By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Portland Trailblazers last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time this season. Thanks to a fourth quarter explosion the Timberwolves were able to beat Philly 126-112.

The Sixers did not have Tyrese Maxey or Justin Edwards available to play in this game, but they did get Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. back for this contest. Philly was able to find their offensive rhythm early in this contest and take an early lead in the contest. Quentin Grimes (30 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (24 points) combined for 54 of the Sixers 112 points. Grimes has taken full advantage of getting a chance to be a primary scorer and has looked like a very valued member of this Sixers squad. Becoming the primary scorer will be a big development for him especially with both Maxey and Joel Embiid out for lengthy periods of time. Someone must be that primary scorer and creator for the Sixers and Grimes seems to be that guy. His ability to create turnovers and create his own shot has been invaluable to Philly since they traded for him last month. He needs to be in the Sixers long-term plans and should be a priority signing for them during the offseason.

Despite the scoring explosion from both Grimes and Oubre Jr. Minnesota was able to erase the early Sixers lead and take this game over. Especially in the fourth quarter Naz Reid finally found his stroke from the three-point line. He scored 23 points in this contest and made five/10 three-pointers in this contest. He was the biggest difference maker in this game and if it was not for his ability to make it rain from the three-point line. Philly had a chance to steal this game from Minnesota.

Once again, the Sixers’ inability to consistently knock down three-pointers cost them another game. Philly only made nine/32 three-pointers in this contest and that just will not cut it when you are fighting for a spot in the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament. The Sixers must find someone who can make a three-pointer consistently throughout the rest of this season and during the off-season as well.

Being able to make three-pointers is a built-in feature of Nick Nurse’s offense and their inability to hit threes is affecting the effectiveness of their offense. The Sixers might as well lock themselves in the gym and figure out how to make their three-pointers consistently or pack it up for the rest of the season.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, and they will need to limit their turnovers, make their high-percentage scoring opportunities created from their ball movement, and force the Celtics to take well contested shots and limit them to one possession. Last time the Celtics and Sixers got together Payton Pritchard went off, the Sixers must stay connected to their man and communicate on the defensive side if they want to slowdown Boston’s explosive offense. Implementing these things into their game plan for Thursday night should put them in a great position to win their 22^nd game of the season.