Quentin Grimes knows exactly what his role is as the postseason inches closer to the Sixers, now tied for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Raptors, over whom they hold the tiebreaker.
In a perfect — and healthy — world for the team, Grimes will be the first guard off the bench, get in his 20 or so minutes of play, provide tremendous energy and scoring. Really, not much different than what he has been counted on to do all season long, but factors made how he was used ever changing.
He has started 19 of the 69 games he has appeared in this season. At times, he's had to be the main scorer. Other times a key ball-handler, always counted on to provide perimeter defense. But as the team gets healthier and the rotation becomes smaller and more concrete, Grimes' immediate future is really clear, provided, of course, the team gets/stays healthy.
"Same as the whole season," said Grimes as to how he sees his role now. "I come in and play my game, be in attack mode, be an on-ball defender, make plays for me and my teammates. The whole year, they've asked for me to do different things but I feel like when the whole team's healthy I still play my same game that I have the whole year.
"Take it one game at a time. We know what's at stake. We know we need some things to fall in our favor but it's out of our control, so we've just got to take it one game at a time, come out and play like every game is a playoff game and that way we're going to be in good shape."
They could be. Tyreese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have become one of the hardest backcourts to cover, with their speed, quickness and shot-making abilities; Paul George is playing some of the best basketball he has in years since coming back from his 25-game suspension and Joel Embiid is Joel Embiid when he's on the floor, which is an unstoppable force. Then add the spark that Grimes provides and it's understandable why he's optimistic for a playoff run.
"Feels great," said Grimes, who has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 14 games. "It's what you work all summer for, all of training camp and then early on in the season, building up that chemistry, that intensity so that when you get in games there's no drop off, there's nothing new about it. Right now, the intensity has been at a super high level the last two or three games, which is good to see. We have to keep carrying it over. You work your whole life for these playoff experiences.
"We know the expectations people have and how loaded we are as a team. We have guys that can do a lot of things on the court, so it's good to see everybody slowly be peaking at the right time, come playoff time."
The remaining six games will go a long way to determining the playoff fate of the Sixers. The immediate goal is to avoid the Play-In Tournament, which is played among seeds seven through 10. Whatever happens and where the Sixers fall, Grimes has a pretty good feeling.
"I feel like we're scary," Grimes said. "We're a pretty deep pretty much at every position. We have a lot of talented, talented guys, so I feel like whoever comes into the game there's really no drop off. Us in the playoffs, I really wouldn't want to see us."
