"I feel good. You know, just taking it day by day," said Anfernee Simons, who has missed 76ers practices over the past week. With no preseason game reps, he expects to "find my way" over the first 20 games. Asked if he'll play in the opener: "I can't confirm or deny that."
Labaron Philon Jr. and Anfernee Simons can both play on or off the ball in the 76ers' bench unit, Simons said, and he can run the offense "if LP's running the point for a long time and he needs a break." The rookie debuts at the Garden on the defending champions' ring night.
Karl-Anthony Towns may draw a power forward, not a center, in the 76ers' Oct. 20 opener at the Knicks: Nick Nurse is weighing putting his center on Josh Hart. The upside: more switching on screens. The risk: can Towns pass, rebound, post up and shoot over a power forward?
Joel Embiid is "ready to go" for the 76ers' opener, Nick Nurse said: "Some of those things weren't going on a year ago." Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow and Tacko Fall did not practice. Wade wore a practice jersey anyway. "Shouldn't make any judgments by those jerseys," Nurse said.
The 76ers' Joel Embiid blamed his preseason falls on trips and pushes: "I'm just trying to do a better job to stay on my feet... But I feel okay." Asked if his third-quarter dunk meant he's back, he said "not really": "I thought I would never dunk again."
Jabari Walker, LeBron James and Dean Wade have played center in 76ers lineups with no true big. James said clean rebounding is the key and "we haven't logged enough minutes with it to know good or bad." Wade turned his ankle Oct. 16; James said "he'll be great."
Dean Wade rolled his ankle late in the first half of the 76ers' preseason game, but Nick Nurse called it "not major concern," saying they were "just cautious because preseason game." Nurse hopes to add "about 3 or 4 players" by Oct. 20: "I don't know if we will or not."
Joel Embiid played 29 minutes in the 76ers' preseason game, and Nick Nurse liked it: "I think that's pretty hard playing 29 minutes for him, which is— I like to see." He said Embiid shook off rust from the first game, pointing to his 8 defensive rebounds.
"Is it Tyrese and Joel and Jaylen and Labaron or whatever?" Nick Nurse doesn't yet know which 76ers combinations of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Labaron Philon Jr. work. Asked if Brown will lead second-unit lineups: "Possibly. I don't know yet."
Dean Wade turned his ankle "a little bit" in the 76ers' Oct. 16 game, LeBron James said, "but he'll be great." On Joel Embiid, who wasn't healthy with Team USA, James said: "this summer, he's been the most healthy he's been a long time... he's been in all the practices."
Asked for an update on Josh Hart, Knicks coach Mike Brown answered for the whole roster: "Yeah, no, no, everybody's healthy. Nobody was held out of any portion of practice." He did not address Hart individually.
James Wiseman isn't in the Knicks' plans as a starter, or even necessarily a backup yet. Mike Brown, who coached him at Golden State, wants a simple role built on his natural ability, to expand later. Wiseman "didn't play any college basketball, really," Brown said.
"Are we still hungry? ... Or are we just content? That's our big question." Jalen Brunson said keeping the Knicks' core intact is very valuable, but the answer comes in the first couple of weeks. The title is "in our past," he said, with "no relaxation whatsoever."
Asked whether whatever kept Josh Hart out could linger into Oct. 20, Knicks coach Mike Brown said: "Not from— not from my understanding, yeah." He gave no detail on what the issue was, so the reason Hart sat remains unexplained.
Mohamed Diawara got the start so he could get preseason reps against top scoring wings. Knicks coach Mike Brown: "I wanted him as a young big wing to be able to guard either Kawhi or Barnes." Brown said Diawara showed growth.
Pacome Dadiet showed growth but still has to do a better job staying in front of the ball, Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "But, man, I thought he tried to be physical." Brown also joked about Dadiet's late backcourt violation.
Andre Drummond's job for the Knicks, per Mike Brown: screen and roll on offense, protect the rim by going straight up on defense. "We need Andre to screen and roll and put pressure on our opponents," Brown said, adding that Drummond did both well.