In Loss to Hawks, One Decision Could Leave Sixers With Big Regrets

Tyrese Maxey rolling around on the court was easy to miss as the camera followed the basketball down the court, the Atlanta Hawks putting the finishing touches on a home win that would knock the Sixers out of sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

And then the camera cut back to Maxey, who was rolling and dragging his body to the sideline, his right hand clutched.

It looked like he was focused on his pinky finger. But in any case, the moment froze in Philadelphia.

Through ups and downs with shooting efficiency this season, Maxey has been a constant. Through Joel Embiid's inconsistent availability. Through Paul George's suspension. Through it all.

The loss dropped the Sixers to eighth place in the East. They have a half game to climb to avoid the Play-In tournament. For now.

You've seen the last several weeks for yourself. Philadelphia was thin on material with Maxey being the last max contract standing for the time being. Without him? Without Embiid for at least the next couple games? Without George until later later this month?

It would require multiple someones on this team to play beyond any reasonable expectation they've set for themselves this season for this team to keep its head above water.

The season is suddenly in peril.

There is a very real possibility that the Sixers get stuck in the Play-In, perhaps even being reduced to a pair of do-or-die games just for the right to play the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

But before there was Maxey shielding his smarting hand, there was a collision between Maxey and Adem Bona as the two pursued a loose ball in the final seconds of the game. The outcome was likely already etched in stone. But you never know.

Upon impact with Bona, Maxey's head seemed to jolt. His neck seemed to snap back. No one would've questioned if he felt a little dazed.

He headed to the locker room for the rest of the night. His teammates followed a few moments thereafter.

We still don't know much.

Nick Nurse confirmed to reporters that the concern is Maxey's hand and that he would be getting x-rays on Saturday night.

Tony Jones observed this encouraging sign in the locker room a short while later:

Maxey is in the locker room, eating, with no noticeable wrap or anything restrictive on his hand. He is talking with Joel Embiid and seems to be in good spirits
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) March 8, 2026

The last note of the night left the door open to any number of possibilities:

I’m told Tyrese Maxey will receive additional testing tomorrow on his right finger. Nothing conclusive tonight
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) March 8, 2026

We can talk about how any number of events would've led to Maxey and Bona not smashing into one another, avoiding the situation altogether. But perhaps something could've been done about the situation the Sixers found themselves in at the end of that game—pressuring Atlanta's inbound pass, trailing by seven points, with 25 seconds to play.

Before the Sixers' season hung in the balance, there was a decision made from the sidelines.

Andre Drummond played almost eight minutes in the fourth quarter. He collected two defensive rebounds. He let second-year pro Zaccharie Risacher wrestle one away for an offensive rebound.

What did the additional opportunity yield?

An alley-oop dunk from Dyson Daniels that gave the Hawks a 10-point lead with four minutes and 12 seconds to play.

Nick Nurse put Bona back in the game with four minutes and three seconds remaining—his only minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Sixers were outscored by six points in Drummond's minutes. They were neutral in Bona's stint.

Philadelphia trailed by nine when Bona checked back in. He immediately made a pass on the move out of the short roll, hitting Kelly Oubre Jr. for a wing 3 that trimmed the Sixers' deficit to six points.

Bona got a very unfriendly roll on a floater that would've brought the Sixers to within a bucket with two minutes and forty seconds to play.

This was an OK game for Drummond. He actually dove to the rim for a dunk in the first half and corralled seven boards. But the Sixers lost his 19 minutes by 10 points.

Bona's 29 minutes? A one-point win.

It's been clear for a while that the team's best non-Embiid center is Bona. He still has lapses. You never know how far away you are from a sequence of fouls that staples him to the bench for a long stretch of the game. His hands remain a rollercoaster.

And yet, for those warts, he plays hard every possession. Bona will attempt to block 10 shots. Maybe four of them will be ruled goaltending violations. But he'll try to block 10 shots. It's not always about making the play at the rim. It's about sending the message that you're there. That you're watching. It's a game of psychological warfare.

Bona isn't the biggest guy on the floor. Everyone has seen him make up for that with effort and the pogo sticks he has for legs.

To say Drummond isn't playing hard would be unfair. Perhaps when his competition is a springy youngster fighting for his NBA life, it gives the appearance that one guy is playing harder than the other is.

But that benefit of the doubt has its limitations when the self-proclaimed historic rebounder gets beat to the glass by guys with a fraction of his experience, height or both.

In the end, though, Drummond is who he is in his early 30s.

We haven't even gotten to the most jarring part of Drummond's continued latitude in this rotation. He's playing out the second of a two-year pact with the Sixers. There is no need to continue to give him opportunity if he's not playing well. It's not like Philadelphia has incentive to keep him engaged.

Nurse made his version of a statement by benching Drummond for the second half of the Sixers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. Bona got the start against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and on Saturday against the Hawks.

But even that may not be a step far enough. There was no reason for Drummond to receive nearly double the minutes Bona received in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.

Perhaps a different decision would've caused those final minutes to play out differently.

But there's no going back now. All that is left to do is wait for what the next 24 hours hold for Maxey's finger and the fate of the Sixers' season.