CAMDEN, N.J.–The Philadelphia 76ers will continue the preseason schedule on Monday when they take on the Brooklyn Nets on the road. While they expect Joel Embiid’s return, it is now unlikely that they will have Furkan Korkmaz back.
Korkmaz has missed the first two preseason games due to a leg strain he suffered in training camp and coach Nick Nurse wants to see him out on the floor in order to give him a chance to earn a rotation spot.
“He did the whole practice today,” said Nurse on Sunday. “We didn’t really have much live action today though, so still looks like he’s unlikely for tomorrow now. I think I told you that he would be ready to go, but it looks like he’s unlikely for tomorrow. He’s making progress. So I need to get him in there. I need to see him.”
As for Korkmaz himself, he has been able to get back on the court in practice, but he’s still not quite ready to get back into game action.
“I feel much better,” said the veteran from Turkey. “I got a good work in now. It’s really like day-to-day. I’m really close to playing. I will be happy to see myself on the court.”
In terms of what he’s noticed about Nurse that wasn’t necessarily there under former coach Doc Rivers, Korkmaz sees more intensity. He sees everybody committed to working hard.
“It’s more like practice just kept going,” Korkmaz explained. “Like you don’t really stop practice. Whenever we are done with some drills and stuff, we just keep moving to next one, next one. There is no walking around drinking water on the sideline or something. It’s just ready to go.”
In order to get his guys ready to go, Nurse has brought in DJ Ghost, the team’s DJ, to play music during practices and keep guys engaged. Ghost has also played sound effects for specific plays. For example, when somebody makes a slot cut on offense, the jackpot sound is played.
“When you come in, it’s just practice time,” Korkmaz continued. “You’re ready to go and a lot of like changing as you see DJ Ghost is here. Like a lot of things change, of course, and I think it’s gonna be really positive for us.”
When asked if he likes the up-tempo style Nurse has used in practice, Korkmaz did have a request.
“It’s good, but I will tell Ghost to play some Turkish music in practices, so I can get it going, too,” he laughed. “I’m enjoying now.”
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