PHI 104, BKN 97: Quentin Grimes Comes Alive With 44.6 Yahoo FP
Kwame Asante
Junior Accountant · Oklahoma City Thunder fan
Nets vs 76ers: The Backup Carousel Nobody Asked For
Look, I'm going to be straight with you. This game was a proper mess, and not the fun kind. The 76ers won 104-97, but if you're checking this because you've got either of these rosters on your squad, we need to have a chat about what just happened and what it means for your lineup going forward.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Grimes | 43.0 | 44.6 | 28/8/4 | 13.2/3.7/3.4 | +14.8 |
| Justin Edwards | 49.0 | 40.8 | 19/4/2 | 5.2/1.6/1.3 | +13.8 |
| VJ Edgecombe | 37.0 | 36.3 | 16/4/7 | 15.3/5.5/3.9 | +0.7 |
| Chaney Johnson | 26.0 | 31.5 | 6/10/1 | 4.5/3.8/1.3 | +1.5 |
| Adem Bona | 30.0 | 31.0 | 9/10/0 | 4.7/4.4/0.4 | +4.3 |
| Ben Saraf | 30.0 | 29.3 | 12/4/5 | 5.5/1.5/3.0 | +6.5 |
| Danny Wolf | 27.0 | 29.0 | 15/10/2 | 9.0/4.9/2.2 | +6.0 |
| Dominick Barlow | 25.0 | 26.6 | 10/8/2 | 8.2/4.7/1.1 | +1.8 |
| Tyson Etienne | 23.0 | 23.8 | 11/4/2 | 3.3/0.6/0.8 | +7.7 |
| Trendon Watford | 21.0 | 21.5 | 10/5/3 | 6.3/3.4/2.5 | +3.7 |
The Real Story: Where Are All Your Stars?
Right, so here's the elephant in the room. The 76ers' entire rotation of actual good players simply didn't show up. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Johni Broome, Tyrese Martin. All zeros. The Nets had Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton, Egor Dëmin, Jalen Wilson all sitting out. This wasn't basketball, it was a preseason scrimmage masquerading as a real game.
That context matters because it completely changes how we evaluate what happened.
Grimes Goes Nuclear (But He's Not Your Guy)
Quentin Grimes absolutely went off for 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 34 minutes. That's 44.6 Yahoo points, which is a massive bump from his 13.2 PPG average. The shooting was clean too, 10-22 from the field with 7 makes from the line tells you he was getting to the rack consistently.
Here's the thing though, mate. He's 2.9% owned for a reason. This isn't a breakout performance you can ride into the playoffs. This is what happens when everyone else is sitting in street clothes. The moment Maxey and Paul George return, Grimes goes back to being a role player. Don't get cute and start reaching for him in waivers. The ownership bump is already happening, and you'll be chasing last week's points.
Edwards: The Real Gem From This Game
Justin Edwards is the actual story worth caring about. 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals in just 30 minutes on 9-13 shooting. He's up 13.8 PPG from his season average of 5.2. Now, the obvious caveat is the same as Grimes, right? Light competition tonight. But Edwards is getting 30 minutes of legitimate run. The 69% shooting isn't sustainable, but the role seems to be there.
If you've got a deep bench and Edwards is still available at 2% ownership in your league, I'd actually grab him. Not because tonight was amazing, but because he's showing he can hold 30 minutes of playing time against NBA competition. That's more than his season average suggests.
The Nets' Bench Went Full Chaos Mode
Danny Wolf posted 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Chaney Johnson dumped in 6 points on 0-6 shooting but grabbed 10 boards with 3 steals. Ben Saraf chipped in 12 points and 5 assists. These are all guys you've never heard of, and for good reason. When your entire roster is absent, you get performances like this, but they don't translate to anything useful for your fantasy team.
Tyson Etienne caught 3 threes and dropped 11 points, but again, we're talking about a Nets team without their actual players. Don't overthink it.
Edgecombe's Quiet Game
VJ Edgecombe put up 16 points and 7 assists in 34 minutes, hitting his line pretty much dead average compared to his season numbers. He's a solid PG to own when your team's core is playing, but tonight didn't really tell us much. It was the steady, boring game you want from your point guard.
The Bottom Line
This game was a fantasy wasteland disguised as NBA basketball. Both teams were missing half their rotations, so every fill-in performance needs to be taken with a massive grain of salt. Grimes and Edwards had big nights, but they're not your guys once the rosters are back to normal. Wolf and Johnson had decent box scores because they were getting uncontested minutes.
The real value play here is watching the waiver wire as teams return to full strength. When Maxey and Paul George come back, that's when the real fantasy battles start again. For now, treat this game like what it was: a glorified preseason game that doesn't change your long-term strategy one bit.
Keep your eyes on the injury reports tomorrow. That's where the actual fantasy story will be.