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Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Nurse, Pritchard, Robinson

April 13th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers avoided a potential disaster Friday night on their way to a seventh straight win, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Joel Embiid, playing for the fifth time since returning from meniscus surgery, was limping and grabbing his knee after making a shot late in the second quarter. He walked to the locker room to have it examined and was able to return for the start of the second half.

“They assessed him at halftime and there was no swelling, no damage, none of that kind of stuff,” coach Nick Nurse told reporters after the game (video link). “… They said he should be OK to try it, and he wanted to try the second half and it was OK. We’ll have to again, just like we do everybody in every game, assess it again tomorrow morning and see what happens.”

Nurse said the knee responded “good” overnight and Embiid was able to participate in a light practice Saturday in preparation for the season finale against Brooklyn, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers face several playoff scenarios heading into Sunday, but Nurse said that won’t have any effect on his coaching strategy, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nurse is more concerned with establishing a rhythm heading into the postseason than trying to create a favorable matchup.
With the Celtics resting their starters Friday, Payton Pritchard responded with the best night of his career, notes Brian Robb of MassLive. Pritchard posted 31 points and 11 assists, making him the first Celtic since Larry Bird to reach those numbers in 31 minutes or fewer. This is the first season that playing time hasn’t been an issue for Pritchard, and he’s seizing the opportunity. “For any player, you get spot minutes, it’s tough,” he said. “You don’t know when it’s gonna come. When you do get minutes, like what is your role out there? What are you being put out there for? I think in the past, a lot of the time it wasn’t necessarily for me to be like a point guard or even like a playmaker. It was really to try to come in and hit some threes and bring energy defensively, rebounding, stuff like that. I think my role has definitely grown a little bit this year. With that, I’ve grown and been better at playmaking. But just making the game easier for myself, but also my teammates.”
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson was able to play the entire fourth quarter Friday, which is a significant milestone in his return from ankle surgery, observes Steve Popper of Newsday. “Mitch makes plays that no one else can just in terms of impacting shots, pick-and-roll coverage,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So I thought he was terrific. Mitch can cover a lot of ground and I thought that was huge for us.”

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Sixers, Holiday, Celtics, Raptors

April 12th, 2024 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

While some star players may play reduced roles in the final days of the regular season to ensure they’re fresh for the postseason, Sixers center Joel Embiid is looking to go in the opposite direction. After logging nearly 36 minutes on Tuesday in his fourth game back following a knee procedure, Embiid suggested he’d welcome a big workload again on Friday and Sunday, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required).

“Playing as many minutes as possible,” Embiid said when asked what he needs to do to get ready for the playoffs. “.. The next one, I hope the game’s not close, but if it is, to go over that 35-minute mark. Try and get to 40 and then the last game of the season, same thing.”

While the 76ers won’t want to push their franchise player too hard so soon after his return, they’re still battling for positioning in the Eastern Conference playoff race and have a chance to claim a top-six spot with victories in their final two games. Embiid is also still working on getting his conditioning back to its pre-injury level and may get a chance this weekend to build chemistry with a relatively healthy Sixers roster.

“We haven’t played with the full crew yet,” Nicolas Batum said on Tuesday, according to Pompey. “I think the next game will be finally the one. We will have Tyrese (Maxey) and KL (Kyle Lowry) back. We got Joel. We just miss RoCo (Robert Covington). … I think we are more focused on (players returning than seeding). We are focused on how we can be the best team past (Sunday).”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

In a mailbag for The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required), Pompey addresses several Sixers-related topics, indicating that he doesn’t expect Tobias Harris to be moved to the bench and confirming that Paul George is expected to be the team’s top free agent target this offseason.
Jrue Holiday will turn 34 this June, so he knows that the four-year, $135MM extension he signed with the Celtics this week could be his last NBA contract, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Holiday said it was a “pretty easy” decision to sign that deal and to remain in Boston. “I think mutually we just came to an agreement and felt like this was what was best for not only me, but for the team and, just hope it works,” Holiday said. “I want to be here. I want to win multiple rings. I’ve heard people say that here plenty of times, so I’m ready for that.”
Holiday’s extension ensures that the Celtics‘ top six players will be under contract for next season and reduces the team’s projected 2025 tax bill, but it raises some questions about the club’s long-term cap situation, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com, who explores the possibility of an eventual extension for Derrick White and considers how long Boston can keep its core intact.
Who’s to blame for a miserable Raptors season? Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca explores that question, ultimately suggesting that Toronto’s front office probably deserves more criticism than it has received for the current state of the team.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Reed, Celtics, Tillman, M. Williams

April 7th, 2024 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joel Embiid isn’t eligible to win a second straight Most Valuable Player award, but that doesn’t bother him at all, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers center will fall far short of the 65-game minimum to be considered for postseason honors after sitting out two months following meniscus surgery. Embiid returned this week and he’s enjoying being able to play without having to worry about the MVP race.

“I’m happy I’m not even in the conversation,” he said. “That conversation has been toxic for a very long time. I’ll be honest, this year is kind of boring. This year, there’s not enough toxicity going around. So it’s pretty fun, but at some point, it’s pretty bad, too. I’m glad I’m not nowhere near that. I’m just focused on getting back healthy. Obviously, all great candidates and they all deserve to win, which is unfortunate that only one person has [a chance] to win.”

Embiid admitted that he battled depression after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in late January, Pompey adds. Embiid is still dealing with those issues, but he said returning to the game and being with his teammates has helped improve his mental state.

“For me personally, I didn’t have to come back, but I want to play,” Embiid said. “I love playing basketball, and I want to be on the floor.”

Embiid will miss tonight’s game at San Antonio for injury recovery purposes, Pompey tweets.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Coach Nick Nurse experimented with a Twin Towers approach in Saturday’s win at Memphis, Pompey adds in a separate story. Embiid and Paul Reed played together for part of the second quarter, allowing the Sixers‘ perimeter players to be more aggressive with two shot blockers protecting the rim. “That’s something that I hope that we can go back to at some point,” Reed said. “I always look forward to playing with him at the same time. And I’m just glad I was able to play with him tonight, get the opportunity.”
The “stay ready crew” that comes off the Celtics‘ bench is significantly better than the reserves Joe Mazzulla had to work with last season, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Mazzulla rested his starters for the final six minutes of Friday’s win over Sacramento, giving the reserves some experience with a game on the line. “I feel like he’s doing a great job of keeping everybody involved,” Svi Mykhailiuk said. “That makes everybody stay ready because you might get that call at any time. You’ve got to be prepared, make sure you do your work, and buy into whatever we’re doing. You’ve got to understand we’ve got one of the best teams in the league — five, six All-Stars on the team — and just seeing the big picture. I think tonight showed that we’re a really deep team and coach really believes in us.”
Xavier Tillman, whom the Celtics acquired at midseason to provide frontcourt depth, was thrilled to hit his first NBA game-winner Friday night, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Tillman sank a floater with 7.4 seconds remaining, and Boston held on for a one-point victory. “It was great getting the opportunity to do that,” Tillman said. “I feel like because it was crunch time, I was really locked in. Obviously the crowd was loud, but I was really zoned in, so it didn’t faze me as much. But it was great practice as far as what we’re going to go through as far as having that mental fortitude.”
Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca examines the unlikely journey of Malik Williams, who signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors this week and wound up starting in his NBA debut. Toronto has used 30 players — one short of the record set this season by Memphis — which is why there was an opportunity for Williams, who was cut by the G League team in Sioux Falls earlier this season.

Sixers Fined $100K For Violating Injury Reporting Rules

April 5th, 2024 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Sixers have been penalized by the NBA for violating the league’s injury reporting rules. According to a press release (via Twitter), the franchise was hit with a $100K fine for its latest violation.

As we outlined earlier this week, reports on Monday suggested that star center Joel Embiid had a chance to return vs. the Thunder on Tuesday following a two-month injury absence. However, he was officially listed as out for the game, then didn’t attend the team’s shootaround on Tuesday.

It wasn’t until after 5:30 pm Eastern on Tuesday that Embiid was upgraded to questionable. He was ultimately determined to be available in a game-time decision.

The NBA’s announcement today said the 76ers were fined for failing to accurately disclose Embiid’s status for that Tuesday game and that the penalty takes into account the team’s prior history of fines for similar violations.

The most recent of those fines occurred on February 1 for a previous episode involving Embiid. In that instance, the reigning MVP wasn’t listed on the injury report at all for a January 27 game in Denver until he was ruled out just hours before tip-off. The NBA fined the Sixers $75K in that case, again citing the club’s history of injury reporting violations.

Sixers Notes: Oubre, Embiid, Hield, Harris, Melton, Covington

April 4th, 2024 at 10:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. is reveling in Philadelphia’s new outlook on playoff life with the return of superstar center Joel Embiid, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“It’s like the first day of school again,” Oubre said after the team beat the Thunder 109-105 Tuesday, in part thanks to Embiid’s 24-point, seven-assist, six-rebound night. “You’re kind of coming back from spring break or winter break, and you know you’ve got your friend back. He’s the cool guy in class that we’ve definitely been missing… But that’s our team. We built this team around him, and we have to continue to just polish the pieces around it so we can be a well-oiled machine.”

The Sixers followed up Tuesday’s victory with a big win over Miami on Thursday, pulling within a half-game of the Heat for the No. 7 spot in the East and one game of Indiana for No. 6.

In his two games back, Embiid is averaging 26.5 points, 5.5 assists and five rebounds. Embiid had been away from the club for eight weeks following a meniscus injury, and in that time the Sixers have fallen from the top of the Eastern Conference into the play-in tournament bracket.

There’s more out of Philadelphia:

Sixers swingman Buddy Hield, who joined the team at February’s trade deadline, is looking forward to developing his chemistry with Embiid, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I just think he does provide open looks,” Hield said. “He’s just so good in the short roll, and his big body, and he’s always [being double-teamed, so] teams overlook guys and you just have to be ready for the catch-and-shoot.”
Sixers forward Tobias Harris, who hurt his left knee late in the win over the Thunder, missed the team’s matchup against the Heat tonight due to that knee injury, per Pompey (Twitter link). Pompey tweets that imaging indicated Harris incurred a bone bruise, but he may only be sidelined for a game or two, a source tells The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Sixers are still hoping that two key role players will, like Embiid before them, return to the hardwood before the end of the season, writes Pompey in another piece. Starting shooting guard De’Anthony Melton has been on the shelf for the club since February 27 with lumbar spine bone stress. Combo forward Robert Covington hasn’t played since December 30 due to a left knee bone bruise. “I think we’re still trying,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “I think they’re getting on the court. That’s always a good sign so I think they’re still a little ways away… I don’t think we’ll rule them out unless we absolutely have to for good, but we’ll see.”

Injury Updates: Embiid, Lillard, Hart, Sharpe, Turner, Sochan, Huerter

April 3rd, 2024 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joel Embiid returned to the Sixers‘ lineup Tuesday, but he may not be available for an important showdown in Miami Thursday night, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The reigning MVP is listed as questionable for the contest after playing nearly 30 minutes and scoring 24 points in his first game since undergoing meniscus surgery in late January.

Tomorrow’s game will go a long way toward determining which teams wind up in the play-in tournament. The Heat are currently in sixth place at 42-33, followed by the Pacers at 43-34 and Philadelphia at 41-35. Miami can clinch the tiebreaker over the Sixers with a win.

Philadelphia could be missing several rotation players even if Embiid is cleared, Pompey adds. Also listed as questionable are Tyrese Maxey, who missed the past two games with tightness in his left hip, Tobias Harris, who has a hyperextended left knee, and Mohamed Bamba, who sat out Tuesday’s game with an illness.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

Bucks coach Doc Rivers provided an update on Damian Lillard, who sat out Tuesday and tonight with a right groin strain, tweets Eric Nehm of The Journal-Sentinel. Rivers said Lillard is “feeling a lot better” today and there’s hope that he’ll be able to return Friday. “I think he’s closer,” Rivers said. “I cannot guarantee that, though. … Now that’s one (injury) that if it’s not 100 percent or 90-whatever percentile they put him in, then no. With that one, we’re just not going to take any chances. It’s not worth it.”
Josh Hart is the latest addition to the Knicks‘ injury report, being listed as questionable for Friday’s game at Chicago with a sprained right wrist, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). Hart was icing the wrist at the morning shootaround before Tuesday’s contest, Bondy adds.
Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, who hasn’t played since January 11 due to core muscle surgery, is moving closer to a return, coach Chauncey Billups told reporters, including Casey Holdahl (Twitter link). “(Sharpe) is getting better, getting on the court with us,” Billups said. “He did a few things in our practice the other day, I thought he looked good so I was really excited about that. … We’ll just keep trying to ramp him up, challenge him physically to see if he can take it.”
Pacers center Myles Turner sat out Wednesday’s loss at Brooklyn after dislocating his right index finger while dunking on Monday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan confirmed that he underwent successful surgery today on his left ankle, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Sochan hopes to be recovered in time to join the Polish national team for this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament, Orsborn adds.
Kings guard Kevin Huerter had successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The team expects him to be ready for the start of next season.

NBA To Look At Sixers For Possible Injury Reporting Violation

April 3rd, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is expected to take a look at the Sixers to determine whether they violated the league’s injury reporting rules with their handling of Joel Embiid leading up to Tuesday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, TNT reporter Jared Greenberg said prior to last night’s game (Twitter video link).

As Greenberg notes, after reports on Monday suggested that Embiid had a chance to return vs. the Thunder following a two-month injury absence, he was officially listed as out for the game, then didn’t attend the team’s shootaround on Tuesday. He was upgraded to questionable after 5:30 pm Eastern on Tuesday and was ultimately determined to be available in a game-time decision.

“I’ve spoken to multiple people inside the NBA league office and we should expect some sort of investigation into how the Sixers handled the injury report, going from out, out, out to questionable to playing in this short span of time,” Greenberg said. “The league office will certainly take note of that.”

The Sixers were fined by the NBA’s league office on February 1 for a previous episode involving Embiid and the injury report. In that instance, the reigning MVP wasn’t listed on the injury report at all for a January 27 game in Denver until he was ruled out just hours before tip-off.

The NBA fined the franchise $75K for that violation, stating in its announcement that the penalty “takes into account Philadelphia’s prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules.” That’s likely to be the case again this time around if the league determines the team didn’t follow the required steps.

The 76ers likely won’t be too concerned about whatever fine they may receive for an injury reporting violation, given how well Embiid’s return went. Although the star center wasn’t at the top of his game and – as Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton of ESPN note – appeared “visibly exhausted” at times during nearly 30 minutes of action, he scored 24 points and helped the club secure an important victory over the Thunder.

Embiid appeared to get through the game without any setbacks and told reporters that he hopes to suit up again on Thursday, in what will be a big game at Miami. The Sixers (41-35) currently trail the Heat (42-33) by 1.5 games for the No. 7 seed in the East, with the Pacers (43-33) a half-game ahead of Miami for the No. 6 spot. A loss on Thursday would make a top-six finish an extreme long shot for Philadelphia, likely relegating the team to the play-in tournament.

Joel Embiid Returns To Action After Two-Month Absence

April 2nd, 2024 at 6:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:05pm: Embiid is in the starting lineup, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

5:02pm: Sixers center Joel Embiid is expected to return tonight against the Thunder, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Embiid will be making his first appearance since Jan. 30 after undergoing knee surgery.

He was originally ruled out for Tuesday’s game but was upgraded to questionable earlier today. Embiid has been able to participate in numerous five-on-five scrimmages during the past week without any ill effects to his left knee.

The reigning MVP has been sidelined since January 30 when Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg in a game at Golden State. He underwent surgery on February 6 and was given a one- to two-month prognosis to return.

Prior to the injury, Embiid was posting big stats across the board — 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. His return, barring a setback, gives Philadelphia renewed hope for a postseason run.

Without him, the Sixers have slipped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are 2.5 games behind Indiana for the sixth spot, which would allow the Sixers to avoid the play-in tournament.

Atlantic Notes: Lowry, Embiid, Anunoby, Watford

April 2nd, 2024 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Since joining the Sixers as a buyout-market signing, Kyle Lowry has started 15 of the 18 games he has played for his hometown team, averaging 8.7 points and 4.8 assists per night while knocking down 39.0% of his three-point attempts.

As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, Lowry’s role in Philadelphia is among the biggest any buyout player in recent history has taken on, but that’s perhaps not surprising given the history between the veteran point guard and the Sixers’ head coach. Lowry and Nick Nurse were together for years in Toronto, including for the team’s 2019 championship, and Nurse still trusts the six-time All-Star at age 38.

“He’s a good organizer,” Nurse said. “I think that he’s really helped our defense get better and better just by (understanding) a lot of the things that we want to do as a coaching staff. He kind of makes sure they get done out there on the floor. He’s been really good in that sense.”

For his part, Lowry has been ready and willing to accept a lesser role than the one he played under Nurse in Toronto.

“I’m not the go-to guy on this team. I’m the guy that is going to help the go-to guys get better, get open looks,” Lowry said. “If I need to be a go-to guy, I can. Whatever I’m needed (for), I will be able to do.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Confirming reporting that Joel Embiid is very close to returning for the Sixers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said during a SportsCenter appearance on Monday that Embiid’s knee has been “sound” during his ramp-up process and that he’s focused now on improving his conditioning (Twitter video link).
The Knicks have updated the designation for OG Anunoby‘s right elbow injury, referring to it as tendinopathy – also known as tennis elbow – after having previously listed him as out due to “injury management,” per Stefan Bondy and Michael Blinn of The New York Post. Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show on Monday (Twitter video link) that Anunoby appears more likely than Julius Randle to return to action in the coming days or weeks.
After being in and out of the Nets‘ rotation for much of the season, forward Trendon Watford has been very productive off the bench for the past five games, averaging 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists with a .667/.500/.647 shooting line in 25.4 minutes per night, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The late-season surge may help convince Brooklyn to issue him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent this offseason. “I just take advantage of the work I’ve been putting in in the dark,” Watford said. “And I felt like even early in the year when I felt like I should have been playing, even when I wasn’t, I was still just putting in the work, knowing opportunities were going to come.”

Joel Embiid Making Progress, Out Tuesday

April 1st, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:48pm: Embiid has officially been listed as out for Tuesday’s game, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

9:07am: Sixers center Joel Embiid continues to make progress in his return from meniscus surgery and may be cleared to play Tuesday night against Oklahoma City, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Sources tell Charania that Embiid has been able to participate in numerous five-on-five scrimmages during the past week without any ill effects to his left knee. He and the team are still working to determine his return date, Charania adds.

If Embiid doesn’t play on Tuesday, he’s likely to be back at some point later this week, according to Charania’s sources. Philadelphia will travel to Miami on Thursday, Memphis on Saturday and San Antonio on Sunday.

The reigning MVP has been sidelined since January 30 when Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg in a game at Golden State. He underwent surgery on February 6 and was given a one- to two-month prognosis to return.

Embiid was in the midst of another outstanding season, but there were concerns about his ability to reach the 65-game limit to qualify for postseason honors even before the latest injury. He was a late scratch for a January 27 game in Denver after trainers watched him in warmups and determined that knee soreness made it risky for him to play.

Embiid is averaging career-highs of 35.3 points and 5.7 assists through 34 games. He’s also contributing 11.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per night while shooting 53.3% from the field and 36.6% from three-point range.

A healthy Embiid would provide a huge lift for the Sixers, who have fallen into play-in territory without him in the lineup. With seven games remaining, Philadelphia is eighth in the East at 40-35, a game-and-a-half behind seventh-place Miami and two games away from sixth-place Indiana.