3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following a road loss to Thunder
The Philadelphia 76ers were unable to get back in the win column on Wednesday as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 133-100. The Sixers fell to 1-2 on this 6-game road trip as they now turn their attention to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday for the fourth game of the trip.
The Thunder were missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Jalen Williams in this one while the Sixers were missing a laundry list of players. Former Sixer Isaiah Joe had 21 points and Aaron Wiggins had 26 for Oklahoma City.
Quentin Grimes led the Sixers with 28 points and five assists, Chuma Okeke had 14 and 15 rebounds off the bench, and Guerschon Yabusele added 11 points and four rebounds. Justin Edwards chipped in with 19 points while Alex Reese had 11.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the loss:
Chuma Okeke shows off his game
Okeke did some good things in this one. He has been dealt a tough hand in his NBA career with all of the injuries he has had to sustain, but he has shown off some good attributes in recent games for the Sixers. Against the Thunder, he knew his team was in a tough position with the size disadvantage and he gave Philadelphia a big boost on the glass. He also showed off his 3-point shooting ability and one has to wonder if he has earned another opportunity once this 10-day deal expires.
Auditions for Jalen Hood-Schifino
This final stretch of games is about auditioning for the future. Hood-Schifino was unable to keep his hot shooting going, but what he did do against the Thunder was an ability to handle the ball and run some offense. The Sixers turned to him to be the backup ball-handler on Wednesday night and he had some good moments against a stingy Oklahoma City defense. The Sixers will want him to produce more on the offensive end in terms of his scoring, but he had a nice audition in a point guard role on Wednesday.
Quentin Grimes continuing to grow
Grimes won’t have this problem when he is playing on a healthy Sixers team, but right now, he is at the top of the opposition’s scouting report and he has to be ready for that. He had a tough time finding a consistent rhythm, but he will take this and use it as a learning experience going forward. He has been fantastic since joining Philadelphia at the deadline and one has to believe the Sixers will bring him back in free agency. He will be able to experience playing for the Sixers next to Joel Embiid for a long stretch of games and that will be a relief for him. If Tyrese Maxey can get into some games in these final 13 games, it would be a big help to see if the two of them can play together.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following a road loss to Thunder
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