Nurse preps Sixers for ‘super intense, physical’ game, leans on Lowry’s expertise

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Nurse preps Sixers for ‘super intense, physical’ game, leans on Lowry’s expertise originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Anything can happen in games with heightened stakes and desperation.

Still, head coach Nick Nurse and the Sixers believe they know the essence of what the Heat will bring to Wednesday night’s play-in tournament matchup at Wells Fargo Center.

“I can remember about my last 12 games with them,” Nurse said following the Sixers’ practice Monday, “and they’re always hard-played, super intense, physical games. So that’s OK. That’s what we think we are, too. We want to go out there and scrap with you. Sometimes you’ve got to get ready to do it right from the jump against these guys.

“Obviously they’ve got a bunch of other things. (Bam Adebayo’s) a great player, (Jimmy Butler’s) a great player. They’ve got unbelievable complementary pieces. … Their health issues are improving. (Tyler) Herro’s back playing. (Duncan) Robinson’s a great shooter. (Terry) Rozier’s into the fold and explosive. So tons of talents and tons of scoring options that you’ve got to keep your eye on. There’s lots of matchups that we have to play. We just have to prepare for it all.”

This play-in tournament will be Nurse’s second straight. His final game as Raptors coach was a defeat to the Bulls in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game last year. Miami then stormed past Chicago down the stretch to reach the playoffs and made an improbable, gutsy run to win the Eastern Conference.

So yes, nearly everything is on the table once the regular season ends. But it’s certainly safe to say six-time All-Star and one-time Sixer Jimmy Butler will play a central role in Wednesday’s contest.

“They’ve got the ball in his hands a lot, right? He’s a multi-level scorer,” Nurse said. “He’s going to drive it. … He creates a lot of offense for others out of his driving.

“He’s got a post-up game. If you’re going to be into some switching, they’re going to immediately try to take him in there if they think they’ve got an advantage, which throws you into a whole other set of schemes. ……

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nurse-preps-sixers-super-intense-233932437.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-04-15 23:39:32

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