Quentin Grimes making a name for himself with the 76ers … and perhaps beyond

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The numbers are startling: 32.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists over his last five games.

You’d be forgiven if you thought that was from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and not a seldom-used player moved before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Those numbers belong to Quentin Grimes, who has taken Philadelphia by storm since his arrival a month and a half ago. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has made the absolute most of his increased opportunity with the Sixers, as Joel Embiid, Paul George and standout rookie Jared McCain are out for the remainder of season with injuries.

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Grimes is unquestionably benefiting from the situation as head coach Nick Nurse needs someone — anyone! — to put up numbers on a night-to-night basis.

But calling Grimes simply a decent player on a bad team is doing him a disservice for a multitude of reasons.

Firstly, Grimes hasn’t just had five good games. As a Sixer, the 24-year-old has averaged 23.1 points, including a pair of 40-point performances, and done so on high efficiency.

Grimes is hitting 51% of his total shots, including 39.3% on 3-pointers, and is primarily scoring off his own accord. Only 36.5% of his 2-pointers have been assisted, and he’s created 27.1% of his own made 3-pointers since coming over from Dallas.

Quentin Grimes has been getting it done since joining the 76ers. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Grimes is handling the ball more than ever and is confidently taking pull-up triples, driving to the rim and hitting mid-range pull-ups off the bounce to present a devastatingly good all-around scoring touch.

One might be inclined to wonder if this is just a hot streak, especially as Grimes has been routinely reserved for spot-up duties over the course of his career.

If he were producing at a lower rate, it’d be easier to sweep his efforts aside. But for Grimes to not only maintain a high output, but add substantial efficiency behind that volume — all while breaking out elements of his game we’ve never seen before — then it’s fair to say there might be more to him than we thought.

Grimes isn’t a lock to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/quentin-grimes-making-a-name-for-himself-with-the-76ers–and-perhaps-beyond-134256166.html

Author : Morten Stig Jensen

Publish date : 2025-03-20 13:42:00

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