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Sixers’ Al Horford assures he and Joel Embiid will be on the court together

Coach Brett Brown said before Tuesday's practice that the two hadn't been on the court together since the Sixers have been in Florida.

Sixers center Joel Embiid and teammate forward Al Horford block the basketball against Brooklyn Nets guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot during the second-quarter on Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Philadelphia.
Sixers center Joel Embiid and teammate forward Al Horford block the basketball against Brooklyn Nets guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot during the second-quarter on Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Philadelphia.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

As of Tuesday evening, before the 76ers took the court for practice , Joel Embiid and Al Horford hadn’t been paired in practices, according to coach Brett Brown. The Sixers began practices in Florida on July 11.

On the surface that would suggest that Horford will appear on the court only when Embiid is on the bench.

Horford, who is expected to be demoted from the starting lineup with Shake Milton taking over point guard and Ben Simmons moving to Horford’s starting power forward spot, isn’t too concerned about practice rotations. The five-time All-Star said he hadn’t talked to Brown about the issue, but he was firm in his belief that he will be lining alongside Embiid during games.

“... The reality is that it’s going to happen at some point,” Horford said in a Zoom interview with the media before practice Tuesday. “You know, I think we will be fine.”

Horford, in the first season of a four-year, $97 million contract, is trying to downplay the issue.

Good luck with that.

“I do understand the changes and things like that, but you know, I don’t want people to make more of this than what it is,” Horford said. “The reality is that we’ll be fine, we’ll be playing together at times, sometimes we won’t, and that is just it.”

Brown has said on a few occasions that he would like to play Embiid as many as 38 minutes per game in the postseason. Whether that is realistic, in light of the center’s injury history remains to be seen.

This season Horford and Embiid haven’t jelled because of spacing problems. Both are more effective operating down low.

At 34, Horford has also looked a step slower this season.

One the positive side, Horford revealed he felt great physically when the NBA suspended its season on March 11.

“Before the season got suspended, that is when I actually felt my best all year, leading up to that,” Horford said. “Those last few games was when I started feeling like I was turning the corner health-wise.”

The last game, on March 11, Horford and Embiid had one of their best performances together. Embiid, who returned after missing five games with a sprained left shoulder, had 30 points and 14 rebounds in a 124-106 win over the visiting Detroit Pistons. Horford added 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Horford’s statistics back up the belief that he was feeling his best as the season was suspended. In his final six games before the break (five with Embiid out), he averaged 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.2 blocked shots in 32.8 minutes.

For the season he is averaging 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 0.9 blocked shots in 30.8 minutes.

Horford became a reserve on Feb. 11, in a 110-103 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, the last game before the All-Star break. He remained a reserve for three games, but once Simmons hurt his back in a 119-98 loss at Milwaukee on Feb. 22, Horford moved back into the starting lineup for the final eight games before the season was suspended.

As for accepting his role as a reserve, something he has done just seven times in his 13-year NBA career, Brown said Horford “has been great.”

“This is the way that coach wants to go about it,” Horford said.' And you know, the biggest thing for us is that we’re all healthy now, you know, the team is healthy.”

The Sixers have their first of three scrimmages on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. They open with the first of their eight regular-season games Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.

Horford said a healthy Sixers team will be a handful.

“We’re ready to go, and teams are going to have to deal with our depth that we have,” he said.

How much teams will have to deal with Horford and Embiid together remains to be seen.

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