PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers’ days without an incident sign had to be reset before the season had even begun Wednesday.
The NBA is investigating the participation limits placed on center Joel Embiid, according to a report by ESPN.
Embiid didn’t play in the preseason and was Monday ruled out for the first three games of the season with what the club is terming left knee management. He has not suffered a setback since playing for the U.S. in the Olympics in August and is progressing in practice via his individualized recovery plan but has not yet done full-contact scrimmages.
The 76ers and Embiid both spoke in the preseason about his main objective being health in the postseason. Limiting him in the regular season is an avenue to that, and the club already is endorsing a plan not to have him or Paul George play back-to-backs in the regular season. George missed the opener with a knee bruise suffered 10 days ago in Atlanta.
Nick Nurse stuck to the company line before the opener with the Bucks.
“I don’t have any thoughts on it,” he said. “Nobody from our organization has said anything to me about that. So as far as the investigation, I don’t really know.”
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Without Embiid and George, Nurse dialed up a starting five of Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre, KJ Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond.
Gordon was preferred for his ability to space the floor and shoot. Martin got the edge over Caleb Martin on the basis of his strong preseason.
“KJ has had a great fall,” Nurse said. “We like his defensive abilities. He also gets to the basket and offensive rebounds good.”
Nurse said Caleb Martin will still play starters’ minutes. Indeed, KJ Martin lasted 4.5 minutes before picking up two fouls and was replaced by Caleb Martin, who was second to only Maxey with 18 minutes played in the first half. Caleb Martin started the second half in place of KJ Martin.
Nurse also utilized a big lineup against a Bucks front that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis Jr. and Brook Lopez that included Drummond, Caleb Martin and Guerschon Yabusele.
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Embiid’s limitations to start the season magnify the importance the 76ers placed on having a capable backup center. It’s a bonus, then, that the ostensible backup isn’t starting from zero in a relationship with the starting point guard.
Maxey was a promising point guard on the up in 2021 when Andre Drummond signed with the 76ers as a free agent. The work ethic to become an All-Star was there from the second-year pro, but it would take time for the improvement to accrue.
Drummond would have to see that from afar, getting 49 games with the Sixers before being collateral in the deal to ship Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. He’s sent the last two years with the Chicago Bulls.
“From playing with him to watching him from afar, it’s been night and day,” Drummond said Tuesday. “Just his growth as a player and his leadership is the biggest thing that stands out to me coming back here now. He was a kid that didn’t talk at all when I was here. It was hard to get him to say anything when I first got here to now, when I come back, I hear his voice throughout the entire practice. So his leadership skills have really built up during that time.”
Maxey cited Drummond’s impact on him even in their brief time together as informing some of that improvement.
“I was at the point guard, and Andre Drummond would tell me, ‘Hey, listen, you’re going to get 30 tonight, and we’re going to win, and I’m going to set a screen every single time. And if they drop, you come up and shoot. If they’re up, you go by them and shoot a layup and if you miss, I’m going to tip or dunk it in,” Maxey said. “And now it’s just crazy, because, he was saying, man, you can do so many different things now at these ball screens, and I’m going to get you open. So just find a shot for yourself, find a shot for your teammates and myself in a lob, and we’ll go from there.”
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NOTES >> This is the second straight season the 76ers have opened with Milwaukee. The Bucks claimed a 118-117 win in Wisconsin last year behind 39 points from Damian Lillard in his team debut. Maxey and Oubre were the only two available 76ers Wednesday who played that night. … Wednesday marked the second game back in Philly for Doc Rivers, the team’s coach for three seasons from 2020-23. Rivers’ Bucks blew out the Embiid-less 76ers, 119-98, on Feb. 25, a month after he took over the job. That didn’t take the edge off the lusty boos he received when introduced pregame.
