Quentin Grimes shines in Sixers’ 126-119 win over Warriors

The 76ers have finally snapped their 9-game losing streak, which was their longest dating back to the process years. This win also comes in the first game since Joel Embiid was shut down for the season.

Tonight was an unlikely battle between Stephen Curry and Quentin Grimes.

Here are a couple of takeaways from tonight’s win as well as an outlook for the last month of the season.

Polar performance within the 76ers offense

Going into tonight’s game, if you knew that Tyrese Maxey and Paul George would combine for 22 points on 8-27 from the field, you would have put your house on the Warriors.

Maxey played a disasterful 40 minutes of basketball. He was taken completely out of the game by the Warriors’ tenacious defender, Gary Payton II, who did not score his first points until 5 minutes into the second half.

As for George, he didn’t have a bad game per se, but he wasn’t outstanding which is the issue. George went 3-5 from three while grabbing 8 rebounds and playing pretty solid defense. He was given a lot of reps down the floor to guard Curry and was instrumental in the effort to keep Curry contained and under 30 points. This is a solid contribution, but he really needs to be better on the offensive end of the floor. With Embiid out for the season, and the Sixers looking like they are still gunning for a play-in spot, he needs to become the focal point of the offense. Last game against the Knicks, albeit not spectacular, is more to the tune of what he needs to be. George needs to be a 20+ FGA guy night in and night out.

So with the two stars having a dreadful night, the charge was led by Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Grimes had a career night, scoring 44 points while shooting 18-24 from the field and draining 6 threes. The Warriors did not have the personnel to contain him tonight as they were busy taking Maxey and George out of the game. Grimes took full advantage and at times looked like he couldn’t be stopped.

Yabusele provided a much-needed boost off the bench, in 27 minutes he went 5-7 from three and tallied 18 points. Yabusele was the definition of reliable tonight and helped the Sixers build, maintain, and restore their lead at various points in the game. 

What went wrong for Golden State?

Coming into tonight, the Warriors were 7-1 since acquiring Jimmy Butler. Unfortunately for the Warriors, he was sidelined tonight with back spasms.

With how the Warriors are constructed following the trade for Butler, they are stretched really thin when he is absent. Butler has provided the Warriors with much-needed energy and intensity, as well as strong defensive effort, which is something the Warriors were truly deprived of.

Tonight his absence was tangible, aside from Draymond Green and Payton, the Warriors have no true defensive assets. Green took on the Andre Drummond assignment, while Payton took on the Maxey assignment. Aside from those two, Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post, and Moses Moody really do not present a threat. This made it the perfect storm for Grimes. Curry garnered the Grimes assignment for most of the night and truly struggled.

On the other end of the court, the Warriors faced the same problem, lack of personnel. This made them really easy to defend as they only had to focus on Curry. The Sixers held the Warriors to 46% from the field, as well as 28.6% from three. 

Not sure where they’re going

This team and this season have truly put into perspective how mismanaged and poorly run this organization is. From the cagey withholding of information regarding Embiid’s injury back in October to today’s report from Shams Charania that Embiid had to go to Josh Harris about a final decision on his playing status, this team seems to not know which way is up.

There is speculation starting to arise that Morey may get canned by season’s end and it seems this may be the end of the road for Nick Nurse also.

But the cherry on top of this disastrous season always goes back to the 1st round pick. Tonight was frustrating, a win like this really feels like a shot in the foot for the organization. At this juncture of the season and for a team whose ceiling is getting swept in the first round, they just need to cut their losses and ensure their pick. The best they can get in the draft lottery position is most likely 4 or 5.

Right now, at 6, they have just a 48.5% chance to keep their pick. If they move to the 5th position, it jumps up to 65%. It is imperative they get that 5th position. 

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