Tanking Sixers pick up much-needed loss to Wizards

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers are still trudging along with their plan.

Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t.

When it became obvious this season was indeed a disaster, the Sixers pledged to do whatever to keep their first-round pick, which is top-six protected. That involved shutting down and resting key players in favor of a makeshift roster built to lose.

But the belief was the tanking scheme would be tested Wednesday night against the NBA’s last-place Washington Wizards.

Instead the Sixers escaped with a much-needed, 119-114, loss in a game that had an NBA G-League vibe at the Wells Fargo Center.

Wizards first-round pick Alex Sarr finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Justin Champagnie added 18 points and 10 rebounds. And Jordan Poole had 18 points and seven assists.

Quentin Grimes paced the Sixers with 22 points and four assists. Guerschon Yabusele added 21 points and eight rebounds. Justin Edwards had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The setback dropped them to 23-50. The Sixers have lost six straight and 23 of their last 27 games. Most importantly, they kept the league’s fifth-worst record with nine games remaining.

The Sixers will have a 63.9% chance of keeping the pick by finishing with the fifth-worst mark. Finishing among the bottom four teams will only increase their odds.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse was asked before the game how worried he was about losing the pick.

“Well, listen, I think that it’s going to be almost a coin toss, right?” he said. “The percentages of it going either way, right? A few percentage points either way depending on how the season ends. I mean, obviously, that part of it is out of our control once it gets to the lottery, right? Then we’re going to deal with it how we deal with it.

“I think the main thing is it’s a pretty big asset, right? It’s a pretty big asset and I think that any team needs big assets to either use them and select a player or do whatever. So I think it’s a big coin toss for sure. I mean, I know it’s not a coin toss. It’s a big lottery ball thing. It is. I think any team would want that big of an asset in their locker, you know?”

On this night, the Sixers unveiled their 49th starting lineup of the season: Ricky Council IV, Edwards, Yabusele, Grimes and Jeff Dowtin Jr. The Sixers were without 10 players. The Wizards sat six.

Tyrese Maxey missed his 13th consecutive game with a right finger sprain. The point guard has started working out on the court.

“He’s been seen by another specialist,” Nurse said. “They’ve given him a splint. He’s trying to get used to that. It’s totally a pain tolerance thing for him so we’ll see how that goes.”

The Sixers are leaving the door open for Maxey returning during this final stretch of the season. Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre Jr. is day-to-day with a sprained right knee. Nurse said Andre Drummond needed more time with a sprained left toe. Kyle Lowry is back to working out while managing a right hip injury.

“We should see him here again as well fairly soon,” Nurse said of Lowry.

Lonnie Walker IV is out of concussion protocol. Now, he’s dealing with a sprained neck.

“Hopefully, we’ll see him and Kelly this weekend in one of the games,” Nurse said.

Two-way guard Jalen Hood-Schifino missed Wednesday’s game with an illness.

Meanwhile, Joel Embiid was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Feb. 28 to focus on the treatment and rehabilitation of his left knee. At the time, the Sixers said the team and medical specialist would continue working with Embiid to ensure the best path for his long-term health and performance.

Asked Sunday, Nurse said there wasn’t an update. However, the coach gave a small one on Wednesday.

“I don’t want to speak definitively — I think he’s done seeing all the specialists,” Nurse said. “There may be one or — and those kind of turn into more discussions. I kind of just got up to speed on all of it today. But yeah, I think it’s kind of, like, decision time, and there’s so many opinions and weighing all that out and seeing exactly what’s going to happen. I think we’re close to that point of him making a decision on which route he’s going to take. Just not quite there yet.”

Paul George (left groin injury recovery), Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery) and Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery).

Meanwhile, Saddiq Bey (left knee ACL surgery), Malcolm Brogdon (left ankle sprain), Bilal Coulibaly (right hip strain), Corey Kispert (left thumb surgery), Khris Middleton (bilateral ankle injury management) and Marcus Smart (right index finger partial extensor hood tear) were sidelined for the Wizards.

Up Next

The Sixers will entertain the Miami Heat on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSP). The Heat (31-41) are on a two-game winning streak. They defeated the Sixers in this season’s previous two meetings.