The Philadelphia 76ers have been facing the heat since the time they put out the new ‘normal’ for Joel Embiid. The NBA fined the Sixers $100,000 after their investigation. Last week, reports surfaced suggesting that the hooper’s absence in the season opener against the Bucks may have conflicted with the league’s strict player participation rules. The Nick Nurse-led side had sidelined The Process to manage his knee issue, which kept him out of the next two games as well, with him yet to make an appearance this season!

The league’s investigation concluded that media statements from head coach, Nick Nurse and President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey “were inconsistent” about Joel Embiid’s health condition. Surprisingly, however, the Philly side’s boss wasn’t even aware of the fine imposed, even though it was partly because of his own statements!

If that wasn’t enough, Nick Nurse seemed to have ducked questions regarding the fine, after the team’s practice on Tuesday. “I’m going to have to punt that one,” he said in the pre-game presser.

Imagine the head coach being so aloof and not even owning up to his own statements, passing them on to other stakeholders of the franchise. “You are going to have to ask [team president of basketball operations] Daryl [Morey] or [Sixers chief communications officer] Dave [Sholler] or [general manager] Elton [Brand] or somebody else. Like I said, I didn’t even know that we got fined yesterday. I got a game, and several games to coach, and lots of things going on,” he concluded.  

This might not be a smart move to duck such important questions. Saving them for the President of Basketball Operations or Chief Communications Officer makes it look even worse for the struggling franchise. Who’s accountable for all of this?

Nick Nurse seems tired of the questions about their star big man Joel Embiid

The media did not stop putting Nick Nurse in uneasy situations. They had asked him if it was fair that fans buy tickets to see Embiid play, while he had missed almost half of regular season matches. The head coach did not answer this question but was beating around the bush, before one of the journalists then pressed further the second time. To which he replied, “They are listed as out,” Nurse said. “Within the league guidelines, we have to list them. That’s why the league has those guidelines.”

According to Shams Charania, Joel Embiid was back in practice on Tuesday and participated in portions of practice. He was there for five-on-five scrimmages, marking a positive step forward. Since this was a major development in Embiid’s health, there was a question about his fitness. Nick Nurse quickly cut off a reporter when he had started to ask about ‘the plan’, as the Sixers head coach replied: “I’m not going to answer.”

But the head coach, later added, “They’re improving [Embiid and Paul George]. We got some practice time in between some games this week, fortunately. And we hope to have a really good read by Friday whether or not they will be able to be available for Saturday or for the West Coast or whatever.”

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Nurse also believes the 2023 league MVP is unlikely to participate in both matches during the Sixers’ first back-to-back series. This will take place on November 12-13, when the Sixers face off against the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With Joel Embiid already facing heavy criticism from hoops legends like Charles Barkley for not really being the best inspiration out there in the locker room, and then the NBA penalizing the Philly side, it’s just going from bad to worse for the Sixers.