CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers found a groove early against the Washington Wizards on Monday. The empty side pick-and-roll between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey was working like a charm, and Embiid wanted to let coach Nick Nurse know about it.
After the Sixers finished the Wizards, Embiid revealed he told Nurse not to call anything else other than the pick-and-roll between him and Maxey. The two teamed for some terrific performances: Embiid had 48 points and Maxey had 22 and a career-high 11 assists with zero turnovers.
That type of feedback is something Nurse will take during games and make adjustments to help the Sixers succeed.
“100%,” said Nurse. “I think that when you’re out there in a game as a player, I think you can see and feel certain things, right? And if guys are seeing and feeling certain things, I certainly want them to communicate that to the coaching staff.”
Embiid wanted to make sure Nurse understood what he was seeing out on the floor. The Wizards were no match for himself and Maxey in terms of the two-man game. Philadelphia’s head coach took the advice and kept running it as the Sixers scored 146 points in an efficient offensive night.
“As much as we (the coaching staff) are studying and watch all the tape, see all the things, know how to play certain coverages, there is always a feedback of what they can do,” Nurse continued. “So, yeah, he told me that at halftime. He said, ‘They can’t stop the side pick-and-roll.’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we did it.”
Obviously, coaches have a plan going into games and they make sure everybody is on the same page, but things change midgame and Nurse has been receptive when a player points something out.
“I think that takes a little time to develop, right? But I will say this: Even back to the mid-90s, when I started coaching professional basketball, that’s what I enjoyed about it,” Nurse added. “‘What do you see? What can we do better to help you?’ I really enjoy that part about it.”
That is what leads to successful teams. When the players and the coaches can collaborate and be able to come up with ways to win and be successful, then they are going to be in a good spot every time.
“Again, these guys are super high-level players, they put a lot into the game, they’re intelligent,” Nurse finished. “I just want to be as good as we can be, and that takes everybody. Everybody’s concentration, everybody’s ideas, everybody’s thoughts. So I’ve always tried to have those types of conversations.”
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