Eastern Conference reset: Sixers keep rolling along as player, coach movement swirls at midseason

Even Tyrese Maxey succumbs to human nature. When he caught the news that the Milwaukee Bucks had abruptly fired coach Adrian Griffin — and that former 76ers coach Doc Rivers was being targeted as a replacement — the star guard’s reaction was “whoa.”

That was part of a randomly dizzying Tuesday in the NBA, which also included the Miami Heat trading Kyle Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier. That deal unfolded after the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers traded for OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, respectively, uncharacteristically igniting the league’s trade season weeks before the Feb. 8 deadline.

Yet as those Eastern Conference competitors are retooling, the 29-13 Sixers are rolling along. Joel Embiid continued to celebrate his 70-point masterpiece against the San Antonio Spurs by sporting a fur coat while shooting free throws following Wednesday’s practice. His team next takes a six-game winning streak into their longest road trip of the season, which begins Thursday at Indiana.

“This team is really tight,” Maxey said. “It’s going to be easy for us to go on the road and have a lot of fun and go out there and try to get ‘Ws.’ Bond on the plane. Bond in the meetings. Bond in the hotel … and then go out there and compete with each other.”

Both of the moves that grabbed league-wide attention Tuesday were personal to Sixers coach Nick Nurse. Griffin was one of Nurse’s assistants with the Toronto Raptors from 2018-23. Lowry was a beloved Raptors player while Nurse was an assistant and the head coach, including on the 2019 NBA title team. The rebuilding Hornets are expected to try to trade Lowry again before the deadline, or he could become an intriguing buyout option for multiple contenders including his hometown Sixers.

“My concern is, ‘Are they OK? How do they feel?’” Nurse said of Griffin and Lowry following Wednesday’s practice. “And my other thought is I’m concerned about my team. I don’t really get into all what other people are doing.

“I’ve got enough to think about with this team, and that’s just kind of how I always operate.”

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There is also the obvious connection between many Sixers and Rivers, who will now lead the Bucks team that entered Wednesday a half-game ahead of the Sixers in the standings at 30-13. Though the Sixers put together three successful regular seasons under Rivers — including an MVP campaign for Embiid in 2022-23 — he could not get them past the playoffs’ second round and was fired last May.

“I appreciate him for getting my career jump-started and teaching me a lot of different things and being hard on me,” Maxey said of Rivers. " … That’s Milwaukee. I can’t worry about them too much. Got to worry about what’s going on here.

“But congrats to Doc. I’m glad he’s back coaching, doing what he loves.”

Though the Boston Celtics, Bucks and Sixers have been 1-2-3 in the East for the bulk of the season, recent shuffling has occurred behind them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (26-15 entering Wednesday) have rebounded from a subpar start to win eight in a row to rise to fourth in the standings, despite missing standout guard Darius Garland and defensive big man Evan Mobley due to significant injuries. Boosted by the Anunoby trade, the Knicks were 8-2 in their last 10 games entering Wednesday. Behind them are two teams that would be challenging first-round playoff opponents in the Heat (because of their experience) and Pacers (because of their high-speed playing style), though Indiana is 0-3 so far with Siakam, largely because star guard Tyrese Haliburton continues to sit out with a hamstring injury.

“I’m constantly rooting against everybody in the East every night,” Nurse quipped when asked how much he keeps track of the standings at this point in the season. “You’re trying to see what is happening. I think that’s just natural, right? But in saying that, I always just kind of say, ‘Take care of yourself. Keep [ticking] off wins.’

“That’s kind of the easiest, most peaceful way to do it in your head. Just worry about yourself and keep taking it as it comes and keep trying to get better. And then you usually end up where you’re supposed to end up.”

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Following Thursday’s tilt in Indianapolis, the Sixers will travel to a rapid rematch against the defending-champion Denver Nuggets and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Then comes a back-to-back at the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. They will finish with the Utah Jazz, an opponent they fell to at home earlier this month in one of their more disappointing losses of the season.

And the Sixers should be healthier during this five-game jaunt, as backup point guard Patrick Beverley (illness) and reserve wings Marcus Morris (foot) and Jaden Springer (ankle) all returned to practice Wednesday and are on track to be available to play against the Pacers. Starting guard De’Anthony Melton (back) is also set to begin his “ramp-up” period, and will be on the trip.

“There are a bunch of different styles of play we’re going to see,” Nurse said. “I think we’ll see a lot of schemes. I think it’s just a chance for us to get better. It’s a really good, tough stretch, and that usually will test us and challenge us. That should help us get better over the next 10 days.”

It’s sometimes easy to forget that the Sixers already had their major shakeup, when they traded James Harden about a week into the regular season. Another roster shift could come in the next couple weeks, as they possess the draft capital and expiring contracts to make a deal before the deadline.

Right now, though, movement is swirling around the Sixers.

And they are rolling along.