CAMDEN, N.J. — As training camp continues, the process is becoming more cohesive for the Sixers as they build on-court chemistry.
On their second day of training camp, the team largely focused on the same concepts as Day 1, working to build the defense, but the drills were expedited as the team now had greater familiarity with the work.
“That's one of the nice things about having a practice,” Nick Nurse said. “The second day, you kind of, not repeat exactly, but repeat similar things. You can get into the drills a lot quicker and get a lot more reps. You don't have to explain it.”
Of the 21 players on the training camp roster, two-thirds are new to the team. Each of those players is being introduced to different, if not new, concepts, so ensuring a solid foundation is critical.
“We have a lot of new guys,” Nurse said. “Even though some of the drills are the same as we did a year ago, [it] feels like half the team at least needs to see them for the first time. So second day you can kind of we're doing the same drill we did yesterday, and you're right into it. So the reps increase, but it was the same.”
For the second consecutive day, the entire team fully participated in practice, with the exception of Adem Bona, who is continuing to recover from a foot sprain, and Tacko Fall, who was a partial participant after suffering “a little hip thing” during practice, according to Nurse.
That means two days of full participation for Joel Embiid, who has entered the preseason looking noticeably trimmer and, by his own account, feeling “good.” Embiid hasn’t publicly disclosed any changes in his approach, but the fruits of his labors are showing, according to his teammates.
“He looks great,” Tyrese Maxey said. “He looks amazing. He looks happy. I think that's great. You're healthy and you're happy. You're at peace with your life in basketball; that's when you get your best. So he's been great. He's Joel.”
The Sixers might not need the dominant offensive force that Embiid has been in years past. Arguably, their far greater need is for Embiid to see a return to the level of defensive play he displayed in his formative years. Embiid maintaining what Maxey is seeing over the course of the season and, more importantly, come the postseason would go a long way toward the team’s championship aspirations.
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Nurse was noncommittal when it came to whether or not the Sixers’ starters would make an appearance in the team’s upcoming preseason action, but he did say the desire was to get them on the floor at some point.
"We certainly want them to get out there and play," Nurse said before mentioning that the Sixers will confer with their key players before making any decisions. "...I think they'll all get out there, and I would say, kind of like we've done in the past, the guys that are available would play a bit in the first half. The second half, probably looking at the other guys and all that stuff. But as we get closer to the end, we want to get some time out there together, for sure."
The Sixers’ first preseason matchup will be Monday, Oct. 5, as the New York Knicks come to town.
“I've been super impressed with his vision and his passing and his offensive creation,” Nurse said. “He's really talented, but the vision is really special. He's seeing things really early from distance and delivering passes.”
Despite his rookie status, Philon’s vision and creation ability are traits the Sixers are in relatively short supply of. Finding playing time on a crowded bench will prove difficult in his first season, but there are ways to win over the coaching staff.
“I was super impressed with him yesterday,” Nurse continued. “His compete level and his fight level... he was really holding his own everywhere in the area. I mean, we're doing mostly defense now, so he doesn't get to show all that flashy offense that he has.”
Once the Sixers begin to shift their focus to implementing their impressive individual offensive talents into a team system, Philon will have even more of an opportunity to show off his skill set.
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