Even against an Atlanta Hawks team missing its two most significant pieces and a pair of critical role players, it never really felt as if the Sixers had a chance to nab their second win in as many nights on Monday. They only had nine players in uniform in Atlanta, and while the team's effort on the floor was in no way lacking, its manpower was to an extreme degree.
Here is what stands out about each of the nine players who suited up for the Sixers in their 132-123 loss on Monday:
Evaluating the nine players available for the Sixers
•Jared Butler: Butler's strong night in theSixers' win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday — scoring 15 points and dishing out nine assists — helped him create some strong, positive momentum after multiple weeks of subpar performance in very limited opportunities. He played a vantage point guard game, driving and kicking time and time again, creating consistent offense as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. But he also hit three triples, including a long one from above the break. Butler continued that momentum early on in Atlanta, kicking off the Sixers' scoring with a step-back three to beat the shot clock:
Butler, who knocked down a tough triple from the corner in the second quarter, has never been a dreadful three-point shooter, but he has also never been a particularly good one. Teams have generally been willing to live with Butler pulling up from beyond the arc, and it would do wonders for his long-term outlook — with the Sixers or any other team -—if he could become more consistent from long range.
• Quentin Grimes: It is fair to wonder how much money Grimes has made himself over the last month. Nobody expected this sort of eruption as an on-ball scorer from him, but he continues to put the ball in the basket with ease from all three levels, posting his fourth 30-plus-point game as a Sixer. He would have likely had a solid free agency market as a 24-year-old knock-down shooter with strong defense on the perimeter, but the leap he has made from occasionally capable to staggeringly effective as a ball-handler could create a market far greater than what the Sixers anticipated.
The good news for the Sixers is that when Grimes becomes a free agent at the end of this season, he will be restricted. Not only does that mean the Sixers will have the ability to match any offer sheet Grimes signs with another team, but it means most teams will likely be tentative to make a run at a player the Sixers would surely love to keep around. Restricted free agents typically end up with very depressed markets relative to what would be the case if they were unrestricted, surely part of the Sixers' calculus when acquiring Grimes.
• Lonnie Walker IV: Walker had his best game as a Sixer by far on Sunday, shaking off a poor start from the field and finishing the game with 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Nurse highlighted how impressed he was by the rebounding, as Nurse had mentioned that being an area where Walker needed to help out on multiple occasions predating the win over Utah. But a few of his assists were also fairly impressive, including a nifty bounce pass in transition.
For the second night in a row, Walker collected a trio of assists prior to intermission, showing off some helpful off-the-dribble passing chops that will help a sputtering offense get through the final month-plus of the season. After a difficult four-game stretch to kick off his Sixers tenure, Walker has been better than expected since joining the team. With a strong close to the season, he could make a decent case for a roster spot next season.
•Justin Edwards: With so many rotation fixtures sidelined, this would have been a nice spot for Edwards to continue his uptick in on-ball scoring aggression, but he failed to do so, fading into the background for much of the game on the offensive end of the floor. Edwards has been back for a few games after suffering his second left ankle sprain in a month, but Sixers head coach Nick Nurse indicated recently that Edwards is still playing through some soreness which has hurt his ability to move as well as he would like to. Edwards had his foot in a bucket of ice while speaking with PhillyVoice immediately after Sunday night's game.
• Guerschon Yabusele: Yabusele has appeared to be running on fumes for at least a few weeks at this point. He acknowledged recently that the schedule has taken a real toll on him, particularly with the frequency of back-to-backs. Yabusele has dealt with knee issues twice since the All-Star break and missed action after getting hit in both eyes late last month.
Nurse said on Sunday that Yabusele was among a group of veterans whose minutes would be monitored moving forward, and the 29-year-old only played 11 minutes against Utah, never returning to the action after brief stints to begin each half. Yabusele's minutes were not quite as limited in this one, but he did briefly go to the locker room during the second quarter.
Frankly, the Sixers protecting Yabusele from any late-season injury is a nice favor. Yabusele, who spent five years playing overseas in hopes of earning a chance to return to the NBA, is a month and a few extra days away from being able to say he has made it through a full season healthy
• Jeff Dowtin Jr.: After Monday's game in Atlanta, Dowtin can be active for nine more NBA games due to the conditions of his two-way contract. That makes him eligible for half of the Sixers' remaining contests unless he is converted to a standard contract. At the present moment that feels unlikely, as the Sixers do not necessarily have any players of lower priority on their man roster.
• Ricky Council IV: Council can build a case to at least be a situational chess piece for an NBA team moving forward, and he will likely get steady run for the rest of the season because of the volume of injuries on the Sixers roster. But if Council wants to prove he can be relied on by an NBA coaching staff, he would be wise to cut down on the ill-advised three-point shots. Council has been candid of late about the fact that he has not earned the trust of Nurse and co., but has yet to make significant enough adjustments to the way he operates to change that.
• Alex Reese: The defining trait that has stuck out in Reese's first few games with the Sixers: he is incredibly active, unafraid to get down and dirty on the glass while also seeking out opportunities to become a defensive playmaker.
"In his minutes for us, he's played very hard and he's been effective," Nurse said after Sunday's game, in which Reese grabbed nine rebounds and secured three steals in 15 minutes. "He's really a tough rebounder. He goes up, and when he rebounds, he's snatching them down and kind of commanding the ball. And obviously he's not afraid to shoot from the perimeter."
Before the Sixers' win over the Jazz, Reese spoke with PhillyVoice about his massive improvement as a three-point shooter between his collegiate career at Alabama and his time in the G League.
"In Tuscaloosa, Coach [Nate] Oats, he gave me the freedom to shoot whenever I was open to take good shots, sometimes questionable shots," Reese said. "So I think the work has been the difference-maker. Working back home, I took the year off just getting as much work as I can in. My people at Alabama Hoops down there, my agents got me in good situations over the summertime. It takes a lot of work."
• Adem Bona: Bona's strongest skill on the offensive end is without question his ability to dash towards the rim, rise up and convert an alley-oop. But whenever he had chances to play early in the season, the Sixers' guards were not looking for him on those rolls. It made it immensely difficult for Bona to have any sort of scoring impact.
But now, the rookie second-round pick has a ball-handling partner who will throw him those lobs: Butler, who is a terrific alley-oop passer. Butler and Bona connected on an early alley-oop:
Bona continuing to receive playing time for the remainder of the regular season should be one of the Sixers' strongest priorities. His showing against Utah was magnificent — Bona score 14 points while grabbing 15 rebounds (seven offensive boards), nabbing two steals and swatting five shots, all while staying out of foul trouble — and it underscored the upside he can eventually reach, a process the Sixers should be trying to accelerate.
Up next: The Sixers will travel to Toronto for a matchup against the Raptors on Wednesday night with plenty of importance in the tank race. The Sixers' two remaining games against Toronto are arguably their most important games left on the schedule.
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