The short-handed Philadelphia 76ers are struggling, but they won’t get any sympathy from the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Sixers hope to avoid their fifth loss in six games Tuesday night when they host the Grizzlies, who enter the matchup on a four-game losing streak.
Of course, wins and losses tell only part of the story for Philadelphia and Memphis, both of which are navigating a long list of injuries.
The Sixers are playing without Joel Embiid (oblique), Tyrese Maxey (finger) and rookie VJ Edgecombe (back), plus Paul George, who is suspended for violating the NBA’s drug policy.
Without their four best players, the team had a hard time sticking with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Monday’s 115-101 defeat.
“We’ve got to create better shots for each other, with people down,” said Cameron Payne, who scored 12 points in Maxey’s place. “Just got to find a way to get easy ones.”
Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 17 points, while Justin Edwards added 14 off the bench. Edwards finished 5 of 6 from the field in his highest-scoring game since Nov. 11.
“I thought there were some guys that played pretty well,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said.
The Sixers will face the Grizzlies without Maxey, who could return later this week, and Embiid, who hopes to return later in March. Edgecombe could be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
“There is (a chance),” Nurse said of Edgecombe. “He was on court again today, yeah. So, he’s literally day-to-day, and there is hope that he’ll be ready to go very soon.”
While the Sixers have plenty of injury concerns, the Grizzlies’ issues are daunting. The team had only eight players in uniform (three of whom were two-way players) for Monday’s 126-115 setback against the Brooklyn Nets.
Not only did they lack healthy bodies, but the Grizzlies had little size available against the Nets. GG Jackson, a 6-foot-9 forward, was the team’s only available player over 6-7.
“Our guys did a tremendous job forcing (19) turnovers, applying ball pressure,” Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “In some situations, we were just two sizes too small underneath the rim.”
The Grizzlies got outrebounded 43-36 by the Nets but made up for it somewhat by shooting 40% from 3-point range and 21 of 25 from the foul line. Still, Memphis has lost 11 of its last 14 outings.
“We weren’t able to break down their defense,” said Iisalo, whose team was led by Rayan Rupert (20 points), Javon Small (19) and Jackson (18).
Tuesday’s matchup with Philadelphia will conclude a brief two-game trip for Memphis, which will be off Wednesday off before another back-to-back set Thursday and Friday against the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons, respectively.
“With the pretty hectic schedule — four games in five days — unfortunately we can’t dwell on this a lot,” Iisalo said. “Got to move onto Philly tomorrow.”
This will be the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Sixers topped the Grizzlies in Memphis on 139-136 on Dec. 30 as Edgecombe drained the decisive 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in overtime.
