Quentin Grimes, 76ers making sure injuries don't cause snowball effect

NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia 76ers are once again dealing with the injury bug as they work their way through the 2025-26 season. The Sixers are sitting at 9-8 as they have handled players being in and out of the lineup fairly well thus far, but they have lost two in a row and as the injuries pile up, one has to wonder how they keep the same mental focus.

As the Sixers prepare to face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, they will be missing three opening night starters: Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, and Kelly Oubre Jr. all to injury. Throw in the fact that Paul George has only played three of a possible 17 games thus far and it's a lot for a team to handle.

As Quentin Grimes and the Sixers took the Barclays Center floor for morning shootaround on Friday, the focus is making sure things don't snowball as they did in the 2024-25 season.

"Coming up with the right mentality," Grimes told Sixers Wire. "Coming in and making sure that we take it one game at a time. Not worry about when other guys are coming back, who’s in, who’s out. The, like, cliché, of next man up mentality. Guys coming in and doing their job, playing how we want to play, and not having a huge drop off no matter who’s playing or who’s in, who’s out. Coming in with the right mentality and try to play our game every night."

The Nets offer the "get right" opportunity for the Sixers who have lost their last two games. The Nets are a young, rebuilding team that ranks No. 29 in the league in defensive rating and No. 24 in offensive rating. They're also going to be missing their two leading scorers in the form of Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas so the Sixers have the opportunity to get back in the win column after a 41-point blowout loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

"You gotta flush that one," Grimes added. "You’re gonna have games like that during the season, 82-game season, not everything is gonna come down to the wire. Just come in, try to put what Orlando did to us on Brooklyn, and get a win after Thanksgiving. Had a couple days off."

The holiday can offer a chance for the Sixers to reset. They had a couple days off, went to go be with their family and friends, and decompressed a bit before making the trip up to Brooklyn. That can cause a reset for this group moving forward.

"For sure," Grimes added. "We see each other every single day and the majority of seven or eight months. So, if you can go home, see your family, seeing fresh faces, it can really help guys kinda recalibrate and regroup for the long stretch of games we’re about to come up on."

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Quentin Grimes, 76ers making sure injuries don't cause snowball effect