Nick Nurse won’t use injury as excuse for Sixers’ recent blowout losses: ‘I just don’t accept the effort’
The Sixers have used 10 different starting lineups due in large part to injury and illness, but Nurse doesn't view that as a reason for their lackluster performances.
For the 76ers, injuries have been part of the franchise’s fabric since the start of “The Process.”
Joel Embiid has yet to play an injury-free season. Key players have missed time because of ailments. And there’s often been some type of illness running through the team.
This season is no different.
The Sixers (23-12) have utilized 10 different starting lineups due in large part to injury and sickness. And being undermanned appeared to take a toll on them in their last two games. Not so, according to coach Nick Nurse.
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“Certainly going to have ups and downs in any season,” Nurse said after Monday’s practice. “Obviously, the easy way out is to say, ‘Oh, we’re beat up and we don’t have enough people’ and all that kind of stuff. But I can’t accept that as the coach.
“There is a way we want to play regardless of who’s out there, and that’s what I got to make sure to nip.”
The New York Knicks prevailed, 128-92, Friday night over the Sixers, who were playing without shooting guard De’Anthony Melton and reserve forward Robert Covington at the Wells Fargo Center. The following night, the Utah Jazz took a 120-109 decision over the Sixers minus Embiid, forward Tobias Harris, Melton and Covington. Seldom-used player Furkan Korkmaz also missed both losses.
On Friday, the Knicks made 18 of 41 mostly wide-open three-point attempts. They also shot 52.1% from the field in the first half.
As bad as the Sixers played, Nurse felt they still had a chance after closing the gap to 93-80 with just over 11 minutes remaining. But Quentin Grimes buried a three-pointer to jumpstart a 21-1 run that gave New York a commanding 114-81 lead with 5 minutes, 53 seconds remaining.
The Sixers’ effort took a major hit during the decisive run.
The next night, they surrendered 57.5% shooting and 72 points in the paint to the Jazz. Meanwhile, the Sixers made just seven of 38 three-pointers and shot 40.4% from the field.
“I just don’t accept the effort,” Nurse said. “I don’t accept the lack of defensive changes and lack of shot challenges, all that kind of stuff. I can accept shots not going in, right? I think it all works together.
“So, regardless of whether that ball is going in or not, you got to still be able to put some type of style of play together that you are going to be consistent with and some type of fight you’re going to be consistent with.”
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The Sixers welcomed Harris (jammed left ankle), Melton (right lumbar spine soreness), and Korkmaz (illness) back to practice on Monday. Embiid (left knee swelling) and Covington (illness) remained sidelined. The hope is that Embiid will return to practice Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.
“We just got to stay aggressive, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Melton said of what he observed while being sidelined for three games. “K.O. [Kelly Oubre] kind of says it a lot, ‘Stay Swaggy.’ You gotta keep your swag. You gotta keep your confidence. And, at the end of the day, you are a pro, too.
“You made it here. You made it this far. And you get rotational minutes for one of the best teams in the league. … So go out there and be yourself.”