Sixers lose to Hawks in Sunday night snoozefest

The Sixers’ excruciating 2024-25 season moved one step closer to its conclusion on Sunday evening, with the Sixers plodding to a 132-119 loss against the Atlanta Hawks.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— If you are still tuned into Sixers games this deep into a catastrophic season, Justin Edwards has to be a big reason why. He’s one of a small group of success stories from this god-forsaken year, with the Philadelphia native going from Summer League afterthought to rotation mainstay before anyone realized it. And the further down this road we go, the more it looks like he’ll hold onto this spot next year when reinforcements arrive.

Edwards has shown just about everything a young wing needs to during his first year in Philadelphia. The three-point shot is quick and repeatable, with clean mechanics giving him a chance to knock down shots every time he gets a spot-up opportunity. As their main creators have gone down, Edwards’ face-up ability and drive-and-kick game have moved to the forefront, with the rookie getting a chance to serve as a top option rather than a background extra that creates space for Tyrese Maxey.

There have been some moments of real craft for Edwards over the last couple of weeks — he busted out a half-spin move into an and-one finish against the Hawks, used pump fakes to create space around the rim, and did a good job of making the Hawks feel him from all three levels. They were never able to settle in and defend him in a specific way that unsettled him, with Edwards effectively countering anything Quin Snyder tried to slow him down.

I’m not sure if Edwards will be able to crack the starting five next season, particularly if they’re able to bring in a young wing with a draft pick this year, but he has shown enough that it’s not crazy to consider him in that top group. At a minimum, he’s a rotation player you can pencil in for next year, and with some growth and attention to detail on defense, he’ll make a strong case to be out there when the lights are brightest.

— They say a picture is worth 1000 words. In the spirit of that cliche:

— Chuma Okeke continues to hit the offensive glass like a madman. Love to see that.

— Alex Reese, I was not familiar with your game!

ALEX REESE AND ONE DUNK. pic.twitter.com/I23D3ytICM

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 24, 2025

— The game ended.

The Bad

— The game started.

This was a particularly boring and meaningless game,

— If Nick Nurse is going to be the head coach of this team beyond this season, I think it’d be worthwhile for him to consider if his broader defensive philosophies need to be looked at. Nurse’s teams have sacrificed a lot of open threes to pressure opponents and force as many turnovers as possible, and that strategy hasn’t paid off in any meaningful way this season. It has been a system that forces turnovers, not one that has produced enough stops to consistently win games.

That may not be the difference between winning and losing games right now, but you do need to get results at some point.

The Ugly

— I miss having Georges Niang around:

Georges Niang being Georges Niang and chirping with Quentin Grimes in Q3.

"If Joel was here, your ass would be in the corner. Joel here, you're in the corner. Tyrese [Maxey] here, you're in the corner." pic.twitter.com/r8zEu2Zg7X

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) March 23, 2025

— I am really looking forward to the date in the future when the Sixers play with a real center and (presumably) have a chance to credibly defend teams again. As a guy who values defense more than the average fan or media member, it has been painful watching the Sixers roll out the red carpet for drivers and transition plays all year long. I respect what Guerschon Yabusele has done here, but he should not be playing anywhere near as many minutes as he has at the five.

— In place of anything interesting to talk about in Sunday night’s Sixers game, I figured I would give you a few of my thoughts about the weekend’s NCAA Tournament games and the prospects who played in them.

Cooper Flagg was doubtful to lose his spot at the top of everyone’s draft boards during March Madness, but I think he has continued to solidify the top spot with excellent two-way play through two tournament games. You’ve seen just about everything you would hope for out of Flagg — on-ball and off-ball success on offense, smart defensive rotations, great defensive reads, connective passing, and an understanding of when to use strength vs. speed. It’s remarkable how well-realized his game is for how young he is.

Elsewhere on Flagg’s team, consider me a believer in Khaman Maluach, but maybe not in the range he’ll be drafted in. That’ll be determined as I watch more old games from this year of all the top prospects (something I wasn’t expecting to have to do when the year began). I see a terrific defensive talent with a pretty basic set of skills on offense, though perhaps that’s just about what he’s being asked to do. He’s relatively new to the sport, so you could make an argument for significant untapped potential. Can’t teach that height and ability to move.

On the other side of Sunday’s Baylor-Duke battle, I think you saw the limitations of VJ Edgecombe but also the difficulty of evaluating him in the Baylor environment. Duke afforded the Bears absolutely no space to operate inside the arc, so a lack of proper spacing and Edgecombe’s unspectacular handle combined for a lot of wishy-washy possessions that stalled out from midrange. He put together a decent box score game by the time it was over, but if you were concerned about his creation talent heading into the tourney, I don’t think you left with your concerns alleviated.

(I still like Edgecombe a good deal, for the record.)

One guy who I think I am higher on after watching his game on Friday? Jeremiah Fears. I haven’t seen enough of Oklahoma to have strong takes on his game quite yet, but I was worried about how ball-dominant and usage-heavy he was for an 18-year-old freshman. Watching the Sooners in their one and only game, I came away thinking he has played that way because he has to and not necessarily because that’s the only way he can play. And he’s got some real wiggle to his game, with a nice ballhandling bag combined with good speed and shiftiness. Someone I’ll go back and watch more of ahead of June’s draft, for sure.