Sixers' Bad Injury Luck Hands Quentin Grimes a Golden Opportunity

Sixers fans are experiencing major déjà vu recently. Injuries are piling up, and their playoff hopes are sputtering.

But last season, Quentin Grimes took advantage of that opportunity by setting career highs in points and assists per game.

Fast-forward one year, and Grimes finds himself in an eerily similar situation. Over his past nine games (all of which he started), he's averaging 21.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game despite shooting only 22.6% from three-point range.

The Sixers have made their long-term interest in Grimes clear, but this stretch of play could rebuild his stock around the NBA as he enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

The last 12 regular-season games may be pivotal to Grimes' chances of sticking around Philadelphia.

Grimes and VJ Edgecombe have shared ball-handling responsibility as the Sixers strive to stay afloat without Tyrese Maxey (finger) Joel Embiid (oblique), Paul George (suspension) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow). But there is one crucial difference in Grimes’ promotion compared to last season: three-point shooting—or lack thereof.

How has Quentin Grimes done with the Sixers?

Since Grimes is a high-volume shooter, shooting variance has partially contributed to his downtick from deep. But the biggest factor is that defenses have guarded him tighter on the perimeter, which has forced him to create scoring opportunities within the arc.

That was on display in the Sixers’ 104-97 win against the Brooklyn Nets on March 14, where Grimes had a team-high 28 points despite hitting only one three. He instead used on-ball screens to settle into midrange jumpers and aggressive drives to the rim, showcasing his versatile scoring ability.

Grimes’ three-level scoring has fluctuated when he's playing behind the Sixers' main scorers, as he was limited to more of a spot-up shooting role. It’s unreasonable to expect him to post nearly 20 points per game when the Sixers are at full strength, but attacking closeouts and not deferring to others could help keep him more involved.

The 25-year-old is having a streaky year because he hasn't found a way to strike that balance yet. On the year, the Sixers' sixth man is averaging 13.7 points per game. Yet he’s still in position to receive a bigger paycheck than the one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer he signed this past fall.

Grimes isn’t shackled to the Sixers by restricted free agency as he was last summer, so he'll be free to explore other offers this offseason.

The Sixers are still interested in keeping him for the long haul. One of the driving factors of the controversial Jared McCain trade was to acquire more financial flexibility to sign Grimes to a long-term deal.

Spotrac currently projects the Sixers to be $30 million below the first tax apron next year, although that's before they re-sign either Grimes or Kelly Oubre Jr. The Sixers do have both players' Bird rights, though, which means they can re-sign them to any deal up to a max contract despite being over the salary cap.

If Grimes finds a way to merge his recent production with the full-strength Sixers, a long-term deal could very well be in play this offseason.