Wroten, Marshall aim for some minor practice
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Wednesday morning, they shuttled rehabbing point guards Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall to Newark, Del., in order to practice with the franchise’s NBA Development League team. Whether the Sixers commit to those day trips remains to be seen, but both Wroten and Marshall said they expect to practice they 76ers in an with the morning.
Coach Brett Brown said the purpose of his players’ trips to Delaware would be to practice with the NBDL team, which is going through its preseason. Brown said Wroten and Marshall would not play games with the affiliate.
In taking the players at their word, Wroten and Marshall are at different stages in their rehab of torn right ACLs. Or at least they’re on different pages in their messaging. When asked whether he’s
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Thursday comfortable getting up and down the court in 5-on-5s, Wroten said, “Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I’m great. It feels great. We just have to put all of the pieces together.”
Marshall, meanwhile, said he and Wroten “did a little 3-on-3 fullcourt.”
In related news, Marshall was moved to the Sixers’ inactive list.
“It’s another reason why we have a relationship with an NBDL team,” Brown said before the Sixers lost to visiting Toronto Wednesday night. “The proximity to that team, to put them in a car and let them drive down the road. … It will create an excellent, real-time environment for them.”
●●● Nerlens Noel sat out his second straight game, with the Sixers’ second-year forward nursing what the team is calling sore wrists. Brown ruled out Noel while speaking with reporters during a pre-game chat.
“He tried at shootaround today, but he just couldn’t hold the ball,” Brown said. “It’s the padding of his hand and it just wasn’t worth it. … We hope to get ahead of the storm, sit him now, and reap the benefit of that.”
Noel last played Saturday against Orlando, in a game from which he was ejected in the third quarter. Brown has told reporters that Noel first injured himself the day before, at Cleveland.
●●● Toronto’s starting backcourt of Cory Joseph and Villanova product Kyle Lowry has been turning heads. But Raptors coach Dwane Casey’s isn’t one of them.
“No, I’m not surprised,” he said, “because both of them are great guards. They’re smart. They know the game. … It’s just a matter of putting them out there together. They both can guard bigger guards. They have that grit and toughness.”
Lowry, fresh off his first All-Star season, is averaging 18.9 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds through eight games. Joseph is logging 8.0 points and 10.0 boards for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.