Sixers pull out backbreaking win vs. Dallas Mavericks

The tanking effort suffered a tough blow on Sunday when the Sixers beat the Dallas Mavericks 130-125, earning a win that will not help the cause to keep their draft pick.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— It must always be said, my desire to have the team lose games and protect their draft pick does not make it “bad” when individual players put on their best performances. Bad for the organization in the long-term? Yes. But you can’t hold players accountable for the crimes of the team they play for.

Quentin Grimes, for example, is doing everything possible to put the Sixers between a rock and a hard place with his next contract. The rest of his teammates may be floating through games and treating defense as an optional exercise, but he’s using that end of the floor to spark his own offense in transition. I’m losing count of how many times per game Grimes is forcing a turnover with point-of-attack chops or well-timed help, and then soloing down the floor for a layup past the arms of an outstretched defender. That’s the sort of thing that will hold up no matter how small his on-ball role is next season, and Grimes’ ability/willingness to ratchet up the intensity will be a good trait to have when they’re actually trying to compete for wins.

Guerschon Yabusele’s future feels more uncertain, but a game like this shows that the versatility is still there, even if his recent production has lagged. He had drop-step layups, dove for loose balls to spark fast breaks, knocked down perimeter jumpers, and did everything humanly possible to keep the Sixers in it before they went on their third quarter run.

And how about the career game for Jalen Hood-Schifino? There have been plenty of doubts about his overall skill set, but no one could ever question his confidence as an off-the-dribble attacker, and he found himself in a groove against a half-hearted Mavericks team on Sunday. I don’t think you could call it “disrespect” when people are showing you a bit of space 28-30 feet from the basket, but JHS seemed to view it that way, stepping confidently into long threes while sprinkling in a movement jumper or two to cap off an awesome day.

Of course, these things are all fairly destructive for the team goals right now. Fans are in no mood to see this group succeed, and I get that mindset entirely. But the guys on the floor competed hard in the second half after 24 minutes of apathy, and I bet they feel good about the comeback. Good for them.

— The game ended.

— I’ll say it again, I hate what this season has turned me into. Wins are bad!

The Bad

— The game started.

The Ugly

— Adem Bona is not the difference between the Sixers having an adequate defense and one of the worst in the league, but it is amazing what happens when you go from having at least one semi-capable rim protector to having none. With a two-man “center” rotation of Alex Reese and Guerschon Yabusele, the Sixers had to either lock the Mavericks up on the perimeter or accept they were going to get scored on at the rim. Do you need time to guess which happened?

It says as much about Philly’s perimeter defenders as their rim protection that they’ve failed so miserably there this year, obviously. While Nurse had the personnel to play an aggressive, turnover-hunting scheme early in the year, the long, athletic lineups they could boast during other periods of the year are nowhere to be found. You get the worst of all worlds with the current group — they’re not likely to force a lot of turnovers, they’re not especially capable as switch defenders, and they have to play a hell of a lot of zone defense just to try to get by.

This is more of a personal beef than basketball analysis, but I can’t stand the basic concept of zone defense in the first place. And I believe in it less now than I ever have, with the league increasingly predicated on pace and three-point shooting. The Sixers are also a bad rebounding team no matter what style of defense they play, but they’re relying on the structure impacted the most by glass crashing is, well, a choice.

The Mavericks scored 42 of their 68 first-half points in the paint, and many of those possessions were met with a complete lack of urgency or effort from the Sixers. We’re past the point where expecting a good effort is even in the cards, with a lot of these guys committing to something when they can hunt a shot and no time else. It’s hard to blame them for feeling detached from this failure, though I am a bit surprised at the lack or urgency from a group of players fighting for their NBA futures.

There are some individual players still competing, including Yabusele. Grimes’ off-ball defense comes and goes, but he has been an impact guy at the point-of-attack and was basically a one-man band for a chunk of the second half. But there is no savior back there capable of helping you survive even 5-10 minutes of leaky or disinterested perimeter defense. Yabusele hasn’t been up to that task all season, though in fairness to him and Reese, it would be a Herculean task for even a prototypical shot blocker. There just aren’t enough good, committed defenders available to play. Although Philadelphia came to life in the second half, with Grimes and Yabusele making some real effort plays to get stops, I don’t find it particularly inspiring to play a single half (or less) of defense.

— On the other end of the floor, the product is less dispiriting but not especially encouraging. The Sixers kept pace with the Mavericks in the first half, trailing by just four at the break, and did so with some outlier shooting rather than good offensive process.

For example, a great 24 minutes for Jalen Hood-Schifino! The former first-round pick lit the Mavericks up for 12 points on four made threes in the first half, looking the part of a big-time shotmaker with all the freedom in the world to jack up shots. But I don’t think it’s particularly instructive to watch him take (and make) pull-up threes from 30 feet out, something he’d never have the option to do in a normal season.

Grimes has played purposeful offense during his Philadelphia stint, and I think what he’s doing is projectable in a smaller role (in part because he has already succeeded in one elsewhere). I also think, however, we should keep expectations in check while watching him cook opposing defenses with basically unlimited opportunity. Not as hard to play into a rhythm that way. This has to be one of the best stretches of shooting in his basketball life, and the Sixers need to be careful they don’t get fooled into paying him too much money as a result of this unforgettable stretch.

Bah humbug, or something like that. Also, the Mavericks absolutely stink and don’t care.

— Spencer Dinwiddie is the ultimate tank commander.

— Nick Nurse playing to win this one down the stretch says he clearly is not on board with what is best for the organization, brutal.