While the Philadelphia 76ers initially held their own without Joel Embiid, who suffered an injury to his meniscus earlier on in the season, their recent patch of games hasn’t gone their way. Across the past ten games, the Sixers have dropped seven, which includes their most recent three, some of which have had some of the lowest points in recent memory for the thought-to-be Eastern Conference contenders. Perhaps the lowest of which came on Friday night, as the Sixers only managed to put up 34 points in the first half, trailing the New Orleans Pelicans by 29, before nearly pulling off a complete comeback, finishing the game eight points behind. While these games haven’t been easy to stomach, it isn’t the first patch of tough games that Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse has had to endure this season, having some rough games when Embiid first went out. In his post-game presser, the Sixers’ head coach stated that he isn’t just letting the losses go past, he’s using them as a proving ground, seeing who can get the job done when needed. “At the start of all this, even before Joel’s injury, when there was other minor bumps and bruises he was sitting out for, I was telling you guys that I’m in super evaluation mode, right?” explained Nurse, “I want to see who can… who can execute what we’re going to need to execute right when we get our people back, I’m still doing that.”
It is safe to say that his team has given him a lot to look over, whether it was the aforementioned slow start on Friday night or the 12-point fourth-quarter collapse earlier on in the week against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s clear to see that Nurse is evaluating all of his options, having used nearly every player at his disposal which includes Jeff Downtin and Ricky Council IV from the Delaware Blue Coats as of late, as the team continues to struggle with a recent injury surge. While Nurse admits that he may be looking at things a bit too grim, he’s still able to gather and collect valuable feedback on these losses. “I think I’m scrutinizing things pretty hard here, right?” asked Nurse, “So, that’s the positive side of it, I’m learning a lot right now.”
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