A solid first half had folks wondering if the Sixers' tank had caught a flat tire. Coming off the win over Golden State, Philadelphia looked good against Portland for the first 24 minutes -- not world beaters, mind you, but the steady sort of squad that should take care of a team playing a road back-to-back. Then, the Sixers were outscored by Portland, 35-20, in the third quarter, both Tyrese Maxey and Justin Edwards suffered injuries in the second half, and the tank got right back on track with a 119-102 defeat. Let's talk Bell Ringer.
Andre Drummond: 25 points, 18 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 0 turnovers
Credit where credit is due. Drummond looked like he needed to be Old Yeller'd for a while there, but he's been legitimately impactful the last two games. Maybe Andre just shouldn't have been trying to play through injury earlier this season? (The same thing could be said for about 90 percent of the roster this year.) Drummond was looking spry out on the floor tonight, tallying a double-double by halftime and almost hitting the 20-20 mark in this contest. He crashed the glass hard on both ends and showed good hands as a roller and touch around the basket. Andre even hit a three-pointer! This is the guy the Sixers thought could eat innings this year when they brought him back.
Quentin Grimes: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 turnovers
One game after Grimes recorded a career-high in points, he switched over to a career-high with nine assists. It's a great sign that Quentin is able to drive the offense even on a night when his shot isn't falling (he went 0-of-5 from three). Grimes was able to slither his way into the interior and hit a few tough looks and find teammates with an assortment of slick passes in tight spaces. The book on Grimes is certainly expanding beyond '3-and-D guy'.
Lonnie Walker IV: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers
Lonnie had a rough few first games with the Sixers, but looked tonight as if he has settled in back stateside. Walker went 3-of-6 from downtown and set up his centers for a pair of nice buckets. Defensively, he was active and got his hands in there to prevent a couple drives. More games like this one and the PA native might be sticking around for another year.