Mar 17, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) attempts to get control of the ball away from Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Despite 46 points and 13 rebounds from Quentin Grimes, the Sixers made critical mistakes late in regulation before falling to the Houston Rockets in overtime.
Here's what I saw.
- It was strong knowledge of personnel by the Sixers to help off Dillon Brooks to send double-teams to Alperen Sengun. It was their way of combatting the size disparity with Oshae Brissett starting at center. Not only was it sensible to get two bodies on Sengun, but it was actually quite smart to do it with the guy guarding Brooks.
You clog up Sengun's playmaking impact by making the offensively-challenged Brooks be the open teammate to theoretically punish the coverage. Brooks got a handful of shots in the first quarter and couldn't hit the ocean falling out of a boat.
- Speaking of Brissett, some outstanding rebounds from him in the first half of this game. He engulfed one jumping with the trees, coming down between a couple of Rockets with the ball in one hand. He also got involved in some tip-out rebounds, resetting things for the Sixers' offense. That's what Nick Nurse envisioned. A strong presence on the boards despite his non-traditional size for an acting big.
- The first half can be summarized in one statistic: plus-30 in three-point shooting. Philadelphia had the anomalous shooting heater of its entire season, striking gold on 15 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Houston, meanwhile, couldn't find any consistency on offense. It wasn't just a rough shooting half for the Rockets. They genuinely could get nothing to go their way. They couldn't stay in bounds to save balls, made sloppy passes and bet wrong on virtually every three the Sixers took. It wasn't as if Philadelphia was putting up an exhibition in trick shots. The Rockets treated the Sixers with the same level of respect I would probably give them if I were an opposing coach game-planning for Philadelphia. Everything just went the Sixers' way. A remarkable phenomenon to observe.
- Everyone understands why tanking is especially necessary for the Sixers this season, but you can do team-building for the future by figuring out which guys are worth keeping around. That is especially the case when so many of these players are on very team-friendly contracts. So, it's very important to learn about the characters of your players even when you're not competing for anything meaningful. When Houston - especially Tari Eason, Jalen Green and Brooks - went tough guy mode late in the third quarter, I was especially interested to see how the young, inexperienced Sixes would react.
They sputtered in the first few moments after things got testy. But they quickly calmed down and rediscovered their own edge to start the fourth quarter. Grimes, in particular, was sensational. He took on multiple good Rockets defenders in the final frame, willing his way to difficult scores. It was a full-blown adult answer from a guy who has never seen this much offensive opportunity before.
You could see his teammates following his lead, too. Even the newest and youngest of Sixers felt empowered to punch back, getting physical with the Rockets to get stops on defense. An impressive, mature response by the available guys.
- Not that anyone should've expected much different, but the Sixers did not respond well to ball pressure after Ime Udoka called a timeout with the Philadelphia lead expanding to 25 points early in the third quarter. Of course, the shooting regression hit for both sides. That certainly helped Houston make its inroads. It was also specifically helpful that Jabari Smith Jr. was the one heating up for the Rockets. The Sixers had no answer for the shooting prowess at his size.
- I will not back off the stance that it's good game-planning to double off Brooks just because he hit a handful of threes in the second half. Guy is a stinky offensive player.
- Oh, no! Won't someone think of the tank! Look, tanking is necessary sometimes but getting upset that dudes are competing and want to win is insane.
- Good thing Nico Harrison made the Luka Doncic trade because he's not getting enough flack for basically trading offsetting second-round picks in the Grimes-Caleb Martin deal. Whew, that looks like a mega stinker, too.
- If you want to know what Nurse thinks of tanking, he had the Sixers foul up three in the final possession of regulation. Seems notable.
The Sixers (23-45) will visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (56-12) on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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