CHICAGO — The Sixers have hit an unusual period in their schedule. After their Sunday afternoon road victory over the Chicago Bulls, they have four days off — and after that long layoff, they still play only two games in the week to follow. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters after Sunday's game that his team would be off Monday — but then?
"We have tomorrow off," Nurse said. "And training camp starts on Tuesday."
While the Sixers will have to settle for their Camden, NJ practice facility rather than The Bahamas, having a chance to string together some lengthy practices could come in handy. As they seek to get Joel Embiid up to speed with a revamped supporting cast and attack some of the weaknesses that have led to the team's 7-15 start to the season, just how valuable could this stretch of practice time be?
"Honestly," Tyrese Maxey said, "I think this is the best thing that has happened to us."
With that in mind, let's kick off the week with an edition of 5 Sixers thoughts focused on what Nurse and his team should prioritize during their second "training camp" of the season:
Figure out how to properly stagger Embiid, Maxey and Paul George
For those who are unfamiliar, staggering the minutes of stars is to separate their playing time throughout a game in order to ensure one is on the floor at all times. Making sure one star-caliber player is always on the floor is easier, of course, when you have three of them. If Embiid is consistently available moving forward, Nurse will have that incredible luxury.
During Embiid's previous stints with multiple stars, the Sixers have commonly decided to keep Embiid's co-stars together more often because they could rely on him to uplift units with less talent. The strategy was largely successful, as Embiid has generally been one of the greatest floor-raisers of any NBA player in recent years.
But after watching Embiid and Maxey obliterate Chicago with their two-man game over and over on Sunday was an eye-opener. And as the Sixers hope to work Embiid back into the most dominant version of himself as he himself tries to figure out what his physical capabilities are at this juncture, perhaps making his life easier should be the priority.
Maxey, who notched a career-high 14 assists to go with a career-high 11 rebounds in the first triple-double of his NBA career, totaled 10 assists to Embiid alone on Sunday. Maxey said he felt "in control" of the game as the Sixers' floor general, and credited Embiid's presence for the reduced pressure he faced.
"It was great. That's just who he is," Maxey said. "It's easier, man. A lot more space out there… They can't trap ball screens, you know what I mean?"
That leaves George as a potential lead man for second unit lineups. Perhaps rookie guard Jared McCain will fit into that mix as well. George took a back seat to his two key running mates in Chicago, allowing them to do their thing.
"[Tyrese] and Joel dominate the pick-and-roll," George said. "I mean, that's as good as it gets right there. Those two, they were firing and they figured something out in that pick-and-roll. Any time you get [Embiid] in the middle of the floor, everybody's at his mercy."
In the two prior games, though, George displayed some of the brilliant scoring and playmaking skills which have helped him become a nine-time All-Star.
MORE: Embiid finds peak form by relying on Maxey partnership
Continue developing the Embiid-McCain two-man game
Speaking of the rookie — who we will circle back to once more at the end — it has not been a secret that his game is tailor-made to fit around Embiid. McCain spoke at the Sixers' official training camp about his desire to form a long-term partnership with Embiid in two-man actions, similar to Maxey and players like JJ Redick and Seth Curry before him.
Jared McCain on playing with Joel Embiid:
“It’s pretty easy playing with him. You come off the screen and you’re wide open. You get him the ball and they double and you’re wide open. It’s pretty simple.” pic.twitter.com/Qkxx4fm3RX— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) November 13, 2024
In a limited sample, Embiid and McCain have had tremendous success when operating together on the floor. Can it become a true staple of the team's offense?
"I think [McCain] has the opportunity to get to the next level, like me and Tyrese have been, just because of his shooting ability," Embiid said after Sunday's win.
Keep Kelly Oubre Jr. doing exactly what he is doing
Oubre has never been shy about expressing his desire to assume more offensive responsibilities. But to his credit, he put on an absolute clinic in Chicago of how a role-player wing can impact winning. He did every one of the little things, from timely cuts to excellent defense across the positional spectrum to three offensive rebounds in the span of a few moments:
Kelly Oubre Jr. put on an absolute masterclass in starring in a role during the second half yesterday:
– Three offensive rebounds in Q3, all leading to open Sixers 3PA (two 3PM)
– Three steals
– Momentum-shifting corner three + offensive foul drawn on next play
Full highlights: https://t.co/vQvMOZppGI pic.twitter.com/1oDdtcOE99— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) December 9, 2024
Oubre entered the Chicago game in the midst of a terrific stretch of play, in which Nurse has credited him with improved decision-making on both ends of the floor, but Oubre took things to another level in the Windy City. Nurse raved about Oubre's recent performances prior to the game and once again afterward. Then, his teammates chimed in, with George offering especially effusive praise:
"Kelly makes the team, man," George said. "He's definitely the unheard hero. He does so many different things for us. His energy, his defense, running the floor. He just does so much for us. I tell him and time and time again, man, he's special. He's very special. He literally can do anything and everything on the floor. When we need stops, when we need that push, he's the guy that does it for us. A lot of them making that comeback and us being able to kind of absorb that and go ahead, a lot of that came from him."
"He was big-time. I think he did a really good job of just picking his spots. Defensively, he was great, and then his energy was amazing. Whenever we needed a big play, like you said, an offensive rebound or a steal or a stop, he was really good."
Begin evaluating a Guerschon Yabusele-Embiid frontcourt
Yabusele, a natural power forward, has played the vast majority of his minutes at center this year to help fill in for Embiid. But with the former NBA MVP potentially back in the fold moving forward, the Sixers hope they can establish Yabusele as a viable frontcourt partner for Embiid.
Embiid and Yabusele were the Sixers' starting bigs in Chicago, but Yabusele played his third-fewest minutes of any game this season. The Bulls went with several super-small-ball lineups — including a four-guard starting five — and Nurse said Yabusele's limited action was merely about countering Chicago's speed by using McCain in smaller lineups (the same explanation applied to backup center Andre Drummond, who only appeared in the first quarter):
Nurse on the lack of minutes for Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond. Confirmed that he went with Jared McCain more to counter Chicago’s speed in small-ball lineups and that it just wasn’t a perfect matchup for Yabusele or Drummond:
(3/4) pic.twitter.com/LhN7jBCq0a— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) December 9, 2024
Nurse has continued to be infatuated with the idea of having size advantages across multiple positions, but he has rarely had the ability to actually enable such a concept to become reality. Playing Embiid and Yabusele together would give the Sixers quite a bit of muscle down low.
MORE: Sixers-Bulls recap
Get McCain on track to play backup point guard
Perhaps the most stunning part of McCain's outstanding rookie season has been his comfort level with the ball in his hands. Within 15 games, he was being relied on as a primary ball-handler in certain second unit lineups for Nurse, who had no choice but to give the 20-year-old the keys.
"His passing hasn't been tapped into yet," Embiid said. "But I think he can make plays."
Jared McCain's season-high in assists during 36 games at Duke last season was five.
In his 11th NBA game and first NBA start, he collected 10 assists alongside 34 points. Here is each one of those assists: pic.twitter.com/2pZNu711RT— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 14, 2024
With McCain likely settling into a heavy-minute sixth-man role moving forward, he will log playing time at both guard spots. But can he earn enough trust as a ball-handler and decision-maker with the ball to become the team's full-time backup point guard?
Not only would such experience become enormously valuable for someone who appears to be an increasingly vital component of the organization's future, but it would enable Nurse to remove the struggling 38-year-old floor general Kyle Lowry from his regular rotation and add another wing player with superior athletic tools and at least somewhat of a scoring punch. (In the short-term, this would likely be Ricky Council IV; longer term, this could be a trade acquisition).
McCain scored 11 points and knocked down a trio of three-pointers in Chicago while also collecting three steals. However, he only logged 68 seconds as the Sixers' point guard. Could he have a future at that spot, at least on a part-time basis? An extended look could do him and the team a lot of good, even just as a means to gather information.
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