How Nick Nurse is imploring the Sixers to ‘fight’ while shorthanded

MILWAUKEE — Clear irritation shot out of Nick Nurse’s face late Tuesday, as the 76ers’ coach called his team’s flop in a rematch against the New York Knicks a “disappointing” setback following six consecutive strong quarters.

By Wednesday’s practice in advance of a key road showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks, Nurse stressed it was time to move on. Still, unprompted, he finished that same sentence by saying the Sixers (36-29) must “get ready to fight tomorrow.”

“Fight” is perhaps the word Nurse has publicly uttered most frequently in recent days, adding “that’s all I care about” seeing from his shorthanded team that has lost four of its past five games while trying to stay afloat in a tight Eastern Conference playoff seeding race. The coach has often complemented “fight” with other intangibles, such as “competing,” or “physicality,” or “playing hard.”

Yet, Nurse wants those to be more than cliché buzzwords to fire off during news conferences or timeouts, while motivating a Sixers team that’s still playing without reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid. Using “concrete examples” to reinforce how those qualities can be practically applied to basketball, Nurse said, has been a key teaching tool.

“I’m just trying to show them, ‘This is how you do it,’” Nurse said. " … We just need to make it a mindset all the time. Playing hard is coachable. It’s a skill. And it’s got to get done.”

Nurse credits his upbringing as the youngest of nine children with initially fostering those traits and providing a “good environment to grow up in to be a coach.” Today, his staff regularly creates rapid film clips of contrasting sequences that required a high degree of effort, such as boxing out on a rebound, contesting an opponent’s shot, or setting a screen. One series, for instance, could begin with a shot when “nobody blocks out,” Nurse said, “and then, literally, two possessions later, four guys barrel into people.”

The glaring differences throughout Sunday’s 79-73 throwback win at the Knicks, compared to Tuesday’s 106-79 lopsided defeat, provided the “perfect example” of the intensity and style that yields positive and negative results, veteran forward Nico Batum said. Reserve guard Cameron Payne added that he appreciates that Nurse holds everybody — from All-Star Tyrese Maxey to undrafted rookie Ricky Council IV — accountable during those candid sessions.

“The next guy is like, ‘All right, man. I’ve got to bring it now, because I don’t want to be on film,’ ” Payne said.

Yet human nature is also a factor in unleashing on-court “fight.”

The Sixers were collectively motivated for the first matchup at Madison Square Garden because, in Batum’s words, the Knicks “kicked our [butts]” in both games in Philly earlier this season. That desire to avenge then swung back to New York for Tuesday’s game, when conventional wisdom also reminded them that it is difficult to beat any opponent twice in a row.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey ‘just OK’ in return from concussion for Sixers’ sputtering offense

“They hit us in the mouth early — really early,” Maxey said, “and it was hard for us to bounce back.”

And, more broadly speaking, it can be easier for teams to muster unrelenting energy for shorter bursts than for an extended stretch — such as the five-plus weeks the Sixers have navigated with Embiid sidelined and a barrage of other health issues.

“Man, a lot of guys [around the NBA] don’t compete at a high level every night,” Payne said. “The playoffs are a bit little different. But in an 82-game season, you’ve got to bring the competitive edge every night. It could be an advantage for you.”

“Fight,” though, will not typically erase all execution miscues, which were also a focus during Wednesday’s practice.

That includes defensive game plan and discipline, after Nurse called two early timeouts Tuesday because of “about six breakdowns and doing things wrong” that put the Sixers in an early, ultimately insurmountable hole. They also emphasized ball movement and put up a barrage of shots, Payne said, because “we got to get above 80 points.” A failure to solidly set screens and create separation for open shots irked Nurse late Tuesday. And continuing to reacclimate Maxey following a concussion is also crucial, after Nurse reiterated that his point guard was not sharp enough defensively in his return against the Knicks.

» READ MORE: Sixers-Knicks takeaways: Recent win looks like a mirage; Tobias Harris can’t be a bystander

But when Tobias Harris was asked about his rough 1-of-6 shooting performance late Tuesday, the starting forward said he also needed to do a better job of “creating some energy-momentum plays,” such as defensive deflections.

“Just having that intentional focus with everybody on the floor,” Harris said. “Figuring out ways that we can pick each other out there. That starts with being physical [and] taking advantage of certain opportunities.”

And while working through those priorities inside Marquette’s practice gym Wednesday afternoon, the motto painted across the back wall was more than fitting.

Lose yourself in the fight.