Sixers admit ‘it’s hard to know’ what to expect from their big five entering season opener
Sixers coach Nick Nurse said there were a lot of things to be positive about: "I obviously feel great, Joel [Embiid] is ready to go. Those things weren’t going on a year ago."
When LeBron James signed with the 76ers, the NBA had not yet released its schedule for this season. In fact, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league was waiting to see where James would land before finalizing the schedule.
It came as a shock to nobody that opening night, when the defending champions Knicks are set to receive their rings, sees the Sixers playing in Madison Square Garden.
The NBA world will finally start to get answers on what the Sixers will look like after adding James and Jaylen Brown this offseason, and even the Sixers themselves don’t quite know what to expect when the season officially begins.
“It’s hard to know, until we get there [Tuesday],” coach Nick Nurse said at practice Monday. “... You don’t get a read of much of anything in the preseason, so I feel good about the work we’ve put in and the focus these guys have had. I obviously feel great, Joel [Embiid] is ready to go. Those things weren’t going on a year ago. So, there are a lot of things to be positive about.”
One of those things is the health of the starting lineup, with the projected big five making it through the preseason without any significant injuries. They played one preseason game together against Brooklyn as a five-man unit, while four of the five played against Boston on Friday, with VJ Edgecombe sitting that one out as a precaution.
They have some preseason tape, and a body of work in practice to evaluate how all the pieces fit together, but there’s nothing like learning from regular-season games, especially against the current standard bearers of the Eastern Conference.
“We’re excited, but we also know we gotta get better,” Brown said. “We’re not where we wanna be right now. We’re happy we had a good preseason. We had a good training camp. We’re building habits. We set the rules for ourselves, accountability. But it’s gonna take some time. Hopefully on the shorter end, but we’re not where we want to be yet. That’s just a part of it.”
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As Nurse put it, there have been some “wow” moments from the starters over the last few weeks, while there have also been moments in which “you think, ‘Oh man, these guys haven’t played together at all,’” he said. But Nurse added that so far, the starters are playing with the right mindset on offense — sharing the ball, finding the open man, getting out in transition.
“There certainly have been some rough edges. But, my thought is that, I think, the intent is great,” Nurse said. “I think we’re looking up, we’re looking to move [the ball]. Is it a little mistimed and out of rhythm? Yeah, that should be expected. And the quicker that we can gather more minutes, and grab some more reps, I think those things will smooth themselves out. But the intent, I think, has been awesome.”
While the starters are healthy, the Sixers will go into New York a little dinged up overall, with Dean Wade missing the last two practices because of an injured ankle he suffered in the team’s final preseason game Friday. Anfernee Simons, who has missed time because of a hamstring injury, played coy when asked if he’d be available.
“I can’t confirm or deny,” he said.
After an exciting Sixers offseason highlighted by the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, join Inquirer beat writers Gina Mizell and Chris Hine for a preview of the season. Watch here.
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But with the starters fully healthy, all eyes will be on them, with a chance Tuesday to knock off the defending champions. Even if the Sixers are downplaying the importance of the game, it would send an early message to the league that this collection of talent can find a way to come together and compete at the highest level.
“It’s very early for a group of a lot of new players,” Nurse said. “Play as well as we can. Play very hard, and then start figuring out where we can learn and start heading this direction. But we need the data, and we need some information, and we need some real lights on scene, so we can determine that again.”
