the first half was, frankly, embarrassing. Not only was the 63-52 score in favor of Brooklyn not properly representative of just how poorly the Sixers played, but the context surrounding it made all of it a much worse look. The Sixers were coming off a drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics on their home floor Thursday night, a game in which their sputtering defense was absolutely ravaged.
They had two days to prepare to remedy their horrid defense, and had the opportunity to show improvement against one of the single worst offensive teams in the NBA. Instead, they allowed 40 points to the Nets in the opening frame — more than they gave up in any quarter against the Celtics. Unlike Boston before them, the Nets did not even shoot particularly well from beyond the arc. The Sixers simply gave up easy basket after easy basket due to a combination of poor effort, focus and execution.
On the other end, the Sixers were hardly any better in the first half. It was a total comedy of errors for their offense as the team made unforced errors over and over. There were turnovers, there were instances of bizarre miscommunication and there was a general lack of cohesion that would be stunning if not for the team's other recent showings.
The Sixers' putrid first half prevented them from completing a comeback despite a tremendous fourth quarter in which their defensive intensity was off the charts. And while many believe losing this game was in the best long-term interest of the Sixers, the team has insisted it would do everything possible to win games and dig themselves out of this hole. Regardless of where one stands on whether the Sixers should be tanking or trying to make the best of a difficult season, seeing them profess that public message emphatically and then submit a performance like this is jarring.
Just as jarring: the fact that the unit which dragged the Sixers back into the game with tremendous defensive intensity did not feature Embiid, and the Sixers looked far more competitive without the player who has been solely responsible for whether or not the team has performed well for nearly a decade.
Lonnie Walker IV makes team debut amid rotation shakeup
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse indicated before the game that Walker, a native of Reading, PA who signed a two-year deal with the team a few days ago, would at least play "a stint or two" in his first game available for the team. The 26-year-old slotted into a bench role, with Nurse suggesting on Friday that he hopes Walker can provide an infusion of athleticism and scoring on the perimeter.
With Kelly Oubre Jr. in foul trouble, not only did Walker crack the rotation, but he was Nurse's first substitution of the game. While many of the team's mainstays continued to look entirely indifferent on the defensive end of the floor, Walker did at least apply heavy ball pressure. But he did miss a pair of good looks from beyond the arc in the first quarter, both coming on the same possession. Walker got another stint late in the first half, but failed to score. With the Sixers hoping to make a comeback, Nurse relied on guys he was familiar with in the second half.
Otherwise, Nurse opted to give two-way wing David Roddy a chance to play real minutes after he logged some garbage time action on Thursday. Roddy and Walker both supplanted Ricky Council IV in the rotation, another rough indication of where the coaching staff is at with Council.
Guerschon Yabusele did not check into the game until the start of the first quarter. The only time I could find this season that Yabusele was available for the Sixers and did not play in the first quarter was the only game during his time with the team that Yabusele was not in the regular rotation: the November disaster in Miami which led to a team meeting that generated plenty of headlines. Andre Drummond was the backup center,
Odds and ends
Some more notes and tidbits from this one:
• In lighter news, a clip of Embiid and Jared McCain from the team's Friday practice quickly made the rounds, and after conducting some of the most hard-hitting journalism you will find, I can provide an explanation for this:
Jared McCain and Joel Embiid are doing something. I suppose it could be a game of tag? You be the judge: pic.twitter.com/yKa7ML1zzT
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 21, 2025
Embiid and McCain were not playing tag, but McCain, a huge Drake fan, was attempting to get Embiid to "Gimme A Hug," a song from a recently-released album.
• Nurse said he was "hopeful" that rookie wing Justin Edwards, who missed his second straight game Saturday due to an ankle sprain, could return to action on Monday. Edwards suffered the injury during the team's Tuesday evening practice, their first official activity upon returning from the All-Star break.
• Nurse once again used Quentin Grimes as his backup point guard, leaving Jared Butler on the outside looking in at the regular rotation for the second game in a row. The rotation did expand to 10 when Nurse asked Council for a spark in the second half, to no avail.
Up next: The Sixers will host the Chicago Bulls on Monday in a game they might need to win in order to make a Play-In Tournament push. They are 2-0 against the Bulls this season, and securing a potential tiebreaker advantage with a win while also drawing closer in the standings would help. The teams will not meet again until the final day of the regular season.
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