![]() "I think that it's been an interesting experience coaching against Joel," Nurse said. Still, those battles have led Nurse to a newfound appreciation for his new star. Embiid has taken some jabs at Nurse in the media, including comparing Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn to Nurse after Vaughn agitated for foul calls against Embiid during their first-round series last month. The Raptors and 76ers, beyond facing each other four times a year in the Atlantic Division, also met twice in the playoffs: the epic seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal clash in 2019, when Kawhi Leonard's buzzer-beater in Game 7 allowed Toronto to move on, and a six-game first-round series last year.Īlong the way, Nurse and Embiid have had some colorful exchanges on the sidelines. The coach will try to do so from a place of familiarity, given how often they've gone head-to-head over the past five years. Part of rising above it will come down to whether Nurse can help Embiid, the NBA's MVP, take his game to a new level in the postseason. We're going to have to face it, and we're going to have to rise above it." So, I would imagine from day one we're going to talk about that and that we're going to try to attack that, you know. So the reality is, that's, that's the truth. It was the same in Toronto we hadn't played that well, and certain players hadn't played that well and all those kinds of things. Like we know we're going to be judged on how we play in the playoffs. "You guys have mentioned the second round to me twice already, and we're going to hit that head-on. Next season, whatever's happened for the last how many whatever years doesn't matter to me. To me, when we get a chance to start and dig into this thing a little bit, it's going to be only focused on what we're trying to do forward. "I don't really vibrate on the frequency of the past. Instead, the focus will be on what lies ahead. ![]() ![]() It has been a generation since Allen Iverson led Philadelphia to its last NBA Finals, and two since Julius Erving took the 76ers to their last championship, but Nurse said none of that matters now. ![]() Nurse, who was hired by the Sixers just a few weeks after his successful five-year run with the Toronto Raptors ended, said he already has talked to Harden and plans to meet with him as well as every other player on the roster, including Joel Embiid, with whom he sat down during the interview process.Īnd while a championship is the natural expectation for this team, Nurse inherits a group that has reached the end of the road in the Eastern Conference semifinals in five of the past six seasons. "And if it is, then he should stay here and play for us, because I think there's a possibility of that." "Can we be good enough to win it all? That's got to be a goal of his. "Winning has to be the sell, right?" Nurse said Thursday during his introductory news conference at the team's practice facility. New Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse was asked about the status of pending free agent James Harden and how he'd sell the star guard on playing for him next season. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserħ6ers' pitch to James Harden keys on ability to 'win it all'ĬAMDEN, N.J. ![]()
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