With Embiid and George still out, Nurse says he’s focused on ‘job at hand’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CAMDEN, N.J. — Neither Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) nor Paul George (left knee bone bruise) will take part in the Sixers’ second home game of the season.
A team official said that both stars will miss the Sixers’ Wednesday night matchup vs. the Pistons at Wells Fargo Center. They participated in portions of the team’s Tuesday practice and will be re-assessed later in the week, according to the official. Next on the calendar for the Sixers is a Saturday meeting with the Grizzlies.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse declined to provide further details.
Asked whether Embiid and George did any 5-on-5 scrimmaging, Nurse said, “You guys got the update. They were in parts of practice. On we go.”
He later cut off a question regarding Embiid’s individualized plan, saying, “I’m not going to answer. They’ve given you the updates on that, right? They’ve given you the updates on Joel.”
Nurse was willing to speak to a general question about collaborating with the Sixers’ medical and training staffs on Embiid and George.
“Listen, it’s not that hard to be on the same page,” he said. “We want these guys to play, and we want them to be healthy and we want them to play great. And we want them to play great all season, right? Then my main focus is I’ve got to do the job that I’ve got to do. I’ve got to try to get this team to play as good as it can tomorrow night.
“And that takes a big chunk of my focus. I’ll certainly work things in and do things as we go, but I’m just trying to concentrate on my job at hand.”
So, on Nurse and the 1-2 Sixers go without two All-Stars. After an overtime win over the Pacers and an off day Monday, the Sixers ran through an extended practice.
“Just trying to establish and maintain an identity and toughness of who we want to be — who we are, how we want to play — which finally showed up there three games in,” Nurse said. “Just staying on that track.”
With Embiid still out, the Sixers are again set to start Andre Drummond, who’s averaged 10.0 points and 13.0 rebounds.
Drummond’s 5.3 offensive rebounds per game lead the NBA.
“He was really good the other night,” Nurse said. “How many rebounds did he have the other night? Seventeen. And two steals. They’re huge, right? I think he’s starting to figure out a couple other things, too — where he can position himself on both ends. … I thought he looked so much more comfortable.
“On the screen-and-rolls, when they were double teaming, he’s getting it and firing it, moving it. Every read he made was comfortable and good. … He’s doing a lot of really good stuff for us. And it’s good to see as well, because it’s a little hard to judge anything after the second game. So it was good to see a lot of guys play a lot better — more like we’re used to.”
The Sixers will look to improve to .500 on Wednesday against an 0-4 Pistons team that includes former Sixers Tobias Harris and Paul Reed.
Nurse coached Harris for the final season of his five-year stint in Philadelphia. He was candid about that experience.
“Well, obviously a rocky year last year,” Nurse said. “A rocky tenure, to be honest. But coaching against him, going into it we always had to game plan for him and he always did a bunch of different things. He did the same for us last year. The weight of whatever was going on about his contract and his play, and did it match up … all that kind of stuff wasn’t much fun to be a part of.
“Really good guy who was a great pro and tried really hard, worked really hard and produced a lot. I really like him. I like him as a person, I like him as a player.”
