If the 2025-26 NBA regular season ended on Monday, the Sixers – perhaps unbelievably – would host a first-round playoff series. Back-to-back wins over the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks have allowed the Sixers to lap quite a few Eastern Conference teams, and with a 16-11 record under their belts they now stand as the No. 4 seed.

With four of their next five contests coming against teams with records below .500, the Sixers have a real opportunity in the upcoming week or two to create separation from some of the teams stuck in the Eastern Conference's logjam.

Let's kick off the week the way we always do: a brand new edition of 5 Sixers thoughts, with a focus on the Sixers' trio of sophomores before pivoting to their struggling sixth man and surging star guards.

On Jared McCain, Adem Bona, Justin Edwards, Quentin Grimes, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe:

Jared McCain feeling like himself in search of a "niche"

Save for VJ Edgecombe, no member of the Sixers did more to boost their own stock during the back-to-back on Friday and Saturday than McCain, two nights in a row convincing Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to let the 21-year-old close to the game alongside Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, logging high-leverage minutes and being legitimately helpful.

McCain's season NBA season has been a struggle with fewer ups than downs, but with his right thumb brace now removed McCain feels as close to his normal self as he has since tearing his meniscus over a year ago. And while his performances against New York and Dallas were not necessarily his two best showings of the season, they were the most McCain-like displays, with a reliance on bumps and finishes at unique angles:

"Damn, I'm finishing the game," McCain said to himself on Friday, noting it was the first time he had done it in a very long time. He called it "amazing" to be back on the floor in the guts of a game, appreciative of Nurse's trust in him. McCain is one of many non-stars on this year's Sixers to make known their appreciation for Nurse's tendency to leave a momentum-shifting role player in the game for prolonged stretches.

Nurse leaned into that more than ever on Saturday, when a never-before-used lineup played the final 13 minutes and change against the Mavericks. It was not broken, so Nurse did not try to fix it; McCain was part of the lineup that flipped the game on its head. Nurse remarked after that game that McCain, despite shooting 3-for-11 from the field, played "awesome." McCain has been a defensive liability for much of the season, so the 21-year-old stepping up with three steals to help limit the Mavericks was important:

Asked about his defensive uptick, McCain reflected on the knowledge he has gained amid offensive struggles.

"I think this has been a great learning lesson for me," McCain said. "Offensively, if stuff's not clicking – or we have guys that obviously can make a bunch of plays – how am I going to find my niche? How am I going to find it? How am I going to get minutes? I think on the defensive end, I can really figure it out. I feel like I'm a smart player and I know what's coming. I know I can help and help the roller. Anything defensively, I feel like I can figure it out. Just being more patient on the defensive end and knowing what's coming I think is going to help me on the long run for sure, especially [at] the end of the season."

Whether or not McCain returns to the star trajectory he was on just over a year ago will depend on his offensive performance. McCain is still not as quick to explode off the dribble as he was during his rookie season and is waiting for shots to start falling again (the removal of his brace might do wonders there). But his confidence has never wavered, and he feels like he is back.

MORE: How a lineup the Sixers had never used before won them a game

Adem Bona bounces back

McCain was thrilled to assist the second career three-pointer of Bona, his close friend and draft classmate, in the fourth quarter of Saturday's win. "I knew it was in, I knew it was cash," McCain said. Both of Bona's triples have come in fourth quarters of close games.

Bona logged a season-high in playing time against Dallas; for the first time in a while he looks like just as good of an option to eat up minutes at the five as the veteran who usurped him as Joel Embiid's primary backup, Andre Drummond. Drummond is still clearly ahead of Bona within the hierarchy, but Bona has played six quarters so strong that the door could begin to crack open for him.

In his first NBA minutes in two weeks, Bona committed three fouls in as many minutes prior to halftime against the Knicks. It was the worst of the 22-year-old whose propensity to foul has gotten him into trouble before. But Bona flushed it at halftime and turned in a stellar second half to help swing the game in the Sixers' favor. His momentum traveled back to Philadelphia, where the following night he played one prolonged stretch of strong two-way basketball in each half.

Bona spoke with PhillyVoice after Friday's game in New York about his resurgence.

"It was pretty tough having three fouls in three minutes," Bona said. "Kind of tough to bounce back from that. But I just had to switch my mindset and just focus on the next play. In the second half, just went in like it's a new game."

Beyond the mental adjustment, Bona attributed his improved play to having "more of the movement," he is slightly undersized for a center but possesses more athleticism than nearly any other five in the NBA. He is trying to lean into that while making sure he is doing enough of the traditional, bruising responsibilities that come with the position.

The bond of three Sixers sophomores 

McCain and Bona were the Sixers' two draft picks last year, but they were not the only rookies. Edwards went undrafted before inking a two-way contract with his hometown team, eventually earning a conversion to a standard contract and a multi-year deal. But like his fellow sophomores, Edwards has had a 2025-26 season with a few highs and many lows. Nurse is an ardent believer in Edwards' skills and feel for the game, but they have not netted enough positive minutes this season.

But Edwards did knock down back-to-back triples in the second quarter against New York, and in the fourth quarter he and his fellow 2024 rookie classmates accomplished something they had been aiming for since the season started.

"We were making jokes," Bona said, because "this was the first time me, Jared and Justin were sharing the court together in a while. So it was really good to share the court with them today."

McCain started chuckling as he was asked about Bona's comment and his relationship with Bona and Edwards. What ensued has to be the first mention of the "Spider-Man meme" in the history of Madison Square Garden's visitor's locker room.

"Those are my guys. We hang out a bunch and we talk a bunch," McCain said. "We were talking, I think a few games before this, how we want to be on the court, all three of us together, And so it finally happened. We noticed it and it was like that Spider-Man meme. We all looked at each other, we all did our handshakes and we were ready. Glad to get on the court with them, it's always fun."

SIXERS SWEEP A BACK-TO-BACK

VJ Edgecombe shines in MSG debut | Maxey, Edgecombe lead Sixers past Mavs

Checking in on Quentin Grimes amid struggles

McCain's quality minutes have been particularly timely because Grimes is mired in a slump. Nurse singled out the 25-year-old in New York as the one rotation piece whose minutes were not good, and it was more of the same against Dallas. Nurse's lack of trust in McCain has drawn ire all season, yet on two nights in a row he felt compelled to close the game with McCain over Grimes, the vastly superior defender with several clutch shots this season. It is part of a trend that has been ongoing for the entirety of December.

Grimes' monthly splits, courtesy of basketball-reference, show how much he has struggled relative to the Sixth Man of the Year-caliber production he was giving the Sixers in the first month and change of the season:

Grimes has only made 12 of his 43 field goal attempts over the Sixers' last five games. He shot 2-for-9 against Dallas. What is Nurse seeing in his sixth man's struggles right now? "A couple things," he said, before diving into the two areas where he wants Grimes to adjust his mindset.

"I want him to drive the ball more," Nurse began. "Because to me – I know this doesn't sound that fundamental – he can just drive and take off, and figure it out from there... He's a really good finisher, switching hands, he's so athletic, he's powerful. I want him to drive the ball and be more aggressive, and I've just got to make sure I get him set up to do that some more."

Nurse then moved on to Grimes' shooting.

"He's a good three-point shooter, right? But he's kind of an interesting one," Nurse said. "I think he's one of those guys that makes a lot of those look-you-in-the-eye ones when he's covered. You've got to just keep encouraging him, 'Find yourself. Shake him down and shoot.' And I think he didn't feel great about that tonight, I thought he was a little hesitant and I thought he had some chances to do some of that. But we'll get him going. I mean, I think it's obviously a long season, this kind of stuff's going to happen."

Ultimately, Nurse's confidence in Grimes is unshaken – particularly because he has also provided some value as a playmaker for others. Even on Saturday, Grimes collected seven assists, which Nurse highlighted at the end of his soliloquy.

"I think it's great that we know what he can provide, which is a lot of explosiveness, a lot of hard play," Nurse said. "I'm encouraged – I'm not so sure I'm that excited – but I'm encouraged about the seven assists. That means they kind of knew he was explosive, they were closing him down pretty fast, so he made some good plays out of there. So that's good, too. I mean, 2-for-9 not good, 0-for-3 [on three-point attempts] not good, but seven assists and some of the other stuff was pretty good."

Sixers thankful for NBA Cup layoffs

After failing to surpass 21 points at any point for 17 consecutive games, Edgecombe is working on a streak of four consecutive games with 22 points. That includes a back-to-back of two outstanding performances.

The rookie guard who was open about his struggles with the rigors of the NBA schedule early on this season was asked what has clicked for him of late.

“To be honest, I do not know. But I think I'm going to say I think it was the rest," Edgecombe said. "I think I needed the rest to recenter myself. It’s a long season. That little [NBA Cup] rest, that helped a lot to be honest. Just trying to get back into the flow of things, being more confident and continue working hard.”

The Sixers were off from Monday through Thursday of consecutive weeks; they only played two games in an 11-day period. For players like Embiid and Paul George hoping to establish some sort of rhythm, it was difficult timing. But for Edgecombe and others logging significant workloads, it was a godsend.

However, no player in the entire NBA had earned the right to rest more than Maxey. And because an illness sidelined him for the Sixers' only two games in that 11-day stretch, the soon-to-be two-time All-Star was able to get a dozen consecutive days without playing. They were not true off days; Maxey spent a decent chunk of that time sick at home. But he did rest for a while, and considering the size of Maxey's workload up to that point has been considerably more significant than any other player in recent league history, that is important. Maxey scored 30 points to lead the Sixers past New York in a successful debut, then looked even better the following night with 38 points against Dallas:

Most importantly, Maxey is beginning to benefit from improved production from his supporting cast, whether it be Edgecombe, George, or on Saturday, Dominick Barlow.

"He can't always do it by himself," Barlow said after tying a career-high 21 points against the Mavericks. "He needs help, and we're just trying to help him out."

MORE: Edgecombe meets the moment in Madison Square Garden debut