Paul Reed preparing to play more alongside Joel Embiid with Sixers’ forward spot depleted

Paul Reed, the 76ers’ backup center, was surprised when Joel Embiid reentered Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls about midway through the fourth quarter — and did not replace him.

The two big men spent only 62 seconds of game time on the court together — in what coach Nick Nurse called “a pretty short-lived experiment” — after Embiid picked up his fifth foul and the Bulls pounced on the zone defense the Sixers switched into as a result.

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Yet Reed was mentally prepared to share the court more with Embiid as soon as Wednesday night’s marquee matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, given the Sixers’ suddenly depleted forward spot. Starter Nicolas Batum has already been ruled out with right hamstring tightness, which kept him sidelined during the fourth quarter against Chicago, while Robert Covington will also miss the game with an illness and Marcus Morris Sr. is available after sitting out sitting out Monday’s loss to Chicago because he was sick.

“I’ve got to make sure I’m ready to be out there again with [Embiid], if need be,” Reed said. “… I wish we were able to spend more time out there [Monday], so we can have a better rhythm.”

Kelly Oubre Jr. will slide into Batum’s starting spot, while Danuel House Jr. was back in the rotation when Morris missed Monday’s game. Jaden Springer and Furkan Korkmaz are also off-the-bench options but are a better fit for the shooting guard/small forward spot.

Nurse has hinted throughout the season that he wants to try lineups with Embiid and Reed together. But when asked Tuesday how much they have shared the court during practices, Reed acknowledged, “Not a lot.” Reed, who entered Wednesday averaging career highs in points (4.9), rebounds (4.2), and minutes (13.8). He has been working on his three-point shot to stretch the floor and add to his strong rebounding and defensive activity.

“It could be,” Nurse said when asked if this is a game Reed could be used differently. “Possibly. I’m still trying to figure that one out. I’m not having much time to experiment with that, and when I do, it’s pretty short.

“I kind of screwed it up last time [in the Chicago game], to be honest with you.”

Nurse is far from shocked that Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is guiding a team that entered Wednesday atop the Western Conference with a 20-5 record.

The close friendship between the two coaches — dating back to their days in England, with the British National team leading into the 2012 Olympics, and in the G League — is well-documented. And how Finch has meshed a roster with star big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, which was criticized in the months following the summer 2022 blockbuster trade, reminds Nurse of their pre-NBA coaching days.

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“He’s figured it out everywhere he’s been,” Nurse said. “In England, in Germany, in Belgium, in Rio Grande, you get all these different teams. Like I keep saying, it’s a good training ground for ‘What are you going to do with this group of guys?’

“And then a couple guys leave, and [it becomes] ‘What are you going to do with this group of guys?’”

Gobert anchors a Minnesota defense that entered Wednesday as the NBA’s most efficient unit at 106.8 points allowed per 100 possessions. But Finch — whose Pennsylvania ties include playing at Wilson High School in West Lawn and Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster — also boasts a reputation as what Nurse called an “unbelievable” offensive mind.

“Like, as good as I’ve ever seen,” Nurse said.

All-Star wing Anthony Edwards is averaging 24.6 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 45.2% from the floor, including 38.3% from three, while Towns entered Wednesday with a 50/40/90 shooting split. Yet Nurse said Finch “can take almost anybody out there and figure out how to get them on the right track offensively.”