Joel Embiid will sit out Sixers’ preseason game vs. Brooklyn with an illness, delaying his debut

NEW YORK — The 76ers will continue to wait for the on-court debut of Joel Embiid, who will not play in Monday’s preseason game at the Brooklyn Nets due to illness, coach Nick Nurse said in his pregame news conference.

Embiid’s status update comes after Nurse said following Sunday’s practice that he expected the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player to play against the Nets. Embiid also missed the Sixers’ first two preseason games against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 8 and 11 while “ramping up” his conditioning.

“He’s just under the weather,” Nurse said of Embiid about 90 minutes before Monday’s tip-off, “so he’s going to miss it.”

James Harden (conditioning), Furkan Korkmaz (hamstring), and Danuel House Jr. (knee) also remain out. Harden, who had been practicing with the Sixers since ending a brief holdout following a trade request, did not participate in Monday’s shootaround.

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Nurse, though, said he is “more concerned” about the absences of House and Korkmaz, who are both fighting for playing time at wing in the Sixers’ rotation. Korkmaz, who has not played at all in the preseason, went through a pregame warmup at the Barclays Center after practicing Sunday.

“Those are guys that I’ve coached against before and have been in the rotation and things,” Nurse said. “I need to get to know them, and I’m having a hard time there.”

Embiid averaged an NBA-best 33.1 points last season, while adding 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks. Harden led the league in assists (10.7 per game) in 2022-23 and added 21 points per game on 38.5% shooting from three-point range.

Embiid’s absence means Paul Reed, Mo Bamba, and Filip Petrusev will again be in line for more minutes against the Nets.

“It’s a hell of an experience for the guys that are playing,” veteran guard Patrick Beverley said of those other big men following Monday’s shootaround. “… They get a chance to kind of showcase what they’re made of, and I think that’s most important.”

Though Harden did not return to his former home arena in Brooklyn on Monday night, reserve guard David Duke Jr. was back in familiar territory at the Barclays Center.

Duke, who last month signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Sixers, spent his first two seasons with the Nets organization — mostly on a two-way contract to split time between the NBA club and the G League’s Long Island Nets. He played in 45 games with Brooklyn from 2021-23, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.6 minutes. He also was an All-G League first-team selection with Long Island last season, after averaging 23 points, six rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Duke said following Monday’s shootaround that he was looking forward to seeing former teammates and staff, but was going into the preseason outing “with a chip.” The 6-foot-4 guard added that he decided to join the Sixers for training camp because they showed the most interest, and has appreciated the team’s commitment to player development since joining them for the preseason.

“Every single day, you’re going to have to bring it,” Duke said. “There’s no day that you can just come in and coast. Every single day, you’ve got to come in and be sharp — whether it’s physically, mentally, even emotionally. You’re trying to give energy to everybody you come in contact with. That’s what Nurse always preaches.”

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Nurse characterized Duke’s performance so far this preseason as “OK” but added, “my staff really likes him” because of his ability to defend and score by getting to the basket and shooting from outside. The coach acknowledged that a subpar performance by Duke in the Sixers’ preseason opener at Boston, when he went 0-for-2 from the floor and committed two turnovers in seven minutes, “set him back just a bit.”

The Sixers have the option to convert Duke’s Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract before the regular season begins, though those three (non-guaranteed) slots are currently occupied by Terquavion Smith, Ricky Council IV, and Azuolas Tubelis.