Just Now: 76ers. Head coach Discover That A Star Player Want To Leave…..

BY DECLAN HARRIS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PHILADELPHIA 76ERS NEWS, ANALYSIS AND MORE UPDATED JANUARY 03, 2024 6:18 PM

On Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Chicago Bulls, which featured Joel Embiid for the first time in nearly two weeks, as the reigning MVP returned from an ankle injury. While Embiid rejoined the lineup, De’Anthony Melton a regular starter sat out, as he was suffering from soreness in his lower back prior to the match, meaning that Nick Nurse had some adjustments to make to his line up. When the Sixers took to the court, the lineup consisted of Tyrese Maxey, Nicolas Batum, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr, and the aforementioned Embiid, with Nurse explaining that size was a big factor for the lineup. “I mean I think it’s good, it’s pretty big right, with Kelly, Nico, and Tobias in the middle there, that’s pretty good size,” said Nurse. Looking at the match ups player by player, the Sixers were taller than the Bulls in nearly every category, which could be the main reason they dominated in the paint, outscoring the visitors eight to sixteen in the first quarter. Size in the paint wasn’t the only thing that the lineup did well, as Nurse applauded their efforts to stay on top of Chicago’s offense, which according to the coach is usually a problem for larger lineups, especially given the persistence of Billy Donovan’s team. “I think that they did a good job, I think we made a bunch of adjustments to try to keep the ball in front of us… every guy they got just kind of puts their head down and drives, and does it again and again, so it is a challenge…” said the Sixers’ head coach, “I thought that group did good and that was one of the challenges that you have being a bit bigger than them all the way across the board.” While some may have seen Nurse’s adjustments against the Bulls as a way of testing out bigger lineups for some more important matches down the stretch against sides with more size such as the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks, the 56-year-old was more interested in seeing how he could pivot different players around on the court. “Not that, I don’t think I really start thinking about that at all,” said Nurse, “I think what I do do as I mentioned before the game was kind of curious about thinking that Kelly could jump to the two, and Nic [Batum] at the three, some of that could be a possibility.”

The Sixers’ head coach explained that experimenting while your team is successful isn’t always in the go-to option, as changes are usually only made when they’re absolutely needed. “Usually you don’t do that kind of stuff especially when you’re team is playing well, you’ve got to wait for the moment when it forces your hand to do it and then you get your chance to evaluate it, then you kind of keep it in your tool box for possibilities depending on how games go or based on matchups.” Yet there weren’t just adjustments made to the starting lineup as several bench players received more game time given the Sixers’ sizeable lead allowing the starting lineup to sit for most of the fourth quarter. Jaden Springer, who featured in moments prior to the fourth, played all 12 minutes at the end of the game, with KJ Martin, Mo Bamba, as well as Ricky Council IV and Kenneth Lofton Jr of the Delaware Blue Coats receiving some notable game time as well. The deep bench rotation struggled, as only three members were able to score, which allowed Chicago to creep in on the Sixers lead, outscoring the hosts 25-12 in the closing quarter. While he felt that the side struggled, Nurse notes that as long as the team is playing well, they’ll continue to play as he knows competition for rotation time remains a big factor for the deep reserves. “They were having a tough time, but usually if we play well, we just keep playing,” said Nurse, “Those guys are fighting for rotation minutes, and stuff like that, it wasn’t great tonight but it’s okay,” explained Nurse. Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.