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Nik Stauskas sidelined for Sixers with stress reaction in right leg

Sixers newcomer won't get on the floor for a couple of weeks, but still knows there is plenty he can learn.

IT WAS JUST a throwaway line by 76ers coach Brett Brown, but it spoke volumes of his tenure here: "We have the unfortunate experience of being quite practiced on how to deal with injuries."

It might be what the organization has done best, simply because it's what it has done most. And now the Sixers are at it again.

Brown revealed after yesterday's practice that shooting guard Nik Stauskas will be out for a couple of weeks with a stress reaction in his right tibia. The injury didn't occur at any specific time, according to the team; rather, it started with soreness during Thursday's practice at Stockton University.

"It just popped up in training camp, and we're just trying to be cautious right now," Stauskas said. "I'm just going to get treatment and take my time with my recovery, and I'll definitely be good by the start of the season and probably even by the end of the preseason.

"It's tough, but I played a lot of basketball this summer. I didn't really take much time off. That's part of the reason why it happened. I feel comfortable with where I'm at, because I did play a lot of basketball this summer, so I feel like I have my rhythym back. I'm in game shape. Obviously, this is a little bit of a setback, but I'm not too worried about it."

Stauskas was part of Team Canada in the FIBA Americas Tournament this summer in Mexico.

Obtained this summer in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, the second-year shooter will miss valuable time on the court with his new teammates, but he doesn't see it as too much of a hindrance.

"Now that I'm hurt I can still be engaged, I can still be learning," Stauskas said. "I'm spending a lot of time with the strength coaches, working on my body, and I'm just going to continue to get better every day and maintain a positive mindset."

There will be no drop-off in preparation. Brown will coach Stauskas as much when he's hurt as he would if he were on the floor.

"Tape, show him things that we think are areas that he can work on," Brown said. "Tape of himself, people like (Manu) Ginobili, come to mind and just zoom in on some pick-and-roll stuff and create space and how to use pick-and-rolls and how to read weakside rotations. The league is sort of guarding pick-and-rolls kind of similar across the board. So making those types of reads if you have the ball. There's still lots of what we can do."

NBA debut

The team travels to Washington tonight to begin the preseason. No Sixer will have more eyes on him than rookie Jahlil Okafor. Fans will finally get a chance to see Okafor and Nerlens Noel on the floor together, something that happened little in practice.

"We tried to split it in Stockton. We try to go slow with a bunch of things," Brown said. "Today, we spent a lot of time getting Jah the ball and get spacing around it. I don't want to just be a slow, static team and walk it up and post Jahlil. That's not how we are going to play. We are going to play with pace and still find his gifts.

"With Jahlil and Nerlens, I like Jahlil feeling Nerlens, not so much from a weight perspective, but he's so athletic and quick. It's another breed of post people that Jahlil will have to figure out how to guard and have to score on. So for a bunch of reasons, you split them up and you play them together. I hope to grow them more together as we get closer to the regular season."

Six shots

Besides Stauskas, Pierre Jackson (groin) and T.J. McConnell (sprained foot) will not play tonight because of injuries, Brown said. Everyone else should be ready to go, he said . . . Brown said he feels the pain Eagles coach Chip Kelly is going through. "You pay attention and you feel it just from a different angle. They're going to come good" . . . In an effort to get in great shape, Jahlil Okafor is auditioning private chefs. He had a tasting yesterday. "I had some rotisserie chicken, some spinach, sweet potatoes and veggies on the side. It was good. He graded out well, and I have another one on Wednesday and he has a lot to live up to."

Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville