2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22
Joel Embiid – 9
VJ Edgecombe – 9
Paul George – 6
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Jabari Walker – 1
MarJon Beauchamp – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1
Well, the shorthanded Sixers put forth a much more spirited effort than recent blowout defeats to Boston and San Antonio, but the usual third quarter woes reared their ugly head,
and Philadelphia moved down into Play-In Tournament territory with a 125-116 loss to Atlanta. With the win by the Hawks, they completed the season sweep of the Sixers, which could come into play as a tiebreaker later with the two clubs bunched together in the standings. More crucially, Tyrese Maxey suffered a collision in the closing seconds of the game, suffering what looked to be an injury to his shooting hand, with later reporting revealing something may have happened to his finger.
It goes without saying, but with Philadelphia already missing several starters due to injury and suspension, losing Maxey for any significant period of time would be a true cause to panic. We’ll cross that doomsday bridge if and when we come to it. For now, let’s focus on the positives from Saturday’s defeat with our Bell Ringer nominees.
Tyrese Maxey: 31 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 5 turnovers
Early on, Maxey looked like a guy determined to put the team on his back Greg Jennings-style, scoring 15 points in the opening quarter and 22 overall in the first half. In addition to his usual self-creation off the dribble, the Sixers did a nice job working Tyrese off the ball, getting him a couple open looks from three and running him off screens to allow him to start running downhill towards the basket. Maxey made great reads with the ball in his hand, finding Kelly Oubre with an over-the-shoulder cross-court pass for a triple, and finding a rolling Adem Bona down the lane for a bucket. He also made some key defensive plays, showing active hands at the top of the zone to force a couple steals. Hopefully, all’s relatively well with the hand/finger, and we’ll be seeing Tyrese right back among the Bell Ringer options real soon.
Quentin Grimes: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers
After slumping for a few games, Grimes had his second straight positive game on the offensive end, this time getting going from beyond the arc with a trio of triples. He also displayed an aggressive attacking mentality, finishing through contact around the rim on numerous occasions; his seven free-throw attempts marked his third-highest total on the season. Grimes got chippy with Onyeka Okongwu as the pair each got the better end of each other on some forays by Quentin to the cup. It was great to see some fire from Grimes and keep carving in there to great success. I really enjoyed their little tete-a-tetes in the painted area. With so many absences, the Sixers need contributions from everybody, and this was a really nice performance from Grimes.
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers
Kelly Oubre returned from missing a couple games due to illness and certainly looked more rested than drained in stepping back on the court. It was a solid all-around performance from Oubre. He hit Adem Bona perfectly down the lane with a pass out of the pick-and-roll for a dunk (remember when four assists seemed like a pipe dream from Kelly?). He clean picked Jalen Johnson’s pocket on one play, leading to a run-out bucket for Maxey, and he worked hard on the offensive glass — three o-boards all led to second-chance points. At his heart, though, Kelly gets buckets, and he did so very efficiently Saturday, shooting 10-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three. In particular, I liked when he recognized his size advantage against the defender, and muscled his way into the lane to can some short jumpers. Great to have you back, Kelly; the team certainly needs you.
