Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
CLEVELAND — When Andre Drummond checked back into the 76ers’ Wednesday matchup against the Cavaliers, with his team trailing by 16 points with less than four minutes to play, Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland told him, “Yo, just throw in the towel already.” “[Expletive] no,” Drummond responded. “We’re going to keep playing ‘til this [stuff’s] over. We’re not going to give up. … We’re going to play ‘til that last buzzer goes off. That’s the type of team that we want to make sure that everybody knows that we are.” The Sixers did slice Cleveland’s lead to nine with 1:09 remaining, before losing 132-121 at Rocket Arena. It was an admirable effort considering the Sixers fell behind by 17 in the first quarter, and could have let things completely unravel on the second night of a back-to-back against an opponent expected to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference. Instead, they rallied to tie the game in the third quarter, then made that final mini push. Still, coach Nick Nurse’s decision to play Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., and VJ Edgecombe — who all exited Wednesday ranked in the top 4 in the NBA in minutes played in the early season — more than 36 minutes apiece left some outsiders perplexed. » READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: Poor starts, VJ Edgecombe is worn out, and more from loss at Cavaliers It’s also perhaps unsurprising that Nurse would take such an approach. He is known to play his heavy-minute guys … heavy minutes. When he coached the Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet both ranked in the NBA’s top 5 in minutes played in 2022-23. Maxey would have led the league in that category last season, had he played in enough games to qualify. Nurse said the big minutes for those players during Wednesday’s game were partially because Joel Embiid, Dominick Barlow, and Jared McCain were unavailable, and Paul George has yet to play this season. The coach acknowledged he “for sure” considered taking his starters out earlier. But the coach also echoed Drummond, that the Sixers need to continue cultivating that competitive identity. “We’re in a stage right now where I’m way more in the we’ve got to continue to show fight,” Nurse said. “I’ve told you from the beginning, we’re trying to dig ourselves out of some stuff from last year. The attitude and the fight needs to be something that we’ve got to continue to establish. And once we started making a little run there, I was not going to pull the plug on that run until it was time. “To be honest with you, I’m glad we left them in. I’m proud of the way they played to try to continue to fight.” The Sixers went 1-2 on their first multi-game road trip of the season, throttling the lowly Nets before stunningly blowing a 24-point lead in a heartbreaking last-minute loss at the Chicago Bulls. Though the back-to-back defeats cooled the momentum of the Sixers’ surprising 5-1 start, Nurse remains pleased that his team still has “played a lot of really good basketball.” “The start to the season has been super enjoyable for these guys,” said Nurse, a clear contrast to last season’s dreadful 3-14 start from which the Sixers never recovered. Here are some more nuggets that peppered the Sixers’ road trip: Embiid believes he ‘sat too long’ in Chicago The Sixers’ offense fell apart down the stretch in Chicago, going without a field goal for the final six-plus minutes. Five of those missed shots came from Embiid, who prior to checking back in for crunch time, had totaled 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocked shots through three quarters. But Embiid said he got out of rhythm because he believes he “sat too long” during his second-half break, before “coming back out there cold.” “This is also a chance for us to kind of figure [out] that timing of everything,” Embiid said. “And I think, as the minutes [restriction] goes up, I’ll get back in and finish games. Because you just need so much rhythm. You sit for too long, and then you’ve got to go on the fourth quarter and get buckets and finish the game.” This was not the first time Embiid has publicly expressed his displeasure with this early-season minutes restriction — which began at 20 and has increased to 25 — while returning from an ongoing knee issue. It also is clearly something those responsible for treating Embiid have deemed at least a temporary necessity for his short- and long-term health. Embiid also has had scheduled absences for practices and games, missing an Oct. 27 victory over the Orlando Magic on the front end of a back-to-back, Sunday’s win over Brooklyn, and Wednesday’s loss in Cleveland on the latter end of the back-to-back. Embiid is averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in five games, numbers that are productive but not nearly as dominant as when he twice led the league in scoring and was the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player. The good news? Embiid said that the first half in Chicago “was probably the best I’ve moved so far” on both ends of the floor. Though the Bulls were going right at Embiid’s defense early, he elevated for a critical block down the stretch. “I’m not worried about getting hurt,” Embiid said. “I just want to play basketball, whatever happens, happens on the court. If I stay healthy, great. If I get hurt, maybe that’s what God wanted.” Rookie duties Peek into Edgecombe’s locker, and a colorful Lilo & Stitch backpack stands out. Glance at Johni Broome’s and Hunter Sallis’ lockers, and it is easy to spot the Hello Kitty bags. That “luggage” represents some light rookie ribbing for those first-year players, who were required to take the backpacks on this road trip. Broome called his a “gift” from Kyle Lowry, and expected he will be carrying it the full season. “They won’t let you leave without it,” Sallis added from Chicago. Yet those older teammates also enthusiastically celebrated from the bench when Broome and Sallis each scored their first NBA points Sunday in Brooklyn. Neither player said they relished too much in the accomplishment during the game, but took it in once they returned to the postgame locker room. “That’s something that I’ve dreamed up,” Sallis said. “ … That was a special moment for me, for sure.” Added Broome: “After the game, I kind of was able to smile and realize I just scored my first NBA bucket of my career.” Happy birthday, Maxey As Maxey walked into Chicago’s United Center Tuesday evening, he was handed a giant birthday card sneakily signed by teammates and staff at the Sixers’ practice the previous day. Also waiting for Maxey at his postgame locker: A garbage-sized bag of popcorn, which has become tradition every time he plays at the Bulls’ arena. Maxey turned 25 years old, a reminder that he is putting up his massive numbers — an NBA-best 33.5 points per game entering Thursday, to go along with 8.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds — while just beginning to enter his prime. The Sixers’ collapse against the Bulls spoiled his potent birthday outing, when he amassed 39 points, five rebounds, and five assists but went 2-of-8 from the floor during that decisive fourth quarter. He also called his first-quarter performance Wednesday in Cleveland “disgusting,” when he committed four turnovers and went 1-of-3 from the field. “I just needed a little second, a little break,” Maxey said. “I think Nurse knew that, and that was a good coaching move by him [to take me out]. Once I got back in there, I got my flow, got my rhythm, and my teammates started looking for me. “Trendon [Watford] was doing a lot of talking, telling me, ‘Come on, dude. You’re still in Chicago. I need you to get in Cleveland.’” The ‘Drum Tour’ While on the bus following the Sixers’ win at the Nets, Watford reminded Drummond that this trip included three of the veteran big man’s past playing stops in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Cleveland. “You’re actually right,” Drummond said. “It’s the Drum tour.” Drummond played only eight games with the Cavaliers, when joining that team at the 2020 deadline got derailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He spent 24 games with Brooklyn, in 2022, after the Sixers traded him to the Nets as part of the package in the Ben Simmons-James Harden blockbuster. Drummond then played two seasons with the Bulls, before rejoining the Sixers as a 2024 free agent. » READ MORE: Sixers’ Jared McCain ‘just grateful’ to play again after long recovery from knee and thumb surgeries Wednesday night in Cleveland, the 14-year veteran totaled 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 13 rebounds and helped key the Sixers’ second-quarter push to get back in the game. And where is the Sixers’ next road game? Nov. 14 at Detroit, where Drummond spent his first eight NBA seasons and became a two-time All-Star and four-time league rebounding leader. “I’ve been in the NBA for a long time,” he said. “I’ve been around for a minute.” Red Panda returns The Sixers happened to share their Chicago-Cleveland back-to-back with Red Panda, the wildly popular halftime act who flips bowls from her foot to the top of her head while riding a unicycle. It also marked her triumphant return to dazzling NBA crowds, after she broke her wrist during a July 1 performance during a game between the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever. Naturally, Red Panda nailed her final bowl flip at both games.
