Considering their lottery situation, the Sixers really didn’t need a win Sunday afternoon in Dallas, but that didn’t matter to Jalen Hood-Schifino or the other players trying to prove themselves at the NBA level, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hood-Schifino, who signed a two-way contract on March 1, came off the bench to sink five three-pointers and score 19 points in 23 minutes. He also hit a pair of foul shots with four seconds left that put the game out of reach.
“For me, just focusing on my breath and saying calm, and knowing if I get those two free throws, the game is over,” Hood-Schifino said. “So for me, it was about relaxing and knocking those shots down.”
Pompey notes that while the Sixers snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the fourth time in 21 games, it wasn’t the best outcome for a team that will surrender its first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it falls outside the top six. Brooklyn also won on Sunday while Toronto lost, leaving Philadelphia with the sixth-worst record in the league, a half-game behind the Nets in the lottery standings and a half-game ahead of the Raptors.
“Listen, we are going to prepare this group to go out there and have some success,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Again, they played very well tonight. … Again, we just want to prepare them well and give them a chance to show what they can do and have some success.”
There’s more on the Sixers:
- Pistons center Paul Reed, who was waived by Philadelphia in July, took a shot at his former team on social media Saturday night, posting, “They thought I was the problem,” Pompey adds. Asked to comment on Sunday, Nurse replied, “I don’t have a response. We certainly didn’t think Paul Reed was a problem.”
- The Sixers’ list of inactive players for Sunday grew to 10 when center Adem Bona was declared out due to a sprained left ankle, Pompey tweets. There’s no word on how much time Bona is expected to miss.
- The Sixers were counting on Paul George to lift them into title contention when he signed as a free agent last summer, but their best move might be to try to unload his hefty contract during the offseason, Pompey states in a separate story. The nine-time All-Star has been limited to 41 games this season and hasn’t played since March 4 because of groin and knee injuries. He’ll turn 35 in May and still has three years and $162.3MM left on his contract.
- The Sixers won’t be able to make real progress until they move on from Joel Embiid, Pompey argues in another piece. He notes that Philadelphia’s front office keeps making personnel moves to build around Embiid, but the star center’s constant injuries prevent them from being effective. Pompey adds that with Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey using up virtually all the team’s cap space over the next several seasons, there’s little room to improve if they all remain on the roster.
Lakers used the #17 pick in the 2023 draft. He was injured as a rookie. Plays the same position as Bronny, so they got him out of town as quick as they could to make sure he couldn’t snatch garbage minutes from Bronny. You ever see a team give up on a #17 pick so fast??
Go look at the past 5 drafts and you will see dozens of examples of burnouts from the first Rd , most held onto a year too long by their teams
We coulda given him the extra cross your fingers and toes Johhny Davis year to clog payroll but the guy has No shot, is slow, and holds zero gravity off-ball
Best to realize a sunken cost early and move on Imo, they are playing to win today and the extra roster spot to Goodwin has already payed nice dividends
We will remember him as being helper salary for Luka! And TY Danny Ainge as well, your contributions don’t go unnoticed
Since my comments and honest opinions need to be “moderated”. I will just end posting on this forum. It was fun. Thanks.
There’s a list of words that automatically trigger moderation if they’re included in a comment. “Snatch” was on that list (probably shouldn’t be), which is why your comment above wasn’t auto-approved.
Sixers also have Obrue and Grimes heading to FA.
You play to win tbe game!!!!
If you don’t want to win… then get out..
Hern Edwards…then coach of the New York Jets….it was a good Sixer win…
I actually agree with this. It’s pro basketball.
People forget these guys all want to win. Hopefully, the Sixers can find a few guys in the wreckage of this season worth keeping around. Yabu, Edwards, and Grimes were the first three, more may come.
Lakers always have the best snatch
C’mon now, don’t make me put it back on the list!
Highly doubt the 6’ers even had an opinion on Reed at all
What an odd comment
In a lost season it seems like the Sixers are searching for diamonds in the rough for next year. No telling how many of the mass of the wounded will return next season and be productive or if they’ll keep their top 6 pick.