The Philadelphia 76ers handled business on Saturday night, taking care of the banged-up Memphis Grizzlies, 116-96, for their fourth consecutive win. The Sixers now look to pick up another win when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
The Grizzlies missing so many pieces and the game turning into a blowout allowed coach Nick Nurse to experiment with his lineups. It was brief, but the Sixers ran Joel Embiid and Paul Reed together for the final two minutes of the first half.
Philadelphia went on a 12-3 run to end the half and built a 20-point halftime lead as Embiid and Reed played some stingy defense in the paint.
“It was pretty good,” Nurse told reporters after the win. “I’ve been trying to get to it here for a little bit. It gave us a chance to look at it tonight. I think there is still some viability in it. I said that at the beginning of the season. I haven’t had a chance to use it really all season, but I think there’s an option there and I’d like to continue to look at it.”
With four games left in the season, one has to wonder how much Nurse and the Sixers will use the Embiid and Reed lineups. Philadelphia faces some bad teams, starting with the Spurs on Sunday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Brooklyn Nets on April 14.
One has to figure that there will be opportunities for Nurse to implement some Embiid-Reed lineups at some point during the stretch.
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