By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Atlanta Hawks with both teams desperate for a victory. Despite playing last night the Hawks dominated this game and were able to beat Philly 132-119.

The Sixers found their offensive rhythm early in this game. They were able to make their first few shots in this game and keep this game close with the Hawks. However, they turned the ball over five times in the first quarter which led to easy point opportunities for Atlanta and that was the biggest difference maker in this contest. Philly just could not overcome their early turnover troubles and that unlocked Atlanta’s explosive offense.

Despite that the Sixers continued to fight in this game and Quentin Grimes (26 points) and Justin Edwards (22 points) refused to let their team lose this game. They combined for 48 of Philly’s 119 points and the Hawks struggled to stop both players, Grimes continues to prove that he can be a player in Philly’s rotation. He had another night of scoring 20 plus points and continues to tear up an opposing defense on a daily basis and making the argument that he can be the starting shooting guard when everyone is healthy.

Signing him needs to be an offseason priority for Philly’s front office. Re-signing Grimes would finally give the Sixers multiple guards who can be foundational pieces and anchor their offense and defense at times. Additionally, they can play off Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George and cash in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created by them.

One of the biggest developments of this season has been Justin Edwards’ development as a scorer and rotational piece in an otherwise dismal season. He has continued to take advantage of his playing time and has been scoring at least 20 plus points in the last few games and if he continues to develop his skillset, he can be a key piece in the Sixers rotation.

Despite the scoring explosion from Grimes and Edwards, the Hawks were able to take advantage of the Sixers early turnover troubles. That allowed them to get easy opportunities to attack the basket and hit three-pointers. Trae Young (28 points), Zaccharie Risacher (22 points), and Georges Niang (20 points) combined for 70 of Atlanta’s 132 points. Philly could not stop Young in this game, and he was able to create multiple high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates and Philly just could not stop their offensive scheme.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow night and will need to limit their turnovers, make the high-percentage shooting opportunities created off their ball movement, and keep the rebounding battle competitive.

Implementing these things into their game plan should put Philly in decent shape to win their 24^th game of the season and take advantage of a team that is struggling just as much as them. The Sixers need to start building momentum as they head into the off season.