Sixers fall short in 119-132 loss to Atlanta
Mar 23, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) shoots past Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Image
The Sixers went into Atlanta in the middle of trying to break a 3-game losing skid. It’s been a brutal last 2 months for the 76ers who are a league-worst 4-21 since January 31st.
Tonight was more of the same as despite another strong performance from Quentin Grimes, the Sixers fell short.
Strong performances from new faces
As previously mentioned, it was another good night from the deadline addition Grimes. The former Maverick totaled 26 points on 18 shots and managed to get to the line 11 times against Atlanta. Grimes has caught many headlines for his efforts since joining the team as he’s averaged 22.2 a night, an almost 8-point increase from his career average.
Strangely enough, former Sixer Georges Niang took exception to Grimes chirping at him saying “If Joel [Embiid] was here, your a** would be in the corner. Joel here, you’re in the corner. Tyrese [Maxey] here, you’re in the corner.”
Georges Niang being Georges Niang and chirping with Quentin Grimes in Q3.
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) March 23, 2025
"If Joel was here, your ass would be in the corner. Joel here, you're in the corner. Tyrese [Maxey] here, you're in the corner." pic.twitter.com/r8zEu2Zg7X
It’s been a rough stretch for Niang, who started his season with the Cavs before being a piece in the De’Andre Hunter trade from Atlanta to the Cavs.
Rookie Justin Edwards has continued to show promise, as well, by taking advantage of the increased opportunities due to the paragraph-long injury list. The freshman ended the night with 22 points on 18 shots as he continues to make a case for being a part of the team’s long-term plans.
the rook is up to 12 points early! pic.twitter.com/OcC7tpg7of
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 23, 2025
The tank rolls on
As previously mentioned, the Sixers are a league-worst 4-21 since January 31st. The name of the game has been tankathon.com and Cooper Flagg in Philadelphia. Currently, they sit at number 5 in the draft lottery with a 23-48 record. They are tied with Brooklyn, who is also 23-48, and 4 games behind the Pelicans who have 19 wins.
The biggest thing they need to do is stay under the top 6. If somehow, they fall to 7 or higher the pick is conveyed to the Thunder. Not only would that be terrible for us, but it would be DEFCON 0 for the NBA if we let another young star go to the Thunder.
The 76ers have a gauntlet tank schedule in their next 4 games. New Orleans, Washington, Miami, then Toronto. Truly the best the NBA has to offer. Those teams rank at 4, 1, 8, and 7 in the lottery as of today so 4 losses would truly be a miracle.
The moral of the story is if you want to have fun watching basketball right now, watch either a different NBA team or March Madness.
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Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
