76ers prepare as if Embiid won’t be there
NEW YORK >> Joel Embiid took some jumpers in the open portion of practice Friday but it’s unclear if he’ll play when the Sixers take on the New Jersey Nets in Game 4 at Barclays Center.
The practice included film study, walk-through and individualized training and everyone participated, according to the Sixers, who can take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a victory Saturday in Brooklyn.
Nonetheless, Sixers coach Brett Brown faced another wave of questions about Embiid, who played in the first two games of the series but was a late scratch Thursday. The Sixers looked impressive without him, Ben Simmons scoring 31 points, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick 29 and 26 in a 131115 triumph.
“I always have sort of my gut feels of what’s going to happen and judgement of how I really feel he’s feeling,” Brown said of Embiid’s availability. “And it’s borne out of talking with Jo, really. You obviously listen to a medical staff. So, I wasn’t caught off guard (Thursday) night.”
Reporters asking about Embiid’s health before practice at Basketball City in Manhattan were mildly surprised at the way Brown addressed their questions.
Throughout the playoffs Brown has called Embiid’s availability a game time decision. On Thursday Embiid was part of the 13-player list submitted for the official box score. The designation was “DND (did not dress), Injury/Illness – Left knee soreness.”
Brown declined to be specific about his expectations for Embiid.
“As it relates to tomorrow, I don’t know,” Brown said. “And I really don’t have a gut feel. To me it’s always best to plan that you don’t have him and be really surprised and happy when you do.”
The latter quip drew puzzling looks from Brown’s audience. Brown was asked what he meant gut feel. Was it something you see in his facial expressions?
“It’s so holistic that I don’t want to waste our time,” Brown said. “It is what it is. It’s a gut feel.”
The Nets were mildly surprised to see Embiid in civilian clothes for Game 3 Thursday. They led for the much of the first seven minutes before realizing they had no answer for Simmons, who found Harris and Redick beyond the arc, and sometimes set picks for them. Harris and Redick made 11 of 15 three-point attempts.
The Sixers impressed themselves with the adjustments they made on the fly in the contest. Redick and Brown attributed communication during timeouts for the results. Brown said he and the players threw their ideas on the table and rolled with them.
“It reached a high level in some huddles last night,” Brown said. “I had a thought where I thought it would be a good thing to exploit, they agreed and they said, ‘we think we have this.’ I said run them backto-back. JJ hit a three, Tobias came back and hit a three; all things we had talked about during a timeout. It’s just one of the joys of coaching when you get a team that can speak freely, speak candidly.”
Redick has been down this road of uncertainty before. His tour with the Los Angeles Clippers was checkered by injuries to stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
“It’s obviously hard to play without your best player,” Redick said. “I went through that some in L.A. as well with CP and Blake being out for stretches of the regular season and during the playoffs. It’s not a knock on anyone else but there is a significant drop-off when you take an all-NBA player out of the lineup. So, you have to figure things out.”
Redick, Harris and fellow starter Jimmy Butler have a combined 35 years of NBA experience among them. They’ve made just about every adjustment there is to make.
“We’re pros, we’ve done this,” Redick said. “That’s not a knock on the guys Brett had before but they were first-, second-, thirdyear guys that were still learning. Guys that have been through it and are highly intelligent basketball players, I think there has to be that rapport. Within a game, after a game, on days like today you’re constantly looking for little nuances where you can improve. Especially in the playoffs where the margins are slim. Any advantage, even if it’s just one possession you feel like you can get, you’ve got to take those.
“It’s on us as players to communicate that. And I think last night was a great example, for sure.”