Facing an Indiana Pacers team seeking as many lottery balls as possible and suiting up the sort of roster to prove it, the Philadelphia 76ers got an ugly “a win’s a win” by the final score of 105-94. With one game now remaining in the regular season, the Sixers can finish anywhere from sixth to eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Here are the possible scenarios: – Finish 6th and avoid the Play-In: beat Milwaukee, see Toronto lose to Brooklyn and Orlando lose in Boston – Finish 7th and host the 7-8
Play-In game: beat Milwaukee, one of Toronto or Orlando loses and the other wins – Finish 8th and hit the road for the 7-8 Play-In: lose to Milwaukee or both Toronto and Orlando win We’ll find out how that all shakes out on Monday. For now, let’s talk Bell Ringer.
Tyrese Maxey: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover
It wasn’t a scoring masterclass by Tyrese Maxey on Friday night, but you can’t say he was passive again, and there’s a certain “willing his team to victory” virtue to scoring 32 points on 28 shots. The finger is still clearly an issue for him, as the 1-of-10 mark from behind the arc would attest, as well as his heading to the locker room to get it checked out at one point in the second half. But Tyrese kept attacking, earning 10 free throw attempts, and ultimately did enough for his team to get the W. Making sure his team avoids the 9-vs-10 Play-In game may not seem like a lofty goal, but the Sixers’ floor would be Earth’s core low without number 0 around.
VJ Edgecombe: 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers
If nothing else, it’s still fun to watch VJ Edgecombe run around in Game 81 like he still has a rocket booster strapped to his back. The rookie guard was all over the place, taking the elevator to the penthouse to reject Taelon Peter early in the game, or having his steals lead to soaring dunks in transition on the other end. The quieter parts of his game are coming along nicely too, like when he recognized a double team and hit a cutting Kelly Oubre in the lane for a bucket. Throw that all together along with an efficient 7-of-14 night from the floor and more than anything, I want to see what Edgecombe can do in the bright lights of a playoff environment.
Paul George: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover
Playing in the town where he spent the early part of his NBA career, George showed he can still get buckets with the best of them. PG hit a trio of triples of the contested catch-and-shoot variety, but also did a fair amount of his damage in the mid-range with four pull-up jumpers inside the arc. I’m all for analytics and getting the most efficient shots possible, but there’s no denying a certain artistry to having a guy playing perfect defense on you and still just rising up from 15 feet and hitting a shot right in his face. As the Sixers’ offense stagnated throughout the evening, it seemed like George was always there to make something from nothing with a timely bucket.
