By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Utah Jazz last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Atlanta Hawks for the first time this season. The Hawks were able to use their size advantage to score 78 points in the paint and that allowed them to beat Philly 132-123.

The Sixers were able to start this game fast unlike last night, they were able to hit their shots early in the contest and put the Hawks on their heels. However, they were not able to keep Atlanta from scoring inside the paint, they were able to grab rebounds and back their defender down to get high-percentage shooting opportunities and make them. Atlanta scored 78 points in the paint and that was the difference in this game.

Dyson Daniels (25 points) and Zaccharie Risacher (22 points) combined for 47 of Atlanta’s 132 points. Both players were able to use their size advantage to put points on the board. Philly had no answers for what they were doing and just did not have enough length available to stifle either one of them. Philly just did not do enough in this game to stop them and gave up too many easy opportunities that allowed Atlanta to gain confidence.

Giving a team like Atlanta confidence is dangerous for their opponents and Philly just could not string together enough stops in this game. However, despite the offensive explosion from Daniels and Rissacher the Sixers still had multiple opportunities to win this game.

Quentin Grimes had another impressive showing he scored 35 points in this contest and if more of his teammates had shown up in this game. The Sixers might have pulled off the comeback in this game. It was not meant to be tonight for Philly, but Grimes continues to make the argument that he should be a part of the Sixers long term plans.

He continues to be a stabilizing force during a tumultuous season for Philly, he has expanded his offensive skillset since being acquired by the 76ers last month. Grimes has created multiple turnovers in every game he has been a part of, he has improved as a playmaker and created high-percentage scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Grimes must be an offseason priority for the Sixers, they cannot let him walk away from the building when the season ends. He is the type of player Philly’s roster has been missing for years. Grimes has earned himself millions of dollars, and the Sixers should back up the brinks truck to keep him on the roster.

Philly will now prepare to face the new-look Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, and they will need to play better paint defense, limit them to one possession, and cash in on their high-percentage shooting opportunities. The Sixers cannot afford to let the Raptors score 70 plus points in the paint and expect to win the game, they must make things difficult for Toronto and make them work for every basket. Implementing these things into their game plan should put the 76ers in great position to win their 23^rd game of the season.