News 76ers Team Notes

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Woof

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The Sixers came out of the break relatively healthy but it didn’t matter as they got absolutely steamrolled on their home court by the defending champion Celtics.

This organization does not need to enact any sort of plan to tank the rest of the way.

They’re just that bad on their own.

The Sixers kicked off their second half of the season by getting destroyed 124-104 by the Boston Celtics Thursday night.

Paul George led the Sixers in scoring with 17 points shooting 7-of-14 from the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tyrese Maxey each had 16 points a piece, and Joel Embiid had 15 points shooting 3-of-9 from the floor.

Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 28 points. Jaylen Brown finished with 20, and Jayson Tatum went for 15 points, 11 boards and 10 assists.

Here are some thoughts from the Center.

First Quarter​

• Not the cleanest start for the Sixers thanks to a couple of turnovers, but George’s jumpshots were falling early. On the other end though Boston scored on their first five trips down the floor, already getting to the rim with ease.
• As they like to do, Boston opened the game with Jrue Holiday guarding Embiid. While that had Embiid stymied, starting the game 1-of-4 from the field, Oubre took advantage of the Celtics sagging off of him by filling cutting lanes.

that Kansas connection pic.twitter.com/tN8A6GSRQB

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 21, 2025​

• The Sixers were fairly efficient from inside the arc. They shot 47% in the quarter despite going 2-of-9 from three. That put them behind in the math battle though as the Celtics shot a blistering 8-of-12 from deep, allowing them to get out to an eight-point lead after one.

Second Quarter ​

• A lot of the Celtics’ threes in the first quarter were shots they had to work for. They got some freebies to start the second though as the Sixers just left Pritchard wide open a couple times. Their hedging and recovering on screens was a mess, and led to several blown assignments.
• Andre Drummond had the first relief of Embiid, and he had a rough go of things. He smoked a couple of layups and got called for three seconds in the lane on both ends of the floor. He’s looked like he’s been playing in quicksand since returning from the toe injury.
• They still couldn’t buy a three, but the Sixers’ offense was still playing well. Embiid had gotten in a groove down on the block as he got the line seven times in the half. Maxey and Oubre were trying to play as fast as possible, running off of every miss they could. Boston still wasn’t really missing though as they were able to answer with a three every time. The Sixers went into the half trailing by 16.

Kelly Oubre Jr. hits the reverse and finishes through the foul for a three-point play pic.twitter.com/KYYevckzsJ

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) February 21, 2025​

Third Quarter​

• Shockingly, the Sixers throwing a little zone in did not stop the Celtics’ three-point shooting barrage. The Sixers also came out of the break with less intensity and it showed with their breakdowns in coverages.
• Nick Nurse only went eight deep in the first half. He went a little bit deeper as Jared Butler and David Roddy checked in a couple minutes apart. They combined to miss their first five shots though as the deficit grew and the boos were loudly raining down.
• Not only was Boston having a terrific game from three but the Sixers were having a horrific one. After making two in a row, Ricky Council IV brought them up to 6-of-32 on the night. They trailed by 26 after three.

Fourth Quarter​

• It happened.
• This three-game homestand continues for the Sixers as they’ll welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town. They’ll square off Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...me-recap-joel-embiid-tyrese-maxey-paul-george

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Would a two-stars-and-depth approach have saved the Sixers in 2024-25?

Photo by David Dowt/NBAE via Getty Images

Would the Sixers have been better off breaking up the money they spent on Paul George into multiple players?

The first year of the Sixers’ Big 3 era has been a bust. To some extent, that was predictable.

While injuries are largely to blame for the Sixers’ season from hell, this was one of the major concerns with the Big 3 model. As teams get more top-heavy salary-wise, they have fewer resources with which to round out their rosters. That makes it increasingly imperative to hit on the margins with their draft picks and free-agent signings, particularly those on minimum contracts.

The Sixers did find a diamond in the rough with Guerschon Yabusele, whom they signed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal after the 2024 Olympics. Other than that, they had far more misses with their offseason signings (Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Kyle Lowry) than hits.

That begs the question: What if, instead of signing Paul George this offseason, the Sixers went with a two-stars-and-depth model instead? Would they be better off both this season and moving forward than they are right now?

With a half-season’s worth of hindsight, let’s see if we can construct a roster that could have kept them afloat amidst Joel Embiid’s ongoing battle with his surgically repaired left knee.

First, let’s start with a caveat: No matter what team-building model the Sixers went with — a Big 3 or a more well-rounded two-stars-and-depth approach — they aren’t winning a championship without a healthy Embiid. He’s that critical to what they do on both ends of the floor. But given the underwhelming returns from George in his first season in Philly, they arguably could have better allocated those resources elsewhere.

The Sixers entered free agency with roughly $60 million in cap space. They had Embiid ($51.4 million), Jared McCain ($4.0 million) and Ricky Council IV ($1.9 million) under contract, as well as cap holds for Tyrese Maxey ($13.0 million) and KJ Martin ($2.1 million) on their books.

The Sixers spent their cap space on George ($49.2 million), Caleb Martin ($8.1 million) and Andre Drummond ($5.0 million) before re-signing Maxey and Martin via their Bird rights and re-signing Kelly Oubre Jr. to a two-year, $16 million deal with the room mid-level exception. From there, they handed out minimum contracts to Lowry, Jackson, Yabusele and Eric Gordon and signed second-round pick Adem Bona with the new second-round exception.

So, let’s start by working backwards. The Sixers would still have zero reservations about giving Maxey a full five-year max extension. The same goes for signing Yabusele to a minimum contract, although they’d likely prefer if he took a two-year deal with a second-year team option. They’d also presumably be fine with re-signing Oubre with the room MLE. Luckily, none of those moves would impact their cap space whatsoever.

With that in mind, here’s a partial list of free agents who changed teams this offseason either via free agency or sign-and-trade, along with their salary in 2024-25:

· Isaiah Hartenstein ($30.0 million)

· Tobias Harris ($25.4 million)

· DeMar DeRozan ($23.4 million)

· Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($22.8 million)

· Malik Monk ($17.4 million)

· Klay Thompson ($15.9 million)

· De’Anthony Melton ($12.8 million)

· Jonas Valanciunas ($9.9 million)

· Derrick Jones Jr. ($9.5 million)

· Buddy Hield ($8.8 million)

· Kyle Anderson ($8.8 million)

· Naji Marshall ($8.6 million)

· Malik Beasley ($6.0 million)

· Kris Dunn ($5.2 million)

· Tyus Jones ($2.1 million)

· Taurean Prince ($2.1 million)

· Monte Morris ($2.1 million)

Had the Sixers known how much time Embiid would miss this season, they might have been tempted to splurge on Hartenstein. However, spending $80-plus million on centers would have been a questionable allocation of resources. Instead, they could have ponied up an extra $4.9 million to upgrade from Drummond to Valanciunas, which would still have left them with roughly $55 million to spend elsewhere.

In retrospect, Monk would have been a steal at only $17.4 million. He’s having a career year with the Sacramento Kings, averaging 18.1 points, 5.9 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 three-pointers in 32.6 minutes per game. Monk is on the smaller side at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, so pairing him with Maxey would raise the same size concerns as the Maxey-McCain duo. However, he could have alleviated some of the playmaking/ball-handling responsibility from Maxey, and his long-range shooting ability would make him a nice complement to Embiid (when healthy) as well.

Had the Sixers signed both Monk and Valanciunas, they still would have had roughly $35 million in cap space to spend before re-signing Maxey, Oubre and KJ Martin. Re-signing Tobias Harris at $25.4 million might have led to a fan revolt — besides, he’s averaging only 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with the Detroit Pistons this year — but they could have landed both Derrick Jones Jr. and Naji Marshall with plenty of room to spare. In fact, they’d have more than $19 million left over after signing Monk, Valanciunas, Marshall and Jones.

That could have allowed them to throw a bag at Max Christie, who re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $32 million deal as a restricted free agent. They also could have fit either Luke Kennard ($9.3 million) or Malik Beasley ($6.0 million) while still staying under the cap. From there, it would just be a matter of handing out minimum deals and re-signing their own guys.

When the dust settled on free agency, their rotation could have looked like this:

PG: Maxey/McCain/Morris

SG: Monk/Christie/Beasley

SF: Oubre/Naji/RC4

PF: DJJ/Yabusele/KJ Martin

C: Embiid/Valanciunas/Bona

Again, that roster isn’t winning a championship with a hobbled Embiid. The two-stars-and-depth Sixers would be just as reliant on him staying healthy, if not more so.

With that said, they’d have far more depth than the actual 2024-25 Sixers do, and more financial flexibility as well. It’d be easier for them to cobble together medium-sized contracts for a blockbuster move if one became available either at the trade deadline or during the offseason.

If George bounces back next season from the array of injuries that have limited him this year, perhaps this all winds up being much ado about nothing. But if he continues to underwhelm on his $200-plus million max contract, the Sixers may grow to regret having splurged on him rather than divvying up his $50-ish million in cap space between multiple players.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...e-joel-embiid-tyrese-maxey-daryl-morey-sixers

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Lonnie Walker IV: ‘It’s a full circle moment to be this close’

Photo by Alius Koroliovas/Euroleague Basketball

After being signed at the very last minute, it’s been a whirlwind couple of days from Pennsylvania native Lonnie Walker IV.

Now that the Sixers have officially announced the signing of Lonnie Walker IV, he was able to talk to reporters for the first time since returning to the states after practice Friday.

After six seasons in the NBA, Walker spent the first half of this season playing for BC Zalgiris in Lithuania, where he averaged 13.6 points per game on 38.7% shooting in 22 minutes per game.

Walker, whose clause to escape his EuroLeague contract was set to expire just two hours before he signed with Philadelphia, had his mind made up that he would be finishing the season in Europe. He had to be notified by his friends and family that he was returning to the NBA.

“It’s funny, honestly, everyone found out before me,” he said. “I was actually sleeping. I got the phone call from my agent. I had about 30 missed calls. I guess it was all over Twitter already.”

Walker was in vacation in Paris when he got the call, and only had his vacation clothes on him. Regardless, he got on a flight to come back to America.

“That’s all I have right now,” he said. “I’m only gonna be wearing Sixers’ sweatpants and stuff.”

When the signing happened, Marc Stein reported that he had been on the Sixers’ radar for most of the season. Nick Nurse admitted that recent injuries to Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry pushed the team over the top in their pursuit of him.

Walker, a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, admitted it was always a goal to play for the team he grew up rooting for.

“I’ve came to plenty of games watching Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguoadala, Elton Brand, the list goes on and on,” he said, “truly a full circle moment to be so close, had to go so far to get so close.”

While it is special for him to play for his hometown team, he isn’t trying to focus on that. He knows how important this second opportunity in the league is and is trying to take full advantage of it.

He called his time with Lithuania one of the most important parts of his young adult life.

“I put myself in a very uncomfortable situation just to become a better man on and off the court,” Walker said. He went on to explain that he hopes to be able to impact the game when he’s not scoring the ball. Even if it’s just being a good teammate on the bench, he hopes to be a positive influence.

With just 27 games left in the season, Walker has a lot of acclimating to do fast. The time it will take him to get up to speed and find his place should be a good distraction from playing so close to home.

“I’m happy to be home, but I’m more so just locked in to the rest of the season,” he said. “I’m here to play for the 76ers. Home ain’t going nowhere.”

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...mr-basketball-miami-spurs-lakers-nets-celtics

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers face Nets in battle for the sixth spot in the lottery

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

It’s a big night for the Tank advocates as the Sixers host Brooklyn.

We are beyond the point of silver linings, hopeful conjectures, and patient optimism. The Philadelphia 76ers have now lost six straight games in varying degrees of embarrassing fashion. Through the sheer incalculable ineptitude of the Eastern Conference, the Sixers are still just 1.5 games out of the Play-In Tournament, but this recent stretch has shown that such a goal is a fool’s errand.

The Sixers even have the majority of their guys on the court these days and they’re still putting forth some of the most depressing efforts of this era of Philadelphia basketball. Joel Embiid looks like a shell of himself and Paul George has the world’s most debilitating finger injury and is getting pain injections like he’s on Varsity Blues. Both guys are having season shutdowns thrown around when they’re being discussed. It is time to embrace the tank and hope that the lottery gods smile upon this team’s top-6-protected pick.

Speaking of top-6-protected, the Sixers are 20-35, tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the sixth-worst record in the league. And look at that, tonight’s opponent is Brooklyn, marking this game as an incredibly important one for the Sixers’ standings stumble. The Nets got a head start on their own tank with the offseason trade of Mikal Bridges, followed by a December deal sending out Dorian Finney-Smith. Their rotation is currently full of a bunch of guys who sound like auto-generated names in Year 8 of a video game dynasty mode. It’s weird to look back so fondly on similar days of Process past for Philadelphia, as at least there weren’t stunningly unfulfilled expectations. And yet, Brooklyn beat the Sixers at the Barclays Center just less than two weeks ago. Can the Sixers reach that level of failure once more? Let’s find out!

On the injury report, D’Angelo Russell (ankle), Cam Thomas (hamstring), Noah Clowney (ankle), and De’Anthony Melton (ACL) are out for Brooklyn. Justin Edwards (ankle), Eric Grodon (wrist), Kyle Lowry (hip), and Jared McCain (knee) are out for the Sixers. On paper, the Sixers’ list of available guys should be more than enough to snap back into the victory column. FanDuel has Philadelphia listed as 10-point favorites, which feels to me as if the bookmakers haven’t checked in on the Sixers recently. Because anything on paper this season has been shredded up and rained down like a snowfall of ashes, so who knows.

Enough doom and gloom for the moment. Let’s try to enjoy relative newcomers Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler make some plays off the bounce. Every Dancing Bear dunk still brings a smile to my face. Or even an old-fashioned Tyrese Maxey heater would be exhilarating. If you made it to the end of a Sixers preview right now in this spiritually draining season, you’re certainly invested to what would clinically be labelled ‘sicko’ levels. I hope tonight’s game still brings you joy, possibly just through some extra lottery combinations sent the Sixers’ way in the spring.

Game details​

When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:30pm ET
Where: The Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: TNBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...-lottery-philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-nba

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers Bell Ringer: Nets buzzer-beater hands Sixers seventh straight loss

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The Philadelphia 76ers fell 105-103 on a buzzer-beater to the Brooklyn Nets, notching their seven consecutive loss.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey - 16
Jared McCain - 8
Joel Embiid - 8
Paul George - 7
Guerschon Yabusele - 4
Kelly Oubre Jr - 2
Ricky Council IV - 2
KJ Martin - 2
Justin Edwards - 2
Quentin Grimes - 2
Adem Bona - 1
Jared Butler - 1

---

The Philadelphia 76ers fell to a Brooklyn Nets buzzer-beater 105-103 on Saturday night. It wasn’t pretty.

At least the Sixers didn’t waste any time tonight before giving viewers plenty of reason to find something else on. After posting just two +30-point first periods in their past 15 games, the Nets put up 40 in the opening frame against a Sixers team that seemingly has decided defense is not only optional, but discouraged.

The Sixers trailed for the majority of this one and it wasn’t even passively enjoyable basketball until the fourth period when Philadelphia finally decided to play some defense and stage a bit of a comeback.

The problem is that the comeback, however, should have only made viewers (and especially paying fans in attendance) angrier. Let me explain. That final frame showed the absolute malpractice this team is committing in by letting Joel Embiid play right now and through some of the extremely questionable rotation decisions. Embiid missed the entire fourth period after physically struggling throughout the game prior, and it was no coincidence that the Sixers were suddenly quicker and able to defend better. So why is he playing if this team is better without him in his current state? Plus, the comeback push was a highlight reel of stellar defense and rebounding by Guerschon Yabusele. Which is great, but shines a huge spotlight on earlier decisions like going to Andre Drummond at backup for Embiid before Yabu in the rotation.

They ended up losing like this, in extremely-Sixers’ fashion.

Sixers lose in extremely Sixers' fashion. pic.twitter.com/sjsQiZgU71

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) February 23, 2025​

I hear you saying “oh, but losing is good! They’re tanking!”... but more on that below.

This makes seven losses in a row for Philadelphia. The Sixers are off on Sunday before returning to the floor at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night to host the Chicago Bulls. Philadelphia trails Chicago by just 1.5 games for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, as if it matters.

Let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

No one.

I’m effectively cancelling Bell Ringer for tonight. You could not convince me there is a member of this team or organization that deserves praise after that performance. OK, maybe Guerschon Yabusele... but I have too much to say to just give it to him and call it a night.

I want to be clear: this is not a team tanking or even “stealth tanking”. That would be giving the Sixers way too much credit right now. This is a team that had Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George all available and still gave up 40 points in the first period alone to a recently-struggling Nets offense. This is a team sending Embiid and George out onto the floor when clearly neither is even close to 100%. This is a team that continues to make more and more questionable rotation decisions within games as well as seemingly-collectively deciding that defense is optional.

The Embiid and George situations, especially Embiid’s, become more difficult to understand with each passing day. Embiid is still physically extremely limited and was visibly in pain multiple times against the Nets. The Sixers looked genuinely better with him off the floor. So, for the 10837th time I ask: why is he out there? Even if he wants to be out there, it can’t be just up to him and, after tonight, it’s going to be extremely hard for the organization to justify sending him (or letting him) back out on the floor to play again.

This is not tanking. You are not tanking by sending out your injured center that just signed a multi-year extension with your franchise. This is a team drowning, trying desperately and fruitlessly to pretend their heads are above water when they’re actually already halfway down the drain. Most egregiously is that this is a organization that is trying to convince paying fans that they are not giving up on the season and are still trying for a push to the playoffs via the Play-In Tournament. But this is the product they are putting on display each night? In front of their own crowd? OK, sure.

Plus, say they somehow move up into a Play-In position. There’s only 26 games left for this team to make a miraculous turnaround from complete embarrassment night in and night one, to a playoff contender. No one should be holding their breath for that to happen and it’s appalling anyone with the Sixers’ organization is pretending otherwise.

The Play-In also won’t magically heal both Embiid and George (or make George play defense, for what it’s worth) nor will it fix the array of rotational issues currently marring Nick Nurse’s coaching.

It’s just embarrassing for the team. It’s egregious on behalf of the franchise. It’s absolutely unacceptable to the fans. Even if the losses end up being better for the Sixers, it is happening in spite of the franchise’s practices, not due to any meritorious strategy.

Because of that, you won’t catch me giving this organization even a shred of credit for “tanking” when they clearly are doing so unintentionally.

So, tonight, the winner of the Bell Ringer is no one. “No one” will receive a tally in the season standings starting the next contest too, just in case we have to resort to this again in the remaining 26 games...

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...iid-paul-george-guerschon-yabusele-nick-nurse

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Embiid does not participate, Edwards partially participates in practice, both questionable vs. Bulls

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Fresh injury news out of Sixers practice, though nothing to indicate anyone’s getting shutdown anytime soon.

So, this saga is going to keep moving on a day-to-day basis.

The Sixers returned to practice after a devastating last second loss to the Brooklyn Nets with some noticeable absences.

Nick Nurse told reporters that Joel Embiid was not a participant and will be listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Embiid did not play the entire fourth quarter against Brooklyn, though Nurse did not attribute that to any injury. The other lineup was simply playing better so he decided to stick with it.

Nick Nurse said he wanted the Yabusele lineup to keep rolling, thought they had a good feel for the game, which is why he didn’t put Joel Embiid back in the game in the 4th

— Josh Grieb (@JGrieb10) February 23, 2025​

Still, there were a couple plays towards the end of Embiid’s night that were of note. He got stuffed on a drive and fell, and came up grabbing his left knee. He checked out of the game after this wild closeout that saw him take a tumble, but on this play he did land on his right leg.

pic.twitter.com/wQFRYAF8pd

— . (@dphoop2425) February 23, 2025​

Joel Embiid starts Q4 on the bench with a wrap of some sort on his foot.

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) February 23, 2025​

So despite the benching, despite Embiid constantly bringing up the fact that he feels the situation needs fixing, the team doesn’t seem intent on shutting him down.

Elsewhere, Justin Edwards did return after spraining his ankle in the first practice post-All Star break. Nurse told reporters he was in about 75% of practice today and will be also listed as questionable vs. the Bulls.

The team is also still mulling options over Eric Gordon and what to do about his wrist injury that’s kept him out the last four games. Nurse said to reporters that they are awaiting a third specialist as they still try to figure out what the plan is. Kyle Lowry’s nagging hip injury is more about pain tolerance though, and Nurse still hopes to get him out there at some point.

Here’s Nurse’s full response on Gordon’s wrist and Lowry’s hip: https://t.co/QXZ5Wev8Ik pic.twitter.com/AZdn0kKQky

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 23, 2025​

Despite the season going further off the rails with every passing game, the Sixers refuse to give any indication that they are packing it in.

Nick Nurse says there “doesn’t appear to be” any plan to adjust the treatment approach with Joel Embiid:

(via @NBAKrell) pic.twitter.com/4WyjoIVQek

— On Pattison (@OnPattison) February 23, 2025​

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ce-sixers-injury-report-questionable-vs-bulls

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Sixers, Joel Embiid consulting doctors and ‘considering alternative options” for injured left knee

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

With the Philadelphia 76ers’ season sinking fast and Joel Embiid’s knee visibly holding him back, the center and the team are considering alternative options for handling his problem left knee.

It’s been a long year for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.

After undergoing surgery on a meniscus injury back in February 2024, just over a year ago, no one knew how quickly Embiid would be back on the floor. After playing through the first round of the NBA playoffs and the 2024 Paris Olympics, though visibly hampered, hopes were high that Embiid would be ready for the Sixers’ 2024-25 season tipoff... until that day came and went with Embiid unavailable due to managing that knee injury and it’s recovery.

Since then, Embiid has intermittently tried to play through it this season, often battling visible discomfort and limited mobility throughout. He has managed to appear in just 19 of the Sixers’ 56 contests, and never in a streak of more than four games in a row before being sidelined again. With the team struggling beyond belief and this campaign looking like a lost cause entirely, many have wondered if Embiid would be shut down in an attempt to heal the nagging knee.

Well, we might finally be one step closer — it just took 56 games to get here, somehow. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday night that the team and Embiid are working with doctors on alternative options for the injured knee in the face of the lack of improvement in the joint over time so far.

The 76ers and Joel Embiid are consulting doctors and considering alternative options on his injured knee, sources tell ESPN. Sides have hoped for progress in Embiid’s body, but his efforts to play and current treatments, including injections, have not provided any improvement. pic.twitter.com/GXeqxC7Nwj

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 23, 2025​

The news comes less than 24 hours after Embiid limped his way through three periods of the Sixers’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. Embiid scored just 14 points on 4-for-13 field goal shooting with seven rebounds and five assists, and was visibly in pain and struggling with the knee on numerous occasions before sitting out the entire fourth frame.

Seeing little moments like this with Joel Embiid is driving me insane... Running out of ways to ask why this guy is out there. Organizational malpractice. pic.twitter.com/9jhqEAR0U1

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) February 23, 2025​

Embiid has scored 15 or fewer points in consecutive games for the first time in almost four years, and again experienced swelling in his left knee after Saturday's home loss to the Brooklyn Nets, sources said.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 23, 2025​

Turns out, Embiid experienced swelling in his left knee following the loss, Charania also reports. It’s not the first time this season the knee has responded such way to a workout or game — and that’s only thinking of the few instances it was actually reported.

This report at least feels like a step in the sane direction of getting Embiid off the court in his current state. He objectively is not physically able to perform his job right now and his presence on the court has become a detriment not only to his team but very possibly to his own health. Seeking alternative options hopefully implies that both the organization and — possibly more importantly — Embiid himself are coming to terms with that truth.

For what it’s worth, however, Embiid is currently just listed as questionable (left knee injury management) for the Sixers’ Monday night game hosting the Chicago Bulls.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ck-nurse-daryl-morey-paul-george-tyrese-maxey

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

To tank or not to tank? A big week ahead for many teams in lottery standings

David Banks-Imagn Images

After a key loss to the Nets, the next seven days can go a long way for the Sixers in solidifying their positioning ahead of Brooklyn and others in the lottery standings.

Whether it’s tanking or being really bad at trying to win, the Sixers keep losing games as their skid has reached seven straight losses. They will begin the week in sole possession of the all-important sixth place position in the lottery standings. For a refresher, if the Sixers end the season in sixth place in the lottery standings, they’ll have a 46% chance of retaining their top-six protected pick. Any spot below sixth would make it unlikely that the pick is retained by Philadelphia. Should the Sixers jump Toronto and finish fifth, the chances of retaining the pick jump up to 64%.

Fifth place is looking like a more and more realistic place to land for the Sixers after Toronto’s win on Sunday night against Phoenix. But for now, it’s important to stay ahead of the Nets and this week could be pivotal in creating some separation between the Sixers, Nets and the rest of the teams in that neighborhood. The Bulls are trying awfully hard to enter the chat having lost eight of 10 and six straight. Should the Sixers build a bit of a cushion on Brooklyn and Chicago, and put Portland out of reach, then we can shift our attention fully towards making a run at the Raptors.

Here’s a look at the schedules this week for teams in the vicinity of the Sixers in the lottery standings:

Toronto (18-39): 5th in lottery standings​

Schedule this week: vs. BOS Tues, @ IND Wed, @ CHI Fri, @ ORL Sun

Philadelphia (20-36): 6th in lottery standings​

Schedule this week: vs. CHI Mon, @ NY Wed, vs. GSW Sat

Brooklyn (21-35): 7th in lottery standings​

Schedule this week: @ WSH Mon, vs. OKC Wed, vs. POR Fri, @ DET Sat

Chicago (22-35): 8th in lottery standings​

Schedule this week: @ PHI Mon, vs. LAC Wed, vs. TOR Fri, @ IND Sun

Portland (24-33): 9th in lottery standings​

Schedule this week: @ UTAH Mon, @ WSH Wed, @ BKN Fri, @ CLE Sun

There are a lot of opportunities this week for Brooklyn, Chicago and Portland to pick up some wins. The top four in the lottery standings are basically locked in and will in some order be Washington, New Orleans, Utah and Charlotte. Therefore, it would be nice if Brooklyn and Portland can take advantage of games against the Wizards and Jazz.

But, then there’s Monday night’s Sixers game against the Bulls. As we noted, the Bulls aren’t going away in this race for more ping-pong ball combinations. A Sixers win on Monday would really muddy the waters here with all these teams in the back half of the top 10. A loss coupled with the aforementioned winnable games this week for Brooklyn and Portland resulting in wins for the Nets and Trail Blazers, would allow Sixers fans to put more of a singular focus on chasing the Raptors.

It’s hard to see this Sixers team going into Madison Square Garden and beating the Knicks on Wednesday. Golden State seems to be playing pretty well since acquiring Jimmy Butler and should be a sizable favorite on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center. Losing to the Bulls on Monday night likely means this Sixers’ losing streak reaches 10.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...odds-tank-joel-embiid-paul-george-daryl-morey

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Paul George: ‘We just don’t have the habits of a champion’

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

After the ugliest loss of an ugly season, Paul George didn’t mince words about the current state of the Sixers.

It’s official — the focus can now shift from the play-in to ping-pong balls.

The Sixers put an ugly exclamation point on an ugly season with a horrendous 142-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls on their home floor Monday. The Bulls are now 3.5 games up on the Sixers for the 10th seed and final play-in spot.

Even after an abysmal start to the year the Sixers had a glimmer of hope at the All-Star break that they could get healthy and get right. Instead, they’ve dropped three straight since — eight straight overall — and it feels like Joel Embiid’s season could be over any day now.

Most Sixers fans will view this game as a positive result. Looking at the bigger picture, it is. The Sixers now own the sixth-worst record in the NBA. The suddenly healthy Toronto Raptors are only two games behind them and appear poised to blow past them. If the Sixers finish with the fifth-worst record in the NBA, they’d have a 63.9% of retaining their pick, which would go to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of the top six.

But it’s not a great look when the team was actually trying to win. What do you even say after a performance like that?

Paul George didn’t mince words.

“We’ve shown no sign of a team that will compete,” George said. “We just don’t have the habits of a champion, or a playoff contending team, would have. To be honest, right now it’s a little far-fetched [to think we can make the playoffs]. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going for one another.”

If the Sixers were ever going to show signs of life this season, this would’ve been the time. Coming out of the break they had three home games lined up against the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Bulls.

Nobody would’ve expected the Sixers to beat the Celtics, but showing a little fight might’ve gone a long way. Instead they were thoroughly dominated.

Up next were the Nets, who the Sixers were tied with coming into the game. A win would’ve put them a full game over Brooklyn and had them nipping at Chicago’s heels. Instead a slow start doomed them and Embiid didn’t play the fourth quarter after being ineffective all night.

The Bulls were the team the Sixers were chasing for the final play-in spot. If there was any fight left in this team this season, this would’ve been the game to show it. Instead they got routed by a bad Chicago team down starting center Nikola Vucevic. The Sixers trailed by as many as 50.

It looked like an effort from a defeated team. While their actions showed otherwise, Tyrese Maxey refused to accept that his team had given up on the season. He said as long as he’s healthy and playing, his goal is to win.

“I’m never gonna sit here and lace my shoes up and be expected to lose,” Maxey said. “That’s just not how I’m wired. That’s not how I play basketball. That’s not how I live my life.”

Asked if head coach Nick Nurse had lost the team, Maxey was quick to deflect the blame onto the players.

“At the end of the day, we’re the ones on the court,” he said. “We gotta go out there and play harder and play better.”

This season has been enough to make Tyrese Maxey miserable.

That says it all.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...s-playoff-standings-lottery-odds-tyrese-maxey

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

There are lots of emotions to describe Joel Embiid’s career

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

It’s becoming increasingly obvious the former MVP is not going to perform at that level again. So how should we feel about what he’s given the franchise to this point?

At their cores, sports are things that can be inherently viewed in a black and white fashion. Every game has a winner and a loser. As we often hear, it’s a results-oriented business and if you don’t win enough, you’re soon seeking employment elsewhere.

But there’s a big problem with broadening this mindset too far. There are different levels of winners and losers and anyone that follows sports even casually should be able to detect this simple nuance. There is only one champion at the end of every season. That does not mean that every other player and team that isn’t the champion failed. Ken Griffey Jr is one of the greatest baseball players ever. He never played in the World Series. Michael Jordan made sure a long list of Hall of Famers did not win championships. On the flip side, star players that do win championships in their careers can still leave behind complicated legacies.

It’s through this kind of lens that we should be viewing Joel Embiid’s career, all of which has been spent with the Sixers. To be clear, his career is not officially over, but in light of this past weekend’s news that the team is going to look at alternative treatments for his ailing knee, a bleak picture only looks bleaker. He’s going to go down as one of the biggest “What ifs” in Philadelphia sports history.

As time passed in the last decade, it became clearer to everyone that Embiid was not going to be given a clean bill of health. But there were enough signs of hope for fans to hold onto in some fashion. A narrative seemed to emerge that the chances of winning a championship with Embiid as the best player were not high, but Embiid’s presence on the roster and talent level whenever he was 100% was too tantalizing to move on from. There was enough hope for someone to say that maybe the stars can align one year into June even if Embiid is never going to be able to be counted on to play a ton of regular season games. After all, it was only two years ago that the Sixers had the Boston Celtics on the ropes in the second round, leading 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Well, we all know how that Boston series ended and know what has followed in the last two years since. The recent reports about more treatment for Embiid’s knee should come as no surprise to anyone and it feels like the Sixers are finally tapping out on 2024-25. The team made plenty of efforts to find a workable solution for Embiid and scratch its way into the playoffs but the last few weeks seemed to have ended that discussion regardless of what the standings say.

However, unlike previous injuries for Embiid, practically no one is taking the approach of “let’s just take another crack at it next year.” Embiid turns 31 in March. Everyone knew that there wasn’t much time left to win a championship with him as the team’s best player, and now it seems like there isn’t any time left to do so. Whatever medical decisions are made in the future concerning Embiid’s knee, another lengthy rehab process will follow. Simply put, Embiid’s body is breaking down and the eulogies on his career are already being written regardless of how it officially ends. It’s not so much a surprise as it is a sobering reality of where we are.

The right way to summarize Embiid’s career to this point is by acknowledging the wide array of colors in the spectrum rather than take such a black and white approach. There is a lot of truth to the fact that Embiid contributed to his own demise. Questions were asked again and again about his commitment to conditioning and staying in shape, and he never really answered them in a way that stopped them from being asked again in the future. Therefore, it’s difficult to say how much of Embiid’s injury history is bad luck as opposed to bad decision making.

At the same time, Embiid is a human being and someone that wants to help his team. You can question the degree with which he wants to win because skeptics would point to the fact that if he was a maniacal competitor, he would have taken better care of his body. But this is the same person that’s played with a mask on his face in multiple playoff series. When Embiid’s current knee injury first occurred last season just before the All-Star break in San Francisco, he wanted to come back and play in the playoffs. Not only did he come back, but he had 50 points in a Game 3 playoff win against the Knicks.

After that win, we found out Embiid was dealing with symptoms of Bell’s Palsy and he still suited up for the remainder of the series. While the Sixers lost the series to New York, it was very competitive and had they been able to win it, they would have been favored to beat Indiana in the second round in all likelihood. There was a path towards making a run last spring and Embiid wanted to be a part of it. Who can blame him?

In the summer, Embiid wanted to participate in the Olympics for the United States. He had recently become an American citizen and said he wanted to honor his son who was born in the United States by playing in the Olympics with Team USA. Is he supposed to be shamed for this motive? Embiid played a key role for the US in defeating Nikola Jokic and Serbia in a tight semifinal game and ultimately won a gold medal with the rest of the team in the next game against France. He probably knew at the time that the 2028 Olympic Games were going to be a longshot for him to participate in so he wanted to take advantage of what was likely his only opportunity to represent the United States in the Olympics.

If we’re never going to see him at 100% again, the examples of how talented he was are endless and should be appreciated. He dropped 70 points against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs about a week before the fateful knee injury last season for crying out loud. Perhaps the most special moment of his career was when he received the MVP award during the playoff series against Boston two years ago and his son ran onto the court, Embiid picked him up and began to cry. We can question his decision making and criticize his playoff shortcomings all we want, but Joel Embiid is a human being that cares about winning and is probably more disappointed than anyone about his consistent injury history.

As the early playoff exits piled up, rumors would often swirl that Embiid would be the next NBA superstar to request a trade. To some extent, he would have been right to do so because the organization certainly failed him through several changes to the roster, coaching staff and front office around Embiid. But that request never happened. Embiid has given his entire career to the Sixers. The recent extension that he signed that is getting understandably criticized was also a signal that he wanted to be a Sixer for life. That’s admirable in a time in which players have never felt more empowered in the NBA.

Who knows what the future holds for Embiid? It sure seems like whatever he looks like next season and beyond, it’s not going to be enough to be the best player on a championship caliber team. So let’s acknowledge that Joel Embiid made some bad decisions throughout his career and at the same time that he’s one of the most talented players to ever wear the Sixers uniform. We should be grateful for the good moments he did give us to this point as well.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025/2/25/24372049/joel-embiid-left-knee-injury-sixers-legacy-mvp

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Eric Gordon to have surgery, out indefinitely

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

At least one Sixer may be able to put this year behind him

That’s not the surgery news about a veteran everyone expected.

The Sixers announced that after consulting several specialists, Eric Gordon will be undergoing surgery on Wednesday on his right wrist and will be out indefinitely.

Per Sixers, following consultations with several specialists, Eric Gordon will undergo surgery on his right wrist tomorrow. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) February 25, 2025​

Nick Nurse had mentioned at least three different specialists weighing on this injury, a situation that lasted two weeks. That likely means they’d hope to find an option where surgery wasn’t required but it just couldn’t come to be.

While it’s not quite official, the surgery would likely put Gordon out for the rest of the season, a likely reason why they were trying to avoid it.

Gordon started in 19 of the 39 games he appeared in this season, averaging 6.8 points per game shooting 42.6% from the field and 40.9% from three. His season famously flipped on a dime after getting his wisdom teeth removed in late December. He last appeared on Feb. 9, playing only 8:55 in a 125-112 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

If Gordon is out for the season, whether he’s played his last game as a Sixer or not will be worth monitoring. He has a $3.4 million player option for next season.

The rest of the Sixers’ injury report for their next matchup against the New York Knicks is pretty standard. Joel Embiid is listed as out with left knee injury management as the team continues this charade on a day-to-day basis. Guerschon Yabusele is out with an eye injury. The team said he’s dealing with a corneal abrasion in his right eye and feared for swelling and retinal damage in his left.

There was some good news though as Quentin Grimes is listed as probable. He missed the second half of the loss to the Bulls Monday due to right knee soreness. Justin Edwards is probable as well -/ he hasn’t played since spraining his ankle in the first practice after the All-Star break.

Tyrese Maxey was also not listed. He popped up on the report earlier this week with a right hand sprain, and played against the Bulls with two fingers on that hand taped up.

The Sixers have an injury report for tomorrow's game @ NYK:

Joel Embiid -- left knee injury management -- OUT

Guerschon Yabusele -- eye -- OUT

Justin Edwards -- ankle -- PROBABLE

Quentin Grimes -- knee -- PROBABLE

Kyle Lowry -- hip -- OUT

Eric Gordon -- wrist -- OUT

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 25, 2025​

So bigger decisions await them, but the Sixers may have begun the process of shutting guys down for the rest of the season.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...l-embiid-justin-edwards-quentin-grimes-knicks

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Paul George to go on podcasting hiatus in attempt to lock in for playoff push (seriously)

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Yes, you read that correctly.

Now things are really getting serious.

Just when everyone thought the Sixers had waved the white flag on this season, they show they have another trick up their sleeve.

At the end of the most recent episode Paul George’s podcast “Podcast P” he announced that he would be taking a break from the show in an attempt to get himself right for the rest of the season.

He said the focus is “on getting my body right, getting mentally right and, you know, help this squad make a push towards our goal to finish the season out, give ourselves a chance to be in contentions to compete for a championship.”

Paul George announces that he will be load managing his ‘Podcast P’ episodes for the time being to help the 76ers make a championship push, via @PodcastPShow.

"I want to let the Podcast P family know that after today's episode with Dwight I plan to take a break from the pod just… pic.twitter.com/XOqsrn99ql

— APHoops (@APH00PS) February 26, 2025​

You can listen to the full episode, featuring an interview with Sixers legend Dwight Howard here.

I personally don’t have a problem with athletes doing podcasts. Everyone needs something to do other than their job, even high-level performers. I certainly don’t see it as much of a distraction when they’re mostly talking about basketball.

It’s not a great look though when statistics like this have popped up all season, especially coming off a freshly signed max contract in the summer.

Insane stat for Sixers fans:

Since joining the Sixers, Paul George has uploaded more Podcast clips to Youtube (228) Than field goals made (191)

Yes, this is a real statistic pic.twitter.com/CZdALLXmQj

— Geo (@sixersgeo) February 8, 2025​

It is pretty funny that George made this declaration, citing an effort for a playoff push, right as just about everybody has hopped on the tanking train. It was only days ago he himself said this team doesn’t have the habits of a playoff team, and called the prospects of a run “far-fetched.” Sixteen games under .500? That’s manageable. 17 games though, it’s time to lock in.

In the clip he does also mention that his desire to film in-person with his cohosts as another reason he’s putting his show on pause. So even with a renewed push to right the ship, he is looking forward to the offseason as well.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...-nba-playoff-standings-nba-draft-lottery-odds

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers Bell Ringer: Philadelphia edged by Knicks for ninth straight loss

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Philadelphia fans got the best of both worlds with a competitive basketball game and a better chance of the Sixers keeping their first-round pick.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey - 16
Jared McCain - 8
Joel Embiid - 8
Paul George - 7
Guerschon Yabusele - 4
Kelly Oubre Jr - 3
Ricky Council IV - 2
KJ Martin - 2
Justin Edwards - 2
Quentin Grimes - 2
Adem Bona - 1
Jared Butler - 1
No One - 1

The Sixers did not get a victory tonight in New York, which is ultimately for the best in terms of lottery combination purposes. However, they did get a moral victory, which is a nice bone to throw the fans (and humble bloggers) still tuning into these games. Philadelphia battled the Knicks a lot better than what we saw recently against some of the (other) dregs of the league. They came back from a 19-point first half deficit to briefly take a four-point lead with a few minutes left, but nine straight points from Jalen Brunson propelled the Knicks to the 110-105 win. Speaking of nine straight, that’s nine straight losses for the Sixers, but let’s at least acknowledge the hard work tonight with Bell Ringer nominees.

Paul George: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 7 turnovers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Paul gave up being Podcast P for the rest of the season to focus on getting healthy and winning basketball games. I don’t know how much correlation there was, but he definitely had a better on-court performance in New York. I loved to see him out there being active and using his length to jump passing lanes. George made Andre Drummond look semi-useful with a couple feeds down the lane for dunks. After being cold shooting early, he caught fire in the second half with 17 of his points coming post-locker room break, including the big three to cut it to 96-95 late in the game. This was a fair facisimile of the version of George the Sixers had been anticipating heading into the season.

PG to the hoop. pic.twitter.com/bmvcyfauie

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 27, 2025​

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

There’s not much these days Sixers-related that still puts a smile on my face, but the games where Oubre is out there hustling his tail off and chirping at the benches after big shots is one of them. Like in last spring’s playoff series, Kelly was guarding hard and diving for loose balls. He was the Sixers’ most efficient scorer, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three. Oubre was the only guy with an offensive pulse in the first half, scoring 19 points to keep the Sixers at least somewhat in the game. Then when he hit that big three to put the Sixers back ahead, 100-98, I illogically wanted Philadelphia to win the game in that moment.

Kelly! pic.twitter.com/7GOmE6EvfT

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 27, 2025​

Tyrese Maxey: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

With his shooting hand taped up, Maxey shot a gruesome 0-of-10 from three on the night. But he kept being aggressive on the both ends of the court, and tallied 22 points and four assists in the second half to help lead the comeback charge. Tyrese didn’t hit any traditional threes but earned a couple three-point plays the old-fashioned way via drives in the third quarter. He had a very nice drive-and-kick to find Justin Edwards for a three in the fourth quarter, and his floating banker to give the Sixers back the lead at 97-96 was a textbook case of an incredibly fast player using change of pace to his advantage.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...s-for-ninth-straight-loss-new-york-knicks-nba

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

If the Sixers commit to a full-fledged tank, it could actually backfire

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

If the Sixers take drastic measures and shut down any of their top players the young guns might eke out a few wins.

So now that we’re all “processing” again, there’s one kind of weird thing to consider: what if the Sixers announced for example that Joel Embiid is done for the season, and let’s say Nick Nurse finally accepts the situation and turns more and more to the young guns, could this Philadelphia 76ers team actually ... improve?

Remember once upon a time when the basketball world was saying that Sam Hinkie’s Sixers assembled a team designed to lose? Well OK, he did accomplish that goal. But let’s look back at the roster for a moment. You had guys like T.J. McConnell, Robert Covington and Jerami Grant playing their tails off to prove themselves as bonafide NBA talents.

Fast forward nearly a decade and that trio has gone on to earn an astronomical amount of combined career earnings. Daryl Morey has had a nose for cheap talent and if we start to see more and more playing time for names like Kelly Oubre Jr., Guershon Yabusele, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards, Adem Bona, Lonnie Walker IV, Ricky Council IV, David Roddy (actually drafted by the Sixers as part of the De’Anthony Melton acquisition), Jared Butler, or Jeff Downtin Jr., they could actually get scrappier than they are right now.

I know some of you may be squinting or laughing at that idea, but it’s not completely absurd if we’re talking about perhaps a single win or two down the stretch, right? The Sixers have the sixth worst record in the NBA, BUT they’re not “safe.” They’re only a single game “behind” the Brooklyn Nets in the standings. There are still 24 games remaining in the schedule and by doing anything at all differently than they’re doing now, having lost nine straight games, they’d “risk” a player or two suddenly stepping up.

You remember T.J.’s game winner against the Knicks back in 2017.

If the Sixers were to start shutting down players like Joel Embiid, or even Paul George, they might start to see more minutes from players who are going to play as hard as they can.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) they have the fifth-easiest strength of schedule remaining. And as someone all aboard the tank train I’m honestly a bit worried that they could inject some life into their own lineups by injecting more youth and unproven talents.

Again, it wasn’t long ago that people confidently assumed that Hinkie had T.J., Cov and Grant in to throw ballgames. So you just never know. Right now they’re doing everything just right and losing a ton. But what happens if they change what they’re doing?

Our Josh Grieb recently pointed out that:

“When [Embiid has] been on the court, he has still been used like the offensive hub that was winning scoring titles. Despite an 11-point decrease in points per game and a 12% drop in effective field goal percentage, Embiid still has the highest usage rate on the team.

Not only is his 35.2% usage rate the largest on the Sixers, but it’s still one of the higher rates in the entire league — the 99th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass, to be exact.”

When he plays, Maxey doesn’t get as many looks. Right now it’s all smooth sailing. But what happens if they make lineup changes? There are no guarantees in the NBA Draft Lottery, and there are no guarantees this tank train will keep chugging smoothly. Just ask T.J. who still takes it personally when people crack that those old Process teams were built to lose.

They can’t risk losing this No. 1-6 protected pick to an already outstanding Thunder team. And right now things are going rather ... well, well.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...aul-george-jared-mccain-knicks-celtics-lakers

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Like it or not, the Sixers are going to try to compete next season

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The 2024-25 season is essentially over. However, the Sixers are left with few options outside of trying again to field a competitive team in 2025-26.

The final six weeks of the season are not going to yield anything different than what we’ve seen for the first four months from the Sixers. At this point, that’s a good thing as it is paramount for Philadelphia to retain its top-six protected first-round pick in this summer’s draft. There’s some more losing to be done over the last 24 games that can improve the Sixers’ chances of retaining the pick, but it’s time to start talking about what the future of this franchise looks like beginning with this offseason.

The official announcement shutting down Joel Embiid for the remainder of the season has not happened yet, but it seems to be only a matter of time until that comes. Where the franchise goes from here is complicated and none of the options are super appealing. The Sixers really can’t tear down their roster and take a Process 2.0 approach here. Embiid’s contract is nearly impossible to move and the market for Paul George will be limited. Fans should prepare for both players to be on the 2025-26 opening night roster. That leaves Tyrese Maxey as the only high-value trade chip they could dangle if they truly wanted to ignite a rebuild and trading Maxey while keeping the two injury-riddled veterans seems like a half-measure towards a rebuild that would be pretty pointless.

It’s also possible that Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse, both of whom appear to be poised to return next season, will want to use next season as a barometer for what the ceiling of a team built around Maxey could be. For now, it seems like the consensus opinion is that Maxey is best suited to be the second-best player on a championship team, but he’s never really been the focal point of the Sixers’ roster constructions. In other words, we don’t know for sure that he can’t be the best player on a championship team, it’s just an educated guess and Morey and Nurse might want to give it a try even if the odds are low. Embiid played at least 50 games in each of Maxey’s first three seasons in the NBA. Once it appeared Maxey was the clear Robin to Embiid’s Batman, Embiid’s knee problems started shortly thereafter.

Perhaps the most obvious reason next season figures to be one in which the Sixers try to win games and return to the playoffs is that they have multiple outstanding first-round pick debts owed to other teams. That’s right, in case you didn’t know, the debt to Oklahoma City that Sixers fans are looking to avoid paying this offseason is not the only outgoing first-round pick the Sixers are dealing with. Two years after conveying a first-rounder to the Thunder, Philadelphia will owe Brooklyn a top-eight protected first rounder as the final piece of the Ben Simmons-James Harden trade.

That means if Philadelphia ends up conveying this year’s first-rounder to Oklahoma City, it would owe a top-eight protected first to Brooklyn in 2027. Should that 2027 first land in the top eight, it would remain an outgoing top-eight protected first rounder in 2028 and if it is a top eight pick in 2028, Philadelphia then sends Brooklyn its 2028 second-rounder.

Should the Sixers retain this year’s first-rounder, the protected range on the debt to Oklahoma City drops to just the top four in 2026 making it almost certain that the pick is conveyed by the 2026 draft at the latest. In the case of the Oklahoma City debt being paid next year, the conditions on Philly’s 2028 outgoing first-rounder to Brooklyn would still apply. To sum all of this up, what sense does it make to engineer a full roster tear down when the status of your own first-round picks is up in the air until potentially as late as 2028?

With a Process 2.0 plan not very feasible, what should the Sixers do? The answer is for Morey to continue doing what he started doing at this year’s trade deadline. They must continue to find creative ways to get younger. Since Embiid and George both can’t be relied upon to guide this team to a championship and will be gobbling up a good chunk of this team’s salary cap, the most challenging task for Morey will be finding other top-end talent pieces that can be a part of a core with Maxey and Jared McCain. That’s why keeping this year’s first-round pick is imperative because if that pick becomes Cooper Flagg, the future calculus of the entire organization could take a sharp turn in a positive direction for once. It’s a unique opportunity to steal a potential superstar if the ping-pong balls bounce your way.

Options will be limited as far as acquiring high-end talent via trade or free agency. This leaves the Sixers with little choice but to see what kind of team they can put together with Maxey, McCain returning, hopefully a highly-drafted rookie joining the fold and whatever you can get from Embiid and George next season.

Once the first-round pick conveys to Oklahoma City, assuming it’s in 2026, the Sixers can begin to map out their future with some more certainty. If the Thunder debt is paid next year and not this year, the Sixers will have their 2027 first-rounder with no restrictions attached to it. The Brooklyn debt would still have to be paid in 2028 but they still have a 2028 unprotected first-round pick from the Clippers that was acquired in the James Harden trade. The Clippers are one of the league’s older rosters and therefore their first-rounder unprotected in three years’ time is definitely worth holding on to for a Sixers team that needs to keep getting younger.

But for the next 12 months, with no clear-cut path towards rebuilding, and likely no major changes coming to the coaching staff or front office, the Sixers are going to at least make an effort at competing next season. It sounds miserable and directionless. It sounds like putting everything on hold for at least a year because they’re stuck with Embiid and George’s contracts and the draft pick situation is murky. But, if they’re even mildly successful in fielding a competitive team next year, one would think that would involve some positive contributions from Embiid and George next season.

George might be able to get moved as early as next year’s deadline if his play improves with the Sixers. His injuries this season have seemed to be more of the nagging variety as opposed to the chronic knee problem Embiid is saddled with. A team that’s desperate enough could certainly convince itself that George’s performance woes are more due to him not caring about this season and not him being washed and that he would care more and try harder if he was in a better situation. While a lot of this is speculation, that’s all we can do regarding the entire future of the franchise at the moment. The more you speculate, the more you’ll realize there are enough dots to connect that lead to the team’s main offseason goal being fielding a competitive roster and getting back into the playoffs in 2025-26. It’s really all they can do.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ba-free-agency-2025-26-daryl-morey-nick-nurse

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Sixers to sign Jalen Hood-Schifino to two-way deal

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Sixers are reportedly taking a flyer on a former first-round pick.

Never fear, the Sixers have just acquired someone who was traded for Luka Doncic.

It was reported that Philadelphia will be signing guard Jalen Hood-Schifino to a two-way contract. The news was first broken by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Former Lakers first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino has agreed on a two-way NBA contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/OTFruKE5K7

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 1, 2025​

Hood-Schifino was the 17th overall pick by the Lakers in 2023, but only appeared in 23 games for them over two seasons, spending a fair bit of that time in the G-League.

He was rerouted to the Utah Jazz in the three-team deal that sent Doncic to LA, but was waived before ever appearing for them. He’s averaged eight points and one assist in the G.

Since all three two-way spots are currently filled up, a corresponding move is required. Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com has reported that David Roddy will be waived.

The Sixers will waive two-way wing David Roddy to make room for Jalen Hood-Schifino, a league source tells @thephillyvoice.

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) March 1, 2025​

He appeared in three games for the Sixers after signing his deal back on Feb. 21. He averaged six points and three rebounds on 42.1% field goal shooting in a little over nine minutes per game.

Roddy’s performance in a 32-point blowout to the Bulls will go down in niche Sixers’ lore right with Carl Landry and Corey Brewer.

To the delight of the Chicago announcing team, he airballed a hot potato that comically bounced off Adem Bona out of bounds.

pic.twitter.com/feTYCDRUYP

— . (@dphoop2425) February 25, 2025​

He would go on to win back the hearts of the poor fans that hung around for the fourth quarter of the game, though. He earned some healthy, “Roddy! Roddy!” chants as he put up 12 points to make the score look, well, not respectable but at least better.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...-jalen-hood-schifino-two-way-deal-david-roddy

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers’ latest injury update just shows how exhausting this season has been

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Even when the news is expected, the daily Joel Embiid saga has been tiring for everyone involved.

The Sixers returned to practice Friday in preparation for their ABC showcase against the Golden State Warriors.

Guerschon Yabusele spoke to reporters for the first time since suffering injuries to both eyes on Feb. 22 against the Bulls.

“I have no clue what was the injury or what was going on. In my mind, when I recall it, I feel like his finger was so far into my eyes, he could touch my brain kind of,” he said. “The feeling was like, ‘Oh my God,’ like I was trying to open [my eyes], I just couldn’t, and it was weird and really painful.”

He was officially diagnosed with a corneal abrasion in his right eye while they also feared swelling in his left.

The good news is after missing one game against the Knicks, Yabu is already off the injury report for their matchup against the Warriors.

He doesn’t want to wear protective goggles, but will have to try them out before the game to see if he has to wear them.

“I really don’t want to have goggles. I don’t think it’s going be a really good look,” he said, “it (would) bother me a little bit. So we will definitely try tomorrow at shootaround to see how I feel, but I don’t think that I have to.”

The rest of the report is as expected, the only Sixers ruled out are Kyle Lowry, Jared McCain, Eric Gordon and of course, Joel Embiid, who the team officially ruled out for the rest of the season.

No Yabu on the injury report for tomorrow https://t.co/SAEo0qdKmn pic.twitter.com/1L7F4AO07D

— Josh Grieb (@JGrieb10) February 28, 2025​

Even when the team finally announced that Embiid was done for the season, they did it in parts.

First, they announced that he did not participate in Friday’s practice. About an hour later or so, he was ruled out for the Warriors game. Then a couple hours later they finally put out the release that he was done for the season.

Why did we have to drag this out for a week https://t.co/RQn7E3rA3B

— Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon (@TrillBroDude) February 28, 2025​

It’s easy to say the daily saga has worn on everyone when head coach Nick Nurse has seemed fed up with the situation since the beginning of the season. While he could have done better as the public face of the team, answering this same question for six months would wear on anybody.

Part of this is definitely due to the fact that Embiid prefers information around his health to be murky to the public. Jake Fischer reported that Lisa Salter’s report that another surgery was on the table even took Sixers’ staffers by surprise.

It would be much easier to excuse that though if Embiid was the only player the Sixers were vague about. Despite being outside of the top-10 seeds of the East for the entire season, the team still hasn’t officially announced Eric Gordon is done for the year after undergoing wrist surgery.

They’ve only said he is out and will be re-evaluated in three months. So not to worry, EG will be back to save the day in the Eastern Conference Finals.

An offseason of further updates and investigating different types of surgeries is still to come, but at least everybody can finally take a month’s long break from all of this.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...025-nba-season-joel-embiid-guerschon-yabusele

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers-Warriors: Second Half Thread

The Sixers’ losing streak (or winning streak, if you’re focused on lottery odds...) is in danger of reaching 10 games as they take on Steph Curry and the Warriors.

Game details​

When: Saturday, Mar. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

Watch: ABC/ESPN+

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Follow: @LibertyBallers

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025/3/1/24374535/sixers-warriors-second-half-thread

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers Bell Ringer: Philadelphia finally wins another game

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Quentin Grimes exploded for a career-high 44 points to halt a nine-game Sixers losing streak.

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Tyrese Maxey - 16
Jared McCain - 8
Joel Embiid - 8
Paul George - 7
Guerschon Yabusele - 4
Kelly Oubre Jr - 4
Ricky Council IV - 2
KJ Martin - 2
Justin Edwards - 2
Quentin Grimes - 2
Adem Bona - 1
Jared Butler - 1
No One - 1

The Sixers have finally won a game post-Eagles Super Bowl victory. As we anticipated, an exciting guard duel broke out between Philadelphia and Golden State on Saturday night. Steph Curry had 29 points and a season-high 13 assists, while the Sixers got over 40 points from starting guard...Quentin Grimes? That’s right, with Tyrese Maxey’s finger clearly bothering him, it was Grimes who exploded for a career-high 44 points in the Sixers’ 126-119 win over the Warriors. It was a bad night for the tank, but I’m sure the guys didn’t want a 10-game losing streak, so let’s be happy for them for one night and celebrate what was an exciting game of basketball. Let’s go to Bell Ringer candidates.

Quentin Grimes: 44 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Grimes was shooting absolute flames out of his hands right from the jump, going 5-of-5 from the field for 12 points in the first quarter. He did not show any signs of cooling off in the second, as he went to the locker room 8-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from three, draining a final buzzer beater from the top of the key to conclude the first 24 minutes of action. Grimes would evenutally start missing the occasional shot, but he was still putting on an incredible show in the second half. When the Warriors had a 9-0 run to close the gap midway through the fourth quarter, Quentin drained a pull-up three to make it a two-possession game again. He broke a tie with inside of two minutes remaining with a draining lay-in, and a minute later, got fouled by Draymond Green on a three-point attempt. Strangely, Grimes only made one free throw, as his 2-of-8 mark from the foul line was an odd blemish on his otherwise stellar night. He ended the game 18-of-24 from the field, and probably added a bit to his price in restricted free agency this offseason.

***** the real exclamation point! https://t.co/elfZ1jxeEU pic.twitter.com/jIhLLi425k

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 2, 2025​

Guerschon Yabusele: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

It was good to have the Dancing Bear back out there after he had his eyes clawed up and missed some game action. Now playing begoggled, Yabu’s vision looked just fine in shooting 5-of-7 from downtown. He also threw his weight around on the interior, but it was three huge triples in the fourth quarter that made the most impact. Guerschon sank one big shot with around 90 seconds left to kick the lead back up to five points. The theme tonight is definitely guys earning more money in free agency.

YABU! pic.twitter.com/7aCcPLI1GL

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 2, 2025​

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Completing the ‘pay me more this summer’ trifecta, Oubre did the bulk of his damage earlier in the game to help Philadelphia build its lead. He scored nine straight Sixers points in the second quarter to help the team open up a double-digit advantage. Kelly also had an incredibly athletic play to block a Gary Payton II drive off the glass as a weakside helper. It was a perfect ‘play your role off the stars’ game from Oubre, only difference being the star tonight was Grimes.

back 2 back buckets!

cc: @KELLYOUBREJR pic.twitter.com/XMCKLY4kiQ

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 2, 2025​

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...state-warriors-nba-quentin-grimes-steph-curry

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Paul George questionable vs. Trail Blazers with groin injury

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Another injury that continues to linger for PG.

Hopefully he’s still not taking pain injections to play through this.

The Sixers released their injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers and on it was a somewhat new addition. Paul George will be questionable for that game due to groin soreness.

The Sixers have an injury report for tomorrow’s game vs. Portland.

The only new name: Paul George, who is QUESTIONABLE due to left groin soreness. pic.twitter.com/uwRTB5h5U6

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) March 2, 2025​

George scored 12 of his 17 points against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter.

While it hasn’t caused him to miss a ton of games, this has been an issue bothering George as far back as January. He’s talked about wanting to get that right as well as the finger he injured around that time as well.

With Joel Embiid being shut down, Nick Nurse was asked before the Warriors game if there was any thought to shutting down both him and Tyrese Maxey as well. Nurse gave a short response though that yes, the plan is for them to remain active.

Both of them have been playing through ailments over the last handful of games as they keep trying to chase down the Chicago Bulls for the 10th seed in the East. They still remain two and a half games back.

Maxey has been playing with a right hand sprain that’s caused him to tape some of his fingers together, and the effects it’s had on his shot have been evident.

Per the ABC Broadcast- Tyrese Maxey worked with Nick Nurse at practice the week to shoot the ball with 3 fingers instead of 5 because of the hand issue he is dealing with

Maxey has 5 points and is 2-13 from the field tonight. He shot 0-10 on 3PA vs the Knicks

— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) March 2, 2025​

Even dealing with that, Maxey has not been listed on the injury report since Feb. 24 when they got smacked by the Bulls.

The rest of the team looks good to go as Guerschon Yabusele is listed as available — he missed one game to due injuries in both eyes. Kyle Lowry will miss his eighth straight game with a nagging hip injury, and Alex Reese and Jalen Hood-Schifino are out on G-League assignments.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...tland-trail-blazers-groin-injury-tyrese-maxey