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Tony Jones: Joel Embiid was on the floor and part of shootaround this morning. He then played and had a workout after shoot. He also worked out Monday. Nick Nurse said he’s come out of each workout well so it looks like he’s trending towards getting back
Austin Krell: Nick Nurse says that there is no ramp-up period expected for Paul George. Once he's cleared from his suspension, he'll be ready to go.
Austin Krell: Nick Nurse says Tyrese Maxey has met with "a couple" of specialists about his hand. Update expected postgame.
Tony Jones: Nick Nurse said Tyrese Maxey is undergoing x rays on his hand. He said that’s the concern
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Austin Krell: Nick Nurse says the imaging on VJ Edgecombe's MRI came back good and Edgecombe has said "He's OK". Will be re-evaluated in the coming days.
That does not mean George can't help inch the gap a bit narrower with his wisdom. "Trying to get some of his veteran leadership. Even though he's not getting on the court and doing stuff, he can still help these guys, which he's doing a decent job of. But just really want to keep him as sharp, pushing him pretty hard physically, to be as sharp as possible when he returns," Nick Nurse told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.
No one can blame Nurse if the days run together in his head. About a week ago, he thinks, there was a film session following a long discussion between Nurse and George. The focus was guarding the rim—some things they wanted to do better, and how that would look. "There were about three or four clips in a row that showed really bad, then really great, then really bad, then really great. After the film session, I said, 'PG, I want you to jump in there on those. In the film session, jump in there because you and I were just talking about this, like, two days ago. You have some insight there. I know you're not playing, but get involved and get out there," Nurse said.
On Saturday morning, as the Sixers clocked in for practice, George and Nurse had a meeting. It was a double-duty day for George, who was teaching youngsters and making life difficult for his teammates as a tough customer on the scout team. The message? Don't shy away. "'Listen, you got to continue to teach these guys, especially on the defensive end. Like, I know you're seeing things. I can see you seeing them. Continue to kind of coach now while you're out.' But he's been really solid," Nurse said.
The Sixers return to the court Wednesday for the second half of their back-to-back against Utah, but Nick Nurse did not have an update on VJ Edgecombe's status. “Obviously took a hard fall,” Nurse said. “Going to check him out and get an update as soon as we can.” Tyrese Maxey, after being pulled from the game midway through the third quarter, spent the rest of the period with Edgecombe in the locker room. He said he’d call him Tuesday night for another update. “No one likes getting hurt, but he’s the same, smiling, happy,” Maxey said. “We had a good conversation. That’s my little bro. I’m going to check on him. I couldn’t continue the game without checking on him.”
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After the game, coach Nick Nurse explained that they wanted to keep Embiid to about 30 minutes before he returned to finish the game. He was grabbing at his shoulder and his ribs throughout the night as it was obvious that something was bothering him, but he still stepped up to knock down a big shot late to put the game away. "I think that shows a lot," rookie VJ Edgecombe said of Embiid. "That shows a lot. The media trying to make it seem like he don't want to play basketball. I mean, like, come on. He's out there in pain, and he made a big shot at the end of the game. Like, he barely could have raised his right hand up."
Austin Krell: Nick Nurse did not have any updates on Joel Embiid after the game, but mentioned that he saw the rib and shoulder ailing him. Nurse suggested he's back on some sort of minute limit.
Kyle Nuebeck: Nick Nurse said Johni Broome is scheduled for his meniscus surgery on Saturday, for anyone keeping tabs "I'm not sure it's gonna end his season, but it's going to be pretty close"
Gina Mizell: Nick Nurse said he remains “pretty optimistic” that Joel Embiid’s absence will not be a prolonged one. He reiterated that he is still doing on-court work and views that as a sign of progress.
