PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers’ plan for this week’s back-to-back had been to stagger off days of Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Embiid played 33:18 with 30 points in a 113-104 win over Indiana on Monday night with George sitting out. George, though, failed a pregame fitness test and was ruled out Tuesday with left knee injury management.
Tuesday was the first time since Jan. 11 and just the second in the last 14 games that the 76ers played with neither Embiid nor George. Embiid’s absence was formally right ankle injury management, with no mention of either of his knees.
Andre Drummond, who had fallen behind Adem Bona as the backup to Embiid, started for the 16th time this season.
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Monday’s win over Indiana was the best offensive performance from Kelly Oubre since his return from a 22-game absence with a knee sprain.
Oubre logged 35 minutes, with 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting and five assists. That is his most minutes and most points since the return.
“He got downhill two or three times to start the game,” Coach Nick Nurse said Monday. “I think that’s always a good sign for him. I think it was his best overall game — forget the scoring, even though it is always needed and nice — but it just felt like he looked a lot more comfortable at both ends, in sets, execution, all that stuff.”
Oubre, starting for George, got to the basket for the first two points Tuesday night against the Suns, if Nurse was looking for omens. It’s the second start of his return.
Before Monday, he had averaged 25.2 minutes, 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in six games since his return as he found his feet. He had been shooting 31.6 percent from 3-point range.
Oubre had averaged 16.8 points in 34.9 minutes in his first 12 games of the season pre-injury.
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It’s been a struggle of late for Quentin Grimes.
Over his last 15 games, the guard is shooting just 32.4 percent from 3-point range, averaging 10.0 points in 28.1 minutes per game. He’s failed to get out of double figures in seven of those games, including four of the last six.
Though Nurse has consistently used him in the five-man lineups to close games, he wasn’t among that unit Monday, a night where he shot 1-for-7 for five points.
Nurse’s solution seems somewhat counterintuitive.
“I think that we really thought he was a much better player off the bench, that he liked to see the game a little bit and come in and play,” Nurse said. “And I think that we’re having some discussions lately of maybe that’s not the case, and maybe we start sticking him back in the starting lineup a little bit to see if that helps him as well.”
Much like Nurse’s assessment of Oubre and of VJ Edgecombe, one of the keys for Grimes is to get to the basket more, creating via his ability to get into the paint.
“We really need him to attack the rim more,” Nurse said. “He’s good at it in the open floor, and just a little bit more decisive when he’s coming up the floor to make a play in the paint. And then to pull the 3 balls, make sure he has the confidence to continue to take those, that the light is green and getting greener.”
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Johni Broome was recalled from the G League, where he’s been producing.
In 13 games, he’s averaging 33.2 minutes, 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 48 percent from the field. He’s shooting 31 percent on 5.5 3-point attempts per game.
That includes going off for 50 points in 38 minutes on Friday, shooting 18-for-34 with 17 rebounds and five assists in a defense-allergic 155-140 win over College Park.
“He’s had some really good games,” Nurse said. “Obviously, (he) had a really big game. I think he’s playing pretty confidently down there, which is important. He’s really doing a good job finishing and scoring at the basket. He’s making a decent amount of 3s. His rebounding has been pretty good.”
Nurse added that there’s not much in the way of minutes available at the center spot at the moment.
The second-round pick has looked occasionally lost in his early stints with the big club, playing seven games for 40 minutes in the NBA, shooting 4-for-20 from the field.