Sixers lose to Hawks, lock in fifth worst record for draft lottery purposes

The Sixers lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, locking in the fifth best odds in the draft lottery.

Here's what I saw.

Likes

- Until the second half of Wednesday's win over the Washington Wizards, Marcus Bagley's NBA career scoring output was limited to put-backs and shots off doing the hard work at the rim. Then, he canned a corner three in DC, breaking an 0-for slump to start his NBA experience. Evidently, it only took him finding the range once for the touch to stick. 

Bagley laced four triples in the first half on Friday, daring himself to knock down increasingly difficult looks from the corners before stretching it out to the above-the-break threes. Good for the young guy. Probably a lot of adrenaline in a heater like that. Of course, on a night when the Sixers could lock themselves into the fifth worst record heading into the draft lottery, go figure a rookie effectively having a tryout with the team is jeopardizing that lottery positioning.

- Given how ridiculous this team's rebounding has been this season, it was actually nice to see them pull down some timely rebounds. Philadelphia certainly trended small in this game, so it's not like that was a minor task to begin with. The Sixers made a concerted effort to gang-rebound on the weak side of the floor, holding box-outs and tracking the ball off the miss to get a hand on it as it came down. They still lost the rebounding battle in the end, but the ones they got to helped keep the game within reach until Trae Young went on a heater in the fourth quarter.

Dislikes

- Though I doubt he'd ever admit it, I think Ricky Council IV is probably experiencing the worst of both worlds on offense right now. You see him bumping into defenders when he tries to put the ball on the deck, unable to find the edge to attack the paint. That's concerning for a player his age, especially when so much of his offering is predicated on athleticism. If he can't find the burst to blow by defenders, what exactly is he going to do when the ball swings his way?

Thinking about it more logically, I don't think it's a matter of lost burst. It's probably a matter of defenders playing off him as a shooter. They don't respect him from the perimeter, so they protect against the drive. There's no real way out of that clog at this point. Council is going to have to either get more creative as a dribbler, manufacturing the leverage for driving lanes with a tight handle, or become a respectable three-point shooter so that he draws defenders out to more vulnerable positions. For Council's immediate future, becoming a more diverse dribbler might be the best path. If for no other reason than it's just difficult to imagine that shot taking a huge leap with the current state of his mechanics.

Spare thoughts

- A Danny Green jersey in attendance for this one. Wonder what inspired that purchase.

- I'm sorry, it is just so laughable that the Los Angeles Clippers protected Terance Mann in James Harden trade talks as if he is a crown jewel. Were they understandably a little biased in over-valuing one of their rare good draft picks? Sure. But to act like he's anything close to an untouchable asset was ludicrous. He's a decent role player whose affordable contract makes up a sizable chunk of his value. Clearly the Clippers weren't all that immovable in their valuation of Mann, as they forked him over to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Hawks this season.

The Sixers (24-57) will finish their season hosting the Chicago Bulls (37-43) on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.