If the Philadelphia 76ers are marginally better in the 2023-24 season than they were last year, it's probably due to new head coach Nick Nurse. The Sixers' roster is in disarray with the uncertainty surrounding James Harden and the key bench players they failed to find surefire replacements for. They're hoping Nurse can use the players at his disposal — which still include Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — to keep the team going.
While Doc Rivers helped Embiid and Harden find a very successful harmony together, his tactics didn’t get enough out of the Sixers roster to lift them up to the top tier of title contenders. The Sixers fired Rivers and pursued Nurse heavily, as they believe he can make the tactical decisions that unlock more within the team.
Since his introductory press conference, Nurse has discussed what he plans to do with Embiid and Maxey and explained how the Sixers will go full trial-and-error to figure out what works and what doesn’t before the playoffs. With training camp not too far away, he discussed how he will try to get the most out of Embiid.
Nurse chopped it up with Patrick Beverley, one of the Sixers' new additions and a former player of Nurse's in the G League, on his podcast. In addition to talking about his time coaching a 44-year-old Dennis Rodman during his stint as a head coach in the British Basketball League, Nurse discussed his vision for Embiid and the Sixers. In regard to the big fella special, he explained (at the 46:00 mark) how he plans to use him as an anchor on defense and a versatile weapon on offense.
“Well, first and foremost, I hate to be boring and start at the defensive end but I’m going to really expect a lot more rim protection from him,” Nurse said. “I would say that would be where I’m going to start. We’re going to probably let our aggressive guards be really aggressive and funnel a lot of things to him. I always say, like, he’s gonna take more swings at blocked shots. You want to block more shots? You got to swing more.”
The Sixers' defense will always be predicated on Embiid's fearsome presence in front of the cylinder. By simply being there, he has deterred countless players from taking a layup or close shot without even lifting his arms above his head. Nurse understands fully just how good Embiid is on defense. Making him contest more shots is a good strategy to make sure the opponents' shots will be tougher and tougher.
“I think he continues to develop and be creative on offense,” the Sixers coach continued. “I would imagine you’re gonna see him doing about a little bit of everything offensively from bringing it up the floor to running screen-and-rolls to [dribble handoffs]. We’re going to be running some down screens, cross screens, back screens, whatever. They’re gonna have to defend everything with him and, hopefully, we can get him the ball.”
On the other side, using Embiid in numerous roles can help get more movement into the Sixers offense, which is critical for a team whose lead scorer is a slow, plodding center who isn’t a gifted playmaker. A less stagnant, more holistic offense that leverages Embiid's gravity could be the ticket that helps Philly thrive deep in the postseason (or at least fare better than they previously have).
Nurse also confirmed that he will try out two-big lineups with Embiid and Paul Reed. Such looks would give the Sixers a size boost and a bigger presence on the glass. Philly's unpredictability in their tactics should give them an edge in the regular season that potentially makes up for the shaky roster that is subject to change if/when a Harden trade goes down.
The Sixers may not know for sure who will be present and ready to play once the season begins. The looming possibility of a Harden trade requires them to be ready for anything in order to perform well enough when it really counts. In the hiring of Nurse, they unknowingly prepared themselves for this uncomfortable scenario, installing a coach whose whole M.O. is trying new things.