No Embiid, but Sixers finish unbeaten in ‘preseason’
New era or old, the Sixers experienced one constant Friday: Joel Embiid was unavailable for a game.
Though Doc Rivers insisted the center’s absence from the final preseason game in Indiana was strictly precautionary, Embiid was reported as ill and did not make the trip.
An NBA source said the sickness was not coronavirus-related and was not serious.
“It won’t be long,” Rivers said before the Sixers’ 113-107 triumph. “We’re just being safe. So I expect him to be ready for practice when we pick back up.”
Embiid has had a history of missing games, either as a result of load management or injury. The preseason game against the Pacers something less than crucial, it did not appear that the Sixers were near any sort of crisis.
However, since the Sixers will have played just two preseason games before opening the season Wednesday against visiting Washington, questions did arise about Embiid’s opportunity for sufficient conditioning.
“Obviously, when you only have two games, you want everybody to play them both, especially when we have such a new group,” Rivers said. “It’s not just the coaching staff, but a lot of new players as well.
“There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Embiid was said to have enjoyed a productive training camp, and that showed in the preseason opener when the center scored 18 points in 17 minutes of a 108-99 victory over Boston. He was not made available to the press Friday.
“I learned long ago not to worry about things I can’t control,” Rivers said. “My guess is that in the first couple of months, we’re going to have to get used to things like this, all of us, the entire league. And the teams that handle it the best will do better.
That’s my guess.”
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In Embiid’s absence, Rivers started Dwight Howard. The coach was pleased with Howard’s ability to successfully execute the pick and roll with Shake Milton in the opener.
“Dwight has proven himself to be, throughout his career, a great player in the pick and roll,” Rivers said. “I actually thought Dwight should have set more picks.”
Howard shot 7-for-7 for 14 points in 16 minutes.
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The Sixers completed the preseason at 2-0.
“They had 30 extra shots and we had 26 turnovers,” Rivers said. “You can look at that two ways. We won. But there was some concern, too. But we fought through the struggle.”
••• Without Embiid, Tobias Harris might have been expected to enjoy more offensive responsibilities. Rivers,
however, planned to plug Howard into Embiid’s spot and allow the offense to function as originally designed.
“I’m just going to keep playing our system,” he said. “Guys will get involved on their own. I don’t want to force anything right now.
“We have to allow this system to take hold and allow guys to learn how to score in this system. The points Joel scored will have to go to someone. My guess is it will go to all of them.”
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With rumors bubbling that the Sixers could be interested in tossing Ben Simmons into a trade package for James Harden, Rivers said he made a reassuring phone call to his point guard.
“I always call a player just to check on him and get a read on where he is at,” Rivers said. “I feel very good about our conversation and now we can move forward from it.”