March 14, 2025
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Jeff Dowtin Jr. followed up one of the best showings of his NBA career on Wednesday with another strong outing on Friday.
The Sixers entered Friday with 15 players on their standard roster. 11 of those players wound up being unavailable for the night's home game against the Indiana Pacers, due to injuries and illnesses. But they had the four healthy bodies, their three two-way players and an emergency signing who was suiting up for the team just hours after signing his contract.
So the Sixers had eight available players at their disposal, and those eight players brought as much intensity as they could against a very good Indiana Pacers team, controlling the game for much of the first half and keeping it close for much of the second half.
Ultimately, the undermanned Sixers fell 112-100 to the Pacers on their home floor. Here is what stood out on Friday night:
Guerschon Yabusele, who signed with the Sixers this past summer, was the second-most experienced player on the entire team on Friday night. The only player who suited up for the Sixers who had logged more appearances than Yabusele for the organization was Ricky Council IV:
| Player | Appearances as a Sixer entering 3/14 |
| Ricky Council IV | 88 |
| Guerschon Yabusele | 60 |
| Adem Bona | 46 |
| Jeff Dowtin Jr. | 45 |
| Jared Butler | 11 |
| Alex Reese | 5 |
| Jalen Hood-Schifino | 0 |
| Oshae Brissett | 0 |
Keep in mind, Yabusele signed with the Sixers on a veteran's minimum contract. And yet he was the highest-paid player the Sixers had available against Indiana, ahead of two players on second-round pick entry contracts, three two-way players and one on a 10-day contract. According to HoopsHype, approximately 96 percent of the Sixers' payroll was unavailable for this game:
This is a beauty. pic.twitter.com/spfJTJQQbg
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) March 14, 2025
Speaking of the 10-day contract, Oshae Brissett went from not being part of the Sixers organization when the team held its shootaround on Friday morning to part of the team's first quarter rotation in the span of seven hours. The team adding Brissett on a 10-day deal via a hardship exception granted by the league office enabled them to get to the minimum eight players available. Jalen Hood-Schifino also made his Sixers debut in this one, and on Friday morning he referred to it as "full-circle," as his NBA debut came in Philadelphia last season when he was a rookie on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dowtin scored a career-high 20 points on Wednesday night, and was rewarded with his first career NBA start against the Pacers. He immediately made the most of that opportunity, playing one of the best quarters of his career to begin the game. Dowtin scored 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting line while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists in the opening frame, and played with a particular brand of confidence that he does not always have.
JDJ for ✌️ pic.twitter.com/g4xjtEoXr5
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 14, 2025
Dowtin ended up posting a new career-high in points before the third quarter had ended, keeping a steady aggression that helped keep the Sixers afloat offensively. While Dowtin is just a two-way player trying to earn one last chance at an NBA roster spot, he legitimately conducted himself like a superstar offensive engine for much of this game (this is not an assessment of his production, but his demeanor).
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has always trusted Dowtin to keep an offense organized, and Dowtin truly quarterbacked a unit full of unfamiliar faces. On a night like this one, it was probably necessary, and Dowtin's 17 points prior to intermission helped the Sixers carry a lead into halftime.
Friday's game marked the 43rd time this season Dowtin has been active, which means he can only suit up for seven more games due to the conditions of his two-way contract. In order for Dowtin to remain available beyond those appearances, his contract would need to be converted to a standard deal.
Some more notes and takeaways from this one:
• Many have wondered why two-way stretch four Alex Reese is donning a No. 65 jersey for the Sixers -- he is just the second player in NBA history to wear that number. Reese explained the decision to PhillyVoice prior to the game:
"So last year when I got picked up in Portland with the Remix, they had limited numbers to choose from because we couldn't wear any that the guys in the NBA were wearing and they had a bunch of retired numbers. So I looked, and my mom was sick last year and she was born in ‘65. And that was one of the -- I’m telling you, the numbers were bad. 67, 71, stuff like that. So I just picked 65 in honor of her. She ended up passing last year at the end of the season. So I'll probably stick with 65."
• Adem Bona continued his run of strong minutes, including reaching double figures in scoring in the first half. As Sixers fans are beginning to see, Bona is never afraid to let everyone on the floor know when he is having a good stretch. The rookie second-round pick's enthusiasm is genuine, and part of a persona that folks are going to appreciate as time goes on.
• This exact environment was one that could have easily enabled Council to give into his absolute worst habits as a decision-maker -- primarily taking ill-advised shots -- so it was a positive sign for the Sixers that the second-year wing mostly played within himself. The results were mixed, but a sound process is a good start for someone whose ability to earn the trust of his coaches has been questionable. Council has a lot to gain in the last month of the season after watching his stock plummet for much of what has been a disappointing campaign.
Up next: After their brief pit stop at home, the Sixers will now embark on a long, six-game road trip, which begins on Sunday afternoon when they face the Dallas Mavericks.
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