“I don’t overreact to [foul trouble]. How many times does a guy get 2 and he ends up with 3? I let guys play through.” Nick Nurse on his decision to keep Joel Embiid in after he got his 3rd foul in the first half
by MaleficentHawk590
@Philadelphia 76ers
8 Comments
Great answer
Doc would never
Might as well maximise the full 6, if they start playing for it then they become predictable, how many times has Embiid drawn an offensive trying to go at a guy in foul trouble? Granted he has also had a lot of success…..see any centre that hasn’t worked how to body without using hands.
Long story short, Embiid knows how to play defence without fouling! It’s called running up 25 point leads in 3 quarters.
Honestly, Embiid should scale back his defensive effort in the regular season.
90% of his injuries are from trying to contest some out of control asshole driving to the rim and getting his feet tangled on the way down.
He should honestly take after Jokic on defense in the regular season. Never leave his feet, just be a big body and focus on boxing out.
He’ll save his body in the regular season and it’ll probably help him in the MVP race anyways. He’ll play more games with less nagging injuries and he’ll be less tired so he can focus on getting buckets.
Learning how to play with foul trouble is a super valuable skill. It takes experience, discipline, and almost perfect decision making. Embiid and Nurse trusting each other will allow Embiid to play high value minutes in the playoffs. Getting to “practice” this situation while up double digits in early January is a best case scenario for the Sixers.
In short, what a difference a coach can make.
Meanwhile college coaches will push the panic button when a player picks up a quick 2 fouls and auto bench for the rest of the half
It’s almost like NN is about improving his coaching and his team, not his handicap and ‘relationships’.