Tag: Nick Nurse

76ers coach Nick Nurse is already sick of questions about Joel Embiid’s and Paul George’s health

The 76ers are handling their Joel Embiid and Paul George plan in the worst possible way.

The Philadelphia 76ers are committed to conserving Joel Embiid and Paul George as much as they possibly can for a hopeful deep postseason run. Which, as they should be. But after a troubling 1-2 start without their two best players, it seems head coach Nick Nurse might be getting a little fed up by the whole predicament.

On Tuesday, the 76ers released a statement that both Embiid and George would miss the team’s home matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. They will apparently be reevaluated later this week, but there is no set debut date in the books yet. (Note: Philadelphia does not play again until Saturday.)

As one should expect, Nurse naturally fielded questions about the health of Embiid and George at a press conference after the statement. I should say that he took two questions before passive-aggressively cutting everyone off and changing the subject.

Uh, testy much?

Look, I understand Nurse’s frustration about repeatedly having a conversation that hasn’t had a resolution for over a week now. There are few things I think people are more annoyed by than having to repeat themselves over and over. From this regard, the testiness is warranted.

At the same time, as the 76ers relatively struggle, any questions about George and Embiid likely missing almost the team’s first two weeks of the season are reasonable. This entire rebuilt Philadelphia core is centered around those two playing and playing at a high level — even if it’s less than you might expect during the regular season.

All anyone is asking for is more transparency about the status of two All-NBA-caliber superstars. Philadelphia’s fans deserve as much, even if they’ve bought into the idea of their team trying to be ready for mid-April first.

Nurse should really be more cognizant of that dynamic instead of offering up touchy responses like this.

Nick Nurse discusses Sixers adding Paul George, other additions

Coach Nick Nurse gives his thoughts on the Philadelphia 76ers adding Paul George and others in the roster.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason as President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has taken advantage of the cap space he was able to create.

The Sixers have brought in Paul George to form a Big 3 with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and fill their need for a wing player. They also brought in Andre Drummond to fill the backup center role behind Embiid. Caleb Martin is another addition expected to make an impact and Eric Gordon is somebody who can shoot the ball well.

The Sixers also locked up Tyrese Maxey long-term and brought back Kelly Oubre Jr. This has been a terrific offseason for Philadelphia thus far on paper.

Coach Nick Nurse joined the ESPN broadcast with Craig Bolerjack and Thurl Bailey while at the Salt Lake City summer league matchup between the Sixers and the Memphis Grizzlies and had this to say about George and the other additions:

We think we’ve done some good things. Obviously, adding PG there, we got our middle filled up there. We’ve got Tyrese and Joel at the 1 and the 5. I think PG fits right in there. Also re-signed Kelly Oubre another wing that played well for us. Caleb Martin as well. Drummond the backup to Joel. Yeah, we’ve done a good job. I think right now, we feel like we’re much better than we were a year ago.

Time will tell if the Sixers will be able to grow and get to where they want to go, but one can obviously see the improvements and the steps the Sixers have taken to get to this point. The goal now is to get over the hump in the Eastern Conference finally and that will be on Nurse to make it all work.

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Nick Nurse confident Sixers can win with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey

Coach Nick Nurse expresses confidence that the Philadelphia 76ers can win with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot to look forward to heading into the offseason. Despite a tough Round 1 exit at the hands of the New York Knicks, the Sixers have a star duo in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey that should excite everybody.

Embiid was on his way to winning his second consecutive MVP award before the unfortunate meniscus injury he suffered in January which caused him to miss two months. He was scoring efficiently and had his playmaking abilities unlocked.

Maxey blossomed in the 2023-24 season and made his first All-Star appearance. He’s only going to get better and the Sixers now have the challenge of building the roster around the two stars.

Coach Nick Nurse hopped on “The Draymond Green Show” and expressed confidence in Embiid, Maxey, and the Sixers as a whole to get the job done in the offseason:

First of all, you’re 100% right about Tyrese. He makes every room he goes into better. I still think he’s got a ceiling that hasn’t been hit yet. I think he’s got to—he doesn’t understand how good he’s gonna be yet. I can’t wait to see him keep growing, and listen, I think that as you know, man we need—we got a whole bunch of roster spots. We got a whole bunch of money to spend and we got to piece it together around those two guys like who complements them. Who’s got some toughness? Who’s got some winning spirit? Who’s got some winning experience? Who’s not afraid? Who can accept some roles? All that kind of stuff that you need to build a team that we’re certainly trying. I believe in my front office and Daryl (Morey) and Elton (Brand) and ownership and all that stuff, and I certainly believe in those two players.

The Sixers will be looking to add some win-now players around Embiid and Maxey so they can challenge the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. The Cs are the defending champs and they have been to at least the conference finals in four of the previous five seasons.

Nurse is right in expressing confidence in Embiid and Maxey. If the Sixers could have just one healthy playoff run from Embiid, then who knows what this team could do? Combine that possibility with the continued rise of Maxey and the Sixers have a lot to look forward to in the coming seasons.

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Sixers’ Nick Nurse would like to see NBA shorten the regular season

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse suggests that the league should maybe shorten the regular season a bit.

The Philadelphia 76ers battled through a year filled with injuries and adversity in the 2023-24 season as Joel Embiid missed two months due to a meniscus injury and other key pieces missed time as well.

Coach Nick Nurse led the Sixers to a 47-35 season despite Embiid missing so much time, De’Anthony Melton missing a ton of time, and Robert Covington, Nic Batum, and others missing pockets of time. The rigors of the 82-game season can be tough to work through for any NBA team, really.

Nurse hopped on “The Draymond Green Show” and was asked about any changes the league could make to the regular season and he said he’s here for it as Green suggested possibly shortening the season:

I think I would be in favor of that. I don’t know how it all works out logistically, monetarily, all that kind of stuff, but I certainly agree with your point. Like, here’s what I would say is you go back and say ‘Oh, man back in the early 90s, these guys played all 82 games’, but it was like you dribbled down they throw it in the block and two guys stand—you know—there was a lot of standing around. It was not anywhere near what it is now. Everybody kind of can do everything now. Right? Everybody has to guard everybody. Everybody’s got a guard on the perimeter. Everybody’s gotta guard the 3. There’s a lot more transition. So I think the activity level and and just in general, like if the pace is twice as fast, it means we’re doing twice as much probably, right? So the chances for injury and all that stuff should be twice as great as well. Right?

To Nurse’s point, the players in the league right now do so much. Embiid does so much on the floor in terms of being able to protect the basket, switch out on a guard on the perimeter in the pick-and-roll, be a playmaker on offense, and handle the ball. Eventually, that is going to wear on a guy.

Should the NBA shorten the season? Probably, but that’s not likely to happen. Embiid, Nurse, and the Sixers will have to find a way to deliver the big fella to the postseason as healthy as possible.

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Sixers’ Nick Nurse gives thoughts on Caitlin Clark being left off Olympic roster

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse gives his thoughts on Caitlin Clark not making the Olympic roster.

The USA women’s team announced their roster for the Paris Olympics and there was one noticeable absence on the roster: Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.

The No. 1 overall pick of the WNBA draft is averaging 16.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 37.3% from the floor and 33.3% from deep. She has had her ups and downs while dealing with the physicality of the professional game, but she is still an obvious talent and one has to assume she will figure it out.

With Clark being left off the Olympic roster, a debate has sparked in the basketball world. Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse had this to say about Clark:

I almost can’t believe it because I agree with you that the ratings and just everything probably continues to roll on if she’s on the team. I’m pretty surprised she’s not on the team.

Nurse is a native of Iowa. He has a lot of love for Clark and the program so he wants to see her succeed.

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Coach Nick Nurse describes the type of player Sixers want to acquire

Coach Nick Nurse describes the type of player the Philadelphia 76ers would like to acquire in the 2024 offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers will be one of the more active teams in the upcoming offseason due to the cap space that President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey strategically created during the season.

The Sixers will be looking to bring in a third star next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in order to contend in the Eastern Conference and take down the Boston Celtics in the East.

Coach Nick Nurse, who did a terrific job with what he was dealt with during the season, joined “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and described the type of player the Sixers would like to acquire in the offseason:

We talked about it a lot. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of cap space and a lot of roster to fill, and you’re right. I mean, I think Tyrese was amazing this year, Joel was playing the best basketball of his career, which is saying something, until the injury. So I think we got two great guys to build around. Finding the right pieces that are going to be able to space and shoot, defend, and rebound. Have some IQ, have some late game moxie and guts, and the things that it takes is really the key for us to get to where we want to go which is—you know—we wish we were playing now that’s for sure.

The Sixers have to make sure they nail down this offseason. They have a fantastic opportunity with the cap space they possess to bring in a big time player and help Embiid and Maxey get the job done in the East. Nurse and Morey will be step in step with each other in order to prepare for the June 30 free agency period.

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Sixers coach Nick Nurse has strong praise for draft prospect Zach Edey

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse has high praise for Purdue draft prospect Zach Edey.

The Philadelphia 76ers have the No. 16 pick in the upcoming 2024 NBA draft as they head into an important offseason. One has to wonder what the Sixers will do with that pick due to President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey’s tendency to trade picks for win-now players.

There is one intriguing prospect at No. 16 for Philadelphia: Purdue big man Zach Edey. He has been absolutely dominant at the collegiate level, averaging 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in the 2023-24 season on his way to winning AP Player of the Year for the second time in his career.

However, many wonder what he will do in the NBA. Edey is not the quickest player and one has to wonder if he will be able to keep up with some of the quicker players in the league.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse hopped on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd and gave his thoughts on Edey as he reflected on his time coaching Team Canada:

I love him. He was 18 years old, and we were in our first training camp, and we needed some of our young kids there, and we had about four or five of them, and our guys didn’t know what to do with him. Couldn’t stop him. Forget this kid going to play in the under-18 world championship, let’s take him with our team. We didn’t do that that year, but I said, ‘Listen, this guy’s got to be part of our program.’ He’s certainly a problem. He’s super competitive. Really a super hard worker. He’s out there every day working. He’s out there every day playing. Like there’s a lot to like about this guy.

One has to wonder what Edey’s future is. Some have likened him to former Sixers big man Boban Marjanovic, but others believe he can be a star in this league. Maybe Nurse and the Sixers will give him a chance in Philadelphia.

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Nick Nurse evaluates first Sixers season, says there’s work to be done

Nick Nurse evaluates his first season as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers after the Round 1 elimination.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers finished the first season under coach Nick Nurse with some positives. Yes, they lost in first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks in six games, but Nurse instilled a great deal of confidence and resilience into this group.

The Sixers battled through significant adversity as a group. The injuries to Joel Embiid, De’Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and even Tyrese Maxey for stretches made it tough to get everybody on the same page. Throw in the big James Harden trade and the deadline day moves and Nurse had to juggle a great deal in his first go-around.

“The season was kind of like that series,” Nurse said. “It was really difficult. I thought we had a lot of injury issues and stuff like that all year long, but I thought we fought. We tried to figure out a way to fight. Listen, when you’re coaching and you’ve got so much movement with who’s in and who’s out, you never get quite as organized or in sync or connectivity you’d love to have as a coach.”

Throughout the season, Nurse had to manage numerous pieces and seemingly endless rotation shuffling.

“It felt like we had to do a lot of stuff on the fly,” Nurse added. “A lot of stuff off the board. A lot of stuff like that. That makes it tough, but again, it is what it is. You gotta figure it out. That’s what it is. I think we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Nurse runs numerous unorthodox schemes. He needs everybody to buy into what he’s preaching, and everybody has to understand their parts in the team’s success. They didn’t have a chance to develop that continuity.

“There was a time we had a whole bunch of guys out,” Nurse added. “All anyone kept talking about was Joel was out, but we had a whole fleet of guys out, and the challenge was, can we get them to a compete level? Can we get out there and compete? We had to raise up our level of just competing. So I thought we did a really good job of that. We just keep teaching and coaching and filming and all that stuff, just trying to push them to get better and play harder.”

Nurse definitely got the Sixers to compete. They battled on a nightly basis, and Philadelphia was certainly competitive in number of games it shouldn’t have been. The Sixers needed to execute much better than they did. That will come with time.

“I thought we did a good job of that,” Nurse finished. “But no. I feel like nearly as enough of just — special situations, end-of-game stuff, ATO stuff, it was just probably not as sharp as I would’ve liked to have had it. I think they did really good. Even in a lot of these games, we ended up executing a lot. We got a lot of good shots and a lot of good buckets late in the game, so they were doing a lot of that off the board and they did a good job.”

Nurse will head into his first full offseason as coach of the Sixers. He knows the work that must be done. So does the front office. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

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Nick Nurse has encouraging words for Sixers big man Paul Reed

Coach Nick Nurse has some encouraging words regarding Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed.

CAMDEN, N.J. — It has been a tough first-round series for Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed. Through five games, he’s averaging 1.8 points and 2.4 rebounds and didn’t played in the second half of either Game 4 or Game 5 because his first-half minutes haven’t been great.

Coach Nick Nurse understands this is the playoffs and every possession matters. He has not been afraid to make adjustments such as going to Cam Payne over Buddy Hield after the latter’s slow start or going with Joel Embiid the entire second half of games due to Reed’s struggles.

Despite that, Nurse has good words for Reed. He believes in the young big man. He doesn’t need to have a talk with him or anything.

“No, I mean, listen he’s trying hard, right?” said Nurse on Wednesday. “He’s been really close on some stuff. It just hasn’t bounced his way, but it isn’t for lack of effort or anything. You kinda gotta, again, short memory. He got his hands on a bunch of balls last night that normally he probably grabs and sticks one or two of those back in and all that, but it just doesn’t happen. I’m not worried about his effort level.”

The Sixers will likely continue to turn to Reed. He has been the main backup to Embiid all season, and there is no reason to change in the playoffs unless Nurse sees another option. His energy can be infectious, and he has shown that he can produce when called upon.

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Sixers drawing on toughness they’ve built to help them in Game 6

The Philadelphia 76ers will be drawing on the toughness they have built to help them beat the New York Knicks in Game 6.

CAMDEN, N.J. — In the past, the Philadelphia 76ers have been unable to come out on top in tough situations. When faced with adversity in the past, the Sixers would not be able to find a way to be successful.

However, the Game 5 road win over the New York Knicks was impressive. Philadelphia trailed by six with 28.2 seconds left with its season on the line. Instead of giving up, the Sixers dug deep and were able to walk away with a win in order to keep the season alive.

As Philadelphia heads into Game 6, the toughness it has built throughout the season will have to come to light. The Sixers hung around while Joel Embiid went through his meniscus procedure and injuries to other key pieces. Now, they will have to be tough against the Knicks.

“Listen, it should make your team a little better and tougher as you go,” said coach Nick Nurse. “I think you need these experiences. To get the best version of this team out, you’ve got to go through a lot of situations. And usually, tough situations where you come through the other side can help at some point down the line.”

With that being said, just because the Sixers have gone through a lot and have built up that toughness doesn’t mean they will win Game 6. They will have to execute and continue to keep New York off the glass, but those tough times will help them in this case.

“That doesn’t always mean it’s going to help the next game or anything,” Nurse said of the grit his team has built. “But it just gives you some experience that you’ve got some resolve, right?”

Tip off for a win-or-go-home Game 6 is set for 9 p.m. EDT for the Sixers on Thursday.

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