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It was an hour after Monday night’s game ended before Nick Nurse walked out of the 76ers locker room to discuss maybe the ugliest 76ers losses of a young season with a lot of them — Philly blew a 19-point first-half lead and lost to Miami 106-89. That drops the 76ers to 2-11 on the season, tied with the tanking Washington Wizards for dead last in the entire NBA.
By the time Nurse spoke to the media, the conversation was not about the most recent ugly game, it was more about the team meeting that happened. Nurse played it down, calling it “a little meeting” driven by players and coaches. Joel Embiid also played it down saying, “Oh, we had a meeting?” (Via Keith Pomey of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Details of the meeting were bound to leak out, and by Tuesday afternoon Shams Charania of ESPN had them — including Tyrese Maxey challenging Embiid.
In the meeting, Maxey challenged Embiid to be on time to team activities, calling out the former league MVP about being late “for everything” and how it impacts the locker room, from other players to the coaching staff, sources briefed on the meeting told ESPN…
Players told 76ers coach Nick Nurse that they want to be coached harder, and coaches in turn said they want players to practice with purpose and attention to detail.
Embiid accepted the messages sent in the meeting, sources said, but he stated he is confused about what the 76ers are attempting to execute sometimes on the court.
Embiid as a team leader can be a challenge because everyone is trying to balance injury concerns with pushing him physically during the regular season. That said, physical concerns are one thing but showing up late to team meetings and events is another, it sets a poor tone. Embiid and Maxey are tight, so this is unlikely to lead to any real friction between the two stars, and that made Maxey the person who could say it.
Team meetings are overrated by fans in terms of impact, but in this case, the 76ers needed one. Philadelphia has the worst offense in the NBA this season, and Embiid’s confusion about what the team is trying to execute sounds like a symptom of that.
Embiid, Maxey and Paul…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/76ers-hour-long-postgame-meeting-181031240.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-19 18:10:00
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