Sixers heartsick over death of Embiid's brother

UPDATE: On Friday morning, Bob Cooney reported via Twitter that Joel Embiid's brother died in a car crash. We'll add more details when they become available.

THERE IS a pure honesty that comes out of 76ers coach Brett Brown pretty much every day. He is honest with his players, media and everyone else whose path he crosses. He preaches to his team daily about being a family, of being there for one another on and off the court. It almost seems high school-ish, with the amount of times he says it, but it truly is the way he feels.

The family suffered a major loss yesterday and it had nothing to do with basketball. Arthur Embiid, the younger brother of Sixers rookie center Joel Embiid, died yesterday in Africa. There were no details of how he died, from the Sixers or elsewhere.

Joel Embiid is from Cameroon and the family still lives there. Brown, general manager Sam Hinkie and teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, also from Cameroon and a mentor to the rookie out of Kansas, skipped last night's preseason game against the Boston Celtics to be with the 20-year-old.

"It's definitely a tough situation, and my prayers go out to Jo-Jo and his family," guard Tony Wroten said. "It's tough to lose anybody, especially somebody as close as your brother. I can only imagine what he is going through. We will definitely keep him in our prayers.

"Jo-Jo jokes around all the time and you see him smiling. So when you come to the locker room and hear things like that, it just changes everything. It was tough for me to hear it, and people are all asking for Jo-Jo's number. When you hear news like that, it just kind of kills everything. We can only pray."

Embiid attended the morning shootaround at the team's practice facility at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, so word of his brother's passing evidently came sometime afterward.

In Brown's absence, assistant Chad Iske coached the team.

Offensively, the Sixers turned the ball over at an alarming rate, and, defensively, they allowed the Boston Celtics to line up for three-point shots as if it were a practice session. Not a good combination, and the Celtics rolled to a 111-91 win at Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers, who were without Nerlens Noel because of an upper-respiratory infection, turned the ball over 22 times, 16 in the first half, trailed by as many as 26 and watched as the Celtics poured in 15 threes, 10 in the first half.

The team did get back Hollis Thompson, who had been sidelined for a week after suffering a corneal abrasion last week in a game against Charlotte. He played 26 minutes, contributing five points and four rebounds.

"Teamwise, we put some stuff in while I was gone, so I'm just trying to catch up and pick up on the stuff that I have missed," said Thompson, the team's best outside scoring threat. "I tried to stay in shape while I was out, so I feel like I haven't missed too much. [The eye] is getting better every day. It's a lot less blurry than it was [Wednesday]."

Eliot Williams and Tony Wroten scored 17 points each, while Arnett Moultrie scored 16 as the Sixers dropped to 1-3 in the preseason.

Jared Sullinger scored 21 and Avery Bradley scored all of his 20 points in the first half, hitting six three-pointers for the Celtics. Former Sixer Evan Turner finished with six points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

When Sixers draft pick Dario Saric didn't play in his first two games for Anadolu Efes in Turkey this week, rumors that he was close to coming to Philadelphia swirled faster than litter during a storm. But, even before getting benched, it was always highly improbable that Saric would make an NBA appearance anytime before he plays at least two seasons in Turkey.

For Saric to be able to play for the Sixers before he fulfills two of the three seasons of his contract, all three parties involved - Anadolu Efes, Saric and the Sixers - would have to come to an agreement. Anadolu Efes paid a lot of money for the 6-10 forward's services, "so just letting him go isn't probable," according to a source. After two seasons, if Saric wants out and the Sixers agree to help with the buyout, then Anadolu Efes really is no longer in play, so only two of the three parties need to be on board.

"He is still a very young player in a league that is a lot older, older than the NBA," the source said. "It isn't uncommon that he sat. He could play the next few games and be one of the best players on the team, and all will be well again."

Translation: Don't bank on Saric being here until at least 2016.

He did play in his first Euroleague game yesterday and scored nine points in 22 minutes.

Jerami Grant remains sidelined with a sprained right ankle and Ronald Roberts is still out with a strained left quadriceps . . . The team will play the Orlando Magic tomorrow in Allentown, then finish the preseason next week with games in Brooklyn on Monday and at Detroit on Thursday . . . In the middle of the fourth quarter, the team showed Allen Iverson on the Jumbotron. Not sure whether he was there the whole time. He got the expected big ovation.

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