Taj Gibson

The Sixers have been plagued by injuries as of late, with star center Joel Embiid missing five of the team’s past seven games while several role players deal with minor ailments. However, head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t want to use those health issues as an excuse for recent home losses to New York (by 36 points) and Utah (by 11), writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Obviously, the easy way out is to say, ‘Oh, we’re beat up and we don’t have enough people’ and all that kind of stuff. But I can’t accept that as the coach,” Nurse said. “There is a way we want to play regardless of who’s out there, and that’s what I got to make sure to nip.

“… I just don’t accept the effort. I don’t accept the lack of defensive changes and lack of shot challenges, all that kind of stuff. I can accept shots not going in, right? I think it all works together. So, regardless of whether that ball is going in or not, you got to still be able to put some type of style of play together that you are going to be consistent with and some type of fight you’re going to be consistent with.”

The Sixers are in the midst of a stretch of three days off between Saturday’s loss to the Jazz and Wednesday’s game vs. Atlanta. Nurse has taken advantage of that break by holding some intense practices and revisiting some “foundational” habits that the team first established in training camp, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Our foundational stuff has gotten rocked here a little bit,” Nurse said. “We’ve got to get that foundation solidified. That’s basic stuff: getting back and guarding the ball and challenging shots.”

As we relayed earlier this afternoon, Embiid appears likely to remain sidelined on Wednesday, but Tobias Harris and De’Anthony Melton remain on track to return to the lineup.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

• While Dennis Schröder wasn’t particularly thrilled by his move to the bench in December, having him playing with the second unit while Immanuel Quickley starts at point guard has been a boon for the Raptors, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who writes that Schröder has embraced the change. “Whatever it takes for this organization to win, I’ll do it,” the veteran guard said. “(Head coach Darko Rajakovic) knows that, that I want to win every single night, that’s the best feeling ever.” Since Schröder’s first game off the bench on Dec. 27, Toronto has a +18.0 net rating in his 219 minutes.
• Noting that recently waived big man Taj Gibson was “instrumental” in getting the Knicks through a stretch in the schedule when multiple frontcourt players were injured, head coach Tom Thibodeau referred to Gibson as “the ultimate pro” and said there will be “an open door” for the 38-year-old to join New York’s coaching staff once he decides to retire as a player, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I think he still has something left in the tank,” Thibodeau said. “I think he’s going to be a terrific coach when that time comes, as well. We’ll see how everything goes.”
• Since expressing frustration with his role a little over a month ago and being moved to the bench, Knicks wing Quentin Grimes has hit his stride again, Botte writes in another New York Post story. Grimes’ scoring output as part of the second unit (7.7 PPG) remains modest, but he has made 43.1% of his three-point attempts in that role, including 10-of-22 (45.5%) during the current four-game win streak. “He’s back to who he is, and I expect nothing less,” Jalen Brunson said on Monday. “He works really hard, and the things he’s able to do, we’ve seen before, and now we’re going to continue to see it.”