- Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com examines the challenge facing Sixers head coach Brett Brown, who has been tasked with incorporating a pair of newly-acquired stars and developing strong team chemistry within a short window.
- Joel Embiid still isn’t quite ready to return to action for the Sixers. As Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal relays, head coach Brett Brown is still hoping that Embiid will play this week, but the star center didn’t travel to Chicago for Wednesday’s game. “I believe there’s a chance that he may meet us in Houston (where the Sixers play on Friday),” Brown said of Embiid.
The Sixers are running out of healthy big men and if it appears that Boban Marjanovic won’t return soon, the team will likely explore options for adding a center to the roster, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Joel Embiid came out of the All-Star break with knee soreness and was expected to miss about a week. Those three games have now turned into six, with Embiid sitting out against the Magic tonight.
“He just doesn’t feel like he’s ready to go,” coach Brett Brown said of Embiid. “He really does feel restricted with some of his movements, there’s a little bit of soreness, I think, still.”
Brown added that he doesn’t have a timeline on Marjanovic. Jonah Bolden and Amir Johnson are both nursing ailments and didn’t practice on Tuesday, leaving. Justin Patton, who came to Philadelphia in the Jimmy Butler deal, as the only fully healthy center on the team.
The Sixers don’t currently have an open roster spot, but could create an opening by waiving a player like free-agent-to-be Furkan Korkmaz, who is currently injured and didn’t have much of a role when he was healthy.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown is a big Tobias Harris fan and hopes the team re-signs him, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Brown praises Harris not only for his play on the court but his off-court persona. “I hope he’s a Philadelphia 76er for a long time,” Brown said. Harris, who will enter unrestricted free agency this summer, has enjoyed the ride with his new team since being dealt by the Clippers. “I like it here,” he said. “It’s been a good start that we’ve been able to have, a good group of guys, and the team has a lot of potential.”
Veteran center Andrew Bogut is getting interest from “multiple contenders,” including the Warriors and Sixers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Bogut is available now that his season has ended in Australia — he was named both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the NBL (National Basketball League).
Bogut isn’t expected to decide on an NBA deal right away, Charania adds. However, the 34-year-old will be playoff-eligible wherever he goes, since he hasn’t been on an NBA roster all season. He has been out of the league since the Lakers waived him in January of 2018.
Bogut was a second-team All-Defensive honoree in 2014/15 when he helped Golden State win the NBA title. The Warriors traded him after the 2016 season in a cap-clearing move to help them sign Kevin Durant.
Sixers center Joel Embiid, who hasn’t played since the All-Star Game because of soreness in his left knee, told reporters before tonight’s game that he plans to be back next week, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Embiid added that the pain in his knee had been intensifying before the break and he wanted to get it back in shape heading into the postseason. He said he approached team officials about taking a few games off (Twitter link).
“It’s all about long-term preservation and making sure I’m ready, not just for the playoffs, [but] also for the next 15 years,” Embiid said in a quote relayed by Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. “Knowing the team and what we’ve been through, knowing me and knowing that I like to push on everything, I like to play through anything, we just felt like it was better to preserve.”
The Sixers have won three out of four games without Embiid and enter the night half a game out of third place in the East. Aggressive moves to add Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris have made Philadelphia one of the top contenders in the conference if everyone is healthy.
Embiid says the rest has been effective and his knee is feeling better, tweets Serena Winters of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I didn’t feel comfortable and coming from me, you know that if I don’t want to push through anything, it means that I really need it (rest),” Embiid said (Twitter link).
Bontemps also offered an update on rookie Zhaire Smith, who has been sidelined all season because of foot surgery and a food-related allergic reaction. Smith said he had to regain more than 40 pounds after his weight dropped to 164 (Twitter link).
Smith played his first game last night for the Sixers’ G League affiliate in Delaware, but isn’t expected to see any NBA action this season. He logged 15 minutes and posted two points, three rebounds and two assists.
No NBA team has been more aggressive in acquiring immediate help since the 2018/19 season began than the Sixers, who traded for Jimmy Butler in November and Tobias Harris in February. In the wake of those deals, expectations are rising in Philadelphia — the club wants to make a deeper playoff run, and then will have to figure out if Butler and Harris can be re-signed in free agency.
Sixers controlling owner Josh Harris, in attendance at this week’s Sloan Conference in Boston, spoke to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan about those issues, offering some interesting insight. The 76ers are currently projected to match up with the Celtics in the first round of the postseason, and Boston has given Philadelphia a ton of trouble in recent years, but Harris didn’t want to entertain the notion of a first-round exit, suggesting that would be a “very problematic” outcome.
Here’s more from Harris, via MacMullan, on that subject and a couple others:
On how Harris would view the season if the Sixers were to be knocked off in the first round of the playoffs:
“We’d be unhappy. I’d be unhappy. The city would be unhappy. We’re going to work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. We have enough talent on our roster that if we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can beat any team in the East.
“… We want to make sure at a minimum to advance deeper in the playoffs than we did last year. We’ve brought a lot of talent here. They haven’t been together that long, but we’re hopeful we can position them for deep run.”
On the prospect of re-signing both Butler and Harris in free agency:
“We gave up a lot to get Tobias and Jimmy on our team. We think they’re exceptional talents. We’re going to try to keep them. We know we are going to have to pay these guys in an appropriate way. We get it. It’s expensive.
“… The reality is, people like Tobias and Jimmy, there just aren’t that many of them. It’s never perfect, but when make a trade for someone who is expiring, there’s risk involved, we’re hoping we can convince them this is a great place for them.”
On discussing the direction of the franchise with star center Joel Embiid:
“Joel respects our job. He’s our most important player. He’s clearly our future — they’re all an important part of the future — but Joel is exceptional. We generally talk to him about how we are oriented, and what type of players we might be bringing in. We get his advice. In terms of specific conversations, we give him a heads-up.
“At times, it’s not always appropriate because of the other parties involved. You don’t want to compromise who we are talking to or put [Embiid] in an awkward position. “But we’re certainly thinking all the time about how to complement his skill set, which is three-and-D wings, people who spread the court. He’s a dominant presence defensively and he’s dominant in the paint. We need to take the pressure off him so people don’t collapse on him.”
- Although the Sixers are missing a couple big men and have Justin Patton for Thursday’s game, the young center probably won’t play, head coach Brett Brown told reporters today (video link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). We had more on Patton and the 76ers in an earlier round-up.
Sixers rookie wing Zhaire Smith isn’t considered likely to contribute to the NBA club down the stretch, or even play at all in Philadelphia this season. However, he appears poised to make his professional debut in the G League this week, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Smith, who has been sidelined for most of the 2018/19 season due to a broken foot, as well as complications from an allergic reaction, should get the OK to play for the Delaware Blue Coats on Friday against Maine if things go as planned, sources tell Pompey. Assuming there are no setbacks, Smith would continue to suit up and shake off the rest for Delaware down the stretch — head coach Brett Brown has said that he doesn’t expect the 2018 first-rounder to play for the 76ers this season.
Assuming Smith doesn’t make his NBA debut until 2019/20, he would be the latest in a string of Sixers first-round picks to sit out his full rookie season. Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons missed their entire rookie years, while Markelle Fultz appeared in just 14 games in his.
Here’s more from out of Philadelphia:
- Speaking of injured former first-rounders, Sixers center Justin Patton may finally get an opportunity to contribute to the NBA club, per Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com. With Embiid and Boban Marjanovic on the shelf, Philadelphia is shorthanded in the frontcourt and has recalled Patton from the G League. The young center’s first two NBA seasons have been derailed by foot injuries, but he’ll be ready to play in his second ever NBA game if the Sixers need him on Thursday. Patton will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports takes a deep dive into the Sixers’ efforts to develop chemistry and establish an identity after a pair of blockbuster in-season acquisitions (Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris). “It’s gonna take awhile to build chemistry as a collective unit, but this is something that can be special if it comes together the right way,” Harris said. “It’s gonna take time, but we’re just feeling each other out.” Philadelphia’s ability to sort things out in time for the playoffs could have a significant impact on the NBA offseason — both Butler and Harris will be free agents, and their decisions could be affected by how deep a run the 76ers make.
- In case you missed it, we passed along health updates on Embiid, Marjanovic, and Furkan Korkmaz earlier this week. Korkmaz is expected to have the lengthiest absence of the three, as he underwent surgery to repair his torn meniscus.
Here are Wednesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Timberwolves assigned veteran forward Robert Covington to their Iowa affiliate as he works his way back from a bruised knee he suffered in late December, the team announced on Twitter. Covington has played just 22 games for Minnesota since being acquired from the Sixers in November.
- The Hornets assigned guard Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a press release. Graham has posted a 23.8/4.5/4.8 line in in 10 G League games.
- The Jazz assigned guard Grayson Allen to Salt Lake City, the team announced in a release. Allen is averaging 15.7 PPG in seven games with the Stars.
- The Grizzlies recalled guard Jevon Carter from the Memphis Hustle, the team tweeted. Carter was active for tonight’s game against the Bulls.
- The Sixers recalled center Justin Patton from Delaware, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Patton will join the team for tomorrow’s game at Oklahoma City.