Author: Gina Mizell

Nick Nurse thought back to the 76ers’ preseason trip to Abu Dhabi, and how a multitude of injuries (again) forced him to cobble the rotation together for two exhibition games against the New York Knicks.

“I’d be pretty happy that we’re here right now,” the coach said of his former self late Monday.

“Here” is a 23-18 record at the regular season’s halfway point following a 113-104 home victory over the Indiana Pacers. Nurse acknowledged he is still irked by the handful of close games he believes the Sixers gave away. The roster, meanwhile, still feels like a work in progress after finally reaching full availability earlier this month.

But the Sixers are considered one of the NBA’s pleasant surprises, entering Tuesday in fifth place in the crowded Eastern Conference standings where 1½ games separate third and seventh.

“Probably would have taken this at the start of the season, for sure,” Nurse said. “And, hopefully, a couple more [health] dominoes can fall here as we go on.”

In that spirit, here is a collection of second-half goals for the Sixers’ rotation players.

Tyrese Maxey: Make the MVP ballot

When Maxey received “M-V-P!” chants at the free throw line during an early-season home game, he told Joel Embiid, “I don’t know how you do this.”

Maxey has been worthy of such serenading from spectators while making another significant leap in his sixth season. The 25-year-old point guard was named an All-Star starter Monday afternoon, as the top American vote-getter. That naturally makes him an All-NBA contender.

One step beyond those potential accolades? Getting onto MVP ballots, a race that could become more open if Nikola Jokić, the three-time winner of the sport’s top individual award and this season’s early favorite, falls under the 65-game eligibility threshold because of a recent knee injury. Maxey was seventh in the first ESPN straw poll, which surveys 100 eligible voters, released on Dec. 19.

For good reason. Maxey entered Tuesday ranked third in the NBA in scoring (30.2 points per game) while also setting career highs in assists (6.7 per game) and rebounds (4.4 per game). He is shooting 40% from three-point range and 47.5% from the floor, on 22.3 attempts per game as a multidimensional bucket-getter. He has become more of a defensive playmaker, averaging 2.1 steals per game — including a career-high eight in Monday’s win over the Pacers — and turning several into blazing finishes at the opposite end. And he is doing this while leading the league in minutes played, at 39.4 per game.

Some of these numbers could dip slightly if Embiid and Paul George can stay healthy, taking some of that load off the relentless Maxey. And a tough two-game stint against the Cavaliers — he went a combined 14-of-39 from the floor in consecutive losses — demonstrates he still faces a learning curve as the focal point of opposing defenses.

But Embiid was correct in nicknaming Maxey “The Franchise” years ago. If Maxey is the leader of a Sixers team that shifts from resurgent to legitimate East threat, he will need to get used to those chants.

Joel Embiid and Paul George: More dunks!

Following a Jan. 3 win at the New York Knicks, Embiid’s first dunk of the season was a popular topic. Nurse quipped that it occurring with a win secured in the final seconds “was a pretty cheap way of getting it … but at least we know he can still dunk.” When VJ Edgecombe learned that Embiid had not dunked since last season, the rookie’s reaction was “Oh my God.”

The celebration is not as much about the act itself, but the ongoing physical progress it signifies.

Ditto for Embiid more often stepping to center court for the opening tipoff. Or that he has played in 10 of 11 games since Dec. 30, including logging 40 minutes for the first time since the 2024 playoffs in a Jan. 5 overtime loss to Denver. During this stretch, he has averaged 27.4 points on 51.6% shooting with 7.6 rebounds, 4 assists, and noticeably improved elevation and mobility as a defender and rim protector.

And by the time the Sixers won in Toronto on Jan. 12, Embiid was throwing down one-handed dunks in traffic.

“I’ve made a lot of strides since the beginning of the season,” Embiid said Monday. “I’m back to, probably say, All-Star level and getting back to that All-NBA level and MVP level each and every day. Just got to keep it going.”

George, who battled numerous injuries during a disappointing first season in Philly, can relate. Though he has been most dangerous this season as a three-point shooter (37% on 6.3 attempts per game entering Tuesday), he said his body also feels (and looks) better as a versatile complementary player on both ends.

“Those small things,” George said. “It’s like stuff that I can check off like, ‘All right, I’m able to do this again. I’m able to dunk again. I’m able to explode again.’ So it’s just the small gains that just keep you going.”

Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker: Secure an NBA standard contract

While sitting inside a restaurant during the Las Vegas Summer League, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said he believed the front office had been savvy in leveraging two-way contracts to sign helpful players in Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker.

Morey was more than correct. Barlow has been the Sixers’ breakout player, lauded for his knack for crashing the boards and cutting while averaging 8.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists as the starting power forward. Walker is a high-energy rebounder (3.4 in 12.9 minutes per game), and has played in 39 of the Sixers’ 41 games.

“Those two guys just go out and play hard,” Nurse said Monday, “and have a lot of fun just giving everything they have.”

Both have certainly outplayed their two-way status, which primarily is designed for young, developing players to split time between the NBA and G League. The Sixers will aim to maximize the NBA games Barlow and Walker still have available before converting either (or both) to a standard contract. Because of a quirk for teams that do not fill their entire 15-man roster (the Sixers had 14 players signed to standard contracts as of late Monday), Barlow and Walker have a combined six active games with the Sixers remaining.

“We kind of have that respect for each other,” Walker said recently. “… This is new to both of us, so we don’t let the two-way define us. We just know we’re both big pieces and we have similar styles sometimes with our energy. We talk about how we can be effective as a team, and how we can both bring more energy.”

The Feb. 5 trade deadline could present an opportunity to free up another full roster spot. Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Kyle Lowry are on expiring contracts.

Andre Drummond and Adem Bona: Stay ready

That sports cliche is in the air throughout the Sixers’ roster, as Nurse experiments with various personnel combinations with a healthier group. It is most applicable to the two centers behind Embiid. The roles for Drummond and Bona have ranged from starter to backup to completely out of the rotation.

With Embiid now (seemingly) able to play more consistently, matchups, foul trouble, and other factors could determine when exactly Drummond or Bona see the floor.

Drummond appeared to be in the midst of a resurgent season but has looked more limited at times since a late-November knee injury. Bona’s early-season minutes were more sporadic before he recently regained the backup spot. There have been games when one player took the first-half stint and the other held that role in the second half.

“We’ve got to do it by feel,” Nurse said. “But I think they’re not alone in that. That’s what we’re doing [with multiple players] almost every night as coaches. … We’re always, every night, trying to figure out which guy fits that moment of the game. It’s really moment-to-moment. It’s just kind of the way it is.”

Nurse said last week that, in the games Embiid does not play, he would prefer to start Drummond and bring Bona off the bench because of the way opponents typically go smaller with their backup frontcourt players.

On last month’s holiday road trip, Nurse even tried Embiid and Bona on the floor together. Bona said that making that partnership effective is one of his primary goals moving forward.

VJ Edgecombe: Embrace the grind

At halftime of a Jan. 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Embiid asked Edgecombe if he was taking the day off.

Then the rookie turned another quiet start into a fabulous finish on both ends of the floor. He flashed his rare blend of athleticism and poise while scoring 17 points after the break, and finished with a career-high nine assists and a slew of impact defensive moments.

This feels like a key stretch for Edgecombe, who has already surpassed the total games he played during his one college season at Baylor — and entered Tuesday ranked eighth in the NBA in minutes (35.7). He acknowledged some early-season fatigue before a calf injury. Now, he is entering the NBA doldrums before the All-Star break and, after that, a playoff push.

After that night against Denver, Edgecombe connected on 5-of-6 three-point attempts in a Jan. 12 win at the Raptors. He has taken on more ballhandling responsibility. He has guarded All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell. But he also took only five shots in that Friday loss to the Cavaliers.

“I was the first person that went up to him [after that game],” Maxey said of Edgecombe, “and told him, like, ‘Dude, you shooting five times in a basketball game is not going to cut it for us. You’ve got to be up to 10, 12. You’ve got to be aggressive.’ Man, that’s my dog. That’s my little brother.”

On the season, Edgecombe is averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals. He must embrace the grind, because the Sixers are counting on his electric impact to persist into the spring.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: Recapture the early-season flow

Oubre quickly got downhill for the Sixers’ first bucket of Monday’s victory, igniting an outing when he totaled 18 points and a season-high five assists.

He looked like the player Oubre was before a mid-November knee injury, when he arguably was putting together the best basketball of his career in his 11th NBA season. He was in more control with the ball in his hands, averaging 16.8 points on 49.7% shooting in 12 games. And he relished taking on challenging perimeter defensive assignments.

Oubre has been back for six games, initially with understandable rust. He has committed to allowing his defensive energy to ignite his offense. He gained some momentum in a Jan. 11 loss at Toronto (13 points, five rebounds, four steals, three blocks), and then put up 12 points as part of the closing lineup in Friday’s loss to Cleveland.

It will be critical for Oubre to maintain that patience and understanding with himself, rather than reverting to old habits.

“He’s done a good job of just kind of easing his way back in,” Maxey said of Oubre on Monday, “and I feel like letting the game come to him.”

Quentin Grimes: Make a Sixth Man of the Year push

Grimes was never going to be the high-volume scorer and lead ballhandler he was after the Sixers’ acquired him at last season’s trade deadline, then shifted into tank mode. But Grimes’ first full season in Philly has been spotty, at times.

After a December shooting slump, Grimes rediscovered his touch at the end of the Sixers’ holiday road trip. Since then, he has hit double figures in scoring in only two of the Sixers’ last six games. He entered Tuesday ranked sixth in that category among players with double-digit games played off the bench (14.2 points), while adding 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and a willingness to defend.

Grimes will often be in the closing lineup, where the Sixers can utilize their guard depth. But being that initial, consistent spark off the bench — which could lead to Sixth Man of the Year consideration — is another worthwhile goal.

One nugget: Grimes is now eligible to be traded, and has veto power on any proposed deal after signing his one-year qualifying agreement in October.

Trendon Watford and Jared McCain: Squeeze back into the rotation

Watford was regarded as a sneaky-good offseason signing because of his versatility as a “point” forward. Hamstring and thigh injuries have limited him to 20 games, though one was a triple-double against the Raptors.

Watford is beginning to crack the rotation minutes again, totaling four points, two rebounds, and two assists while setting the pace as an additional ballhandler on Friday against Cleveland.

He played another 12 minutes Monday against Indiana, with two points on 1-of-4 shooting.

“Being able to play a lot of positions and play with different lineups, I think I can do,” Watford said Saturday of that reintegration process. “I just try to keep building off of that. Obviously, the team has something going right now, so I’m just trying to integrate my way back into it with my style of play and my game. It’s a process, but it’s slowly getting there.”

The opposite has happened for McCain, whose road back from knee and thumb surgeries has been choppy. His minutes have diminished as the Sixers’ roster returned to health, eventually falling out of the rotation Friday against Cleveland. The next day, he was assigned to the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats for the second time since his return. He was back in Philly in time for Monday’s matchup against Indiana, but he played only the final 47 seconds.

The former Rookie of the Year front-runner is shooting 35.4% from the floor, and has recently passed up some wide-open looks. His struggles even carried to the G League, where he went 5-of-18 from the floor (and had six turnovers) in the Blue Coats’ loss at the Noblesville Boom on Sunday.

“We’re just trying to get him some extended run,” Nurse said of McCain. “ … I don’t think he’s had much of a runway to play consistently.”

Jared McCain has been assigned to the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers announced Saturday.

McCain did not play in the Sixers’ Friday loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his rotation minutes have diminished in recent games as the roster has returned to full strength. The Blue Coats play at the Noblesville Boom on Sunday and Monday.

It has been a challenging second NBA season for McCain, who is about 13 months removed from meniscus surgery and also underwent thumb surgery in September. The second-year guard is averaging 6.3 points on 35.4% shooting from the floor in 30 games, but has been surpassed on the depth chart by dynamic rookie VJ Edgecombe and sixth man Quentin Grimes.

McCain also had two-game stint with the Blue Coats in November to help him regain conditioning and his shooting stroke shortly after returning from injury. Sixers coach Nick Nurse said throughout McCain’s reacclimation that game experience is expected to help him return to form.

Before his surgeries, McCain was a Rookie of the Year frontrunner after averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 23 games. He shot 38.3% on 5.8 three-pointers per game, after connecting on 41.4% of his long-range attempts during his one college season at Duke.

Tyrese Maxey could easily begin rattling off several games that the 76ers had already let slip away this season.

Both visits to the Chicago Bulls. Both contests against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, including a Nov. 14 trip in which they led in the fourth quarter. Two games against the Toronto Raptors, a potential first-round playoff opponent.

That barely scratched the past 12 days. The Sixers on Jan. 5 lost in overtime to a Denver Nuggets team that intentionally rested the bulk of its rotation. Then, last Sunday, they surrendered a four-point lead with 20 seconds remaining in regulation in Toronto before falling in overtime. Then came Friday night, when the Sixers blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 117-115 defeat at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

And in the bunched-up Eastern Conference standings — where three games separated second place from seventh entering Saturday — Maxey acknowledged that “those hurt.”

“We’ve had plenty of them,” the star point guard added. “ … But it’s OK. You’ve got to keep going. We’ve got 42 more games, so can’t dwell on it.”

The consequence of such late collapses was immediately clear late Friday, when the 22-18 Sixers dropped from fifth place to seventh in the East. They also are quite acquainted with down-to-the-wire scenarios, entering Saturday tied for third in the NBA with 25 “clutch” games played, which is classified as a game with the scoring margin at five points or less with five minutes remaining in regulation.

Recent results, though, have shifted from the early season, when part of this team’s resurgent charm was its knack for flipping poor third quarters into valiant comebacks. Their three consecutive clutch defeats have dropped their record to 13-12 in such games, which partially mirrors a perplexingly average 10-11 home record.

“It kind of evens out a lot over the year,” coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s game. “I thought we were really great early, and I think we’ve got to get a little bit better right now at it.”

The Sixers entered Saturday ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive rating in those clutch minutes (101.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), but 17th in offensive rating (109.7 points per 100 possessions). Standout veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George both attribute those offensive sputters to execution woes, particularly while still gaining rhythm with a finally healthy roster.

“We’ve just need to be organized,” Embiid said after Friday’s game, “and, I guess, keep running the same plays that are working.”

Added George: “We’ve got to probably drill it a little bit more. We’re out there together. We kind of know where we’re at. What we’re doing. What we’re running. What sets can we get into? Because the fact of the matter is they’re not going to make it easy for us.”

That starts with Maxey, the NBA’s third-leading scorer who will have the ball in his hands in crunch time.

He was self-critical after missing potential game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime against Denver, noting that he should have been more demonstrative in directing teammates and where he wanted the ball. He believed he and the Sixers had improved in that regard in their first matchup in Toronto, when he ripped off seven consecutive points — including what could have been a game-clinching deep shot — before the Sixers botched an inbounds pass. On Friday, Maxey shook loose for a game-tying floater with 8.1 seconds remaining before Evan Mobley’s winning dunk, but had been physically guarded throughout a 9-for-23 shooting night.

“Just not good enough down the stretch,” Nurse said of Maxey and the offense, “with either making a shot or getting a good enough one.”

During the final 3 minutes, 53 seconds — when Cleveland staged a 13-4 run to close the gap and seize the lead — the Sixers missed four out of their five shot attempts that came from Maxey, George, Embiid, and Kelly Oubre Jr. That put the Sixers “in scramble mode” on defense, Nurse said, whenever the Cavaliers turned missed shots or turnovers into transition opportunities. Maxey also emphasized an uptick in “broken plays,” such as loose balls and rebounds that the Sixers have not secured frequently enough in those crucial late minutes.

“Those come back to bite you,” Maxey said.

This was a rare week for the Sixers to play two consecutive games apiece against the Cleveland and Toronto, who also are in the thick of those muddled East standings. The Sixers are now 0-3 against the Cavaliers, officially losing the tiebreaker before a final meeting in March in Cleveland. They have finished the regular-season series against the Raptors at 2-2.

The positives? The Sixers have clinched a 2-1 tiebreaker against the Orlando Magic, whom they play only three times in the regular season. And they hold a 2-1 lead over the Celtics before their final matchup in March in Boston, and 2-0 lead over the New York Knicks ahead of two home games next weekend and just before the All-Star break.

Maxey enthusiastically clapped when asked earlier this season about his team’s abundance of close games, believing they would hold long-term benefits. Nurse added that, whenever he is asked about this topic at coaching conventions, he stresses that defensive execution is “equally important — maybe more” than offensive execution.

“And then, like anything else,” Nurse said, “it takes some work. It takes some repetition. It takes some focus. And then it takes belief.”

The past 12 days have demonstrated that the Sixers still have room to grow in those areas. Because they let three consecutive clutch games slip away, which caused them to slip down the crowded East standings.

“We’ve got to close games,” Embiid said, “and we’ve had a lot of games that [we] probably wish we could take it back.”

As soon as De’Andre Hunter had dropped his bags at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ hotel in Philly on Tuesday, he headed to Dalessandro’s Steaks.

“That’s mandatory any time I’m here,” Hunter said of visiting the local cheesesteak giant.

Spoken like a true Philly native. And one who, because of unfortunate scheduling around an in-season trade, never played in his hometown in 2024-25.

Hunter relished finally being back in front of family and friends inside Xfinity Mobile Arena Wednesday night. That “love in the air,” he said, powered his 17 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench in the Cavaliers’ 133-107 thrashing of the 76ers. The performance also helped rebalance shooting struggles that have hindered Hunter’s first full season with Cleveland.

“When he plays like that,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Hunter’s outing, “we’re tough to beat.”

Entering Wednesday, Hunter was shooting a career-worst 30.3% from three-point range, while his percentage from the floor (42.5%) was the lowest since his rookie year. Those dips somewhat mirror the disappointment so far surrounding the 23-19 Cavaliers. They were expected to be a Finals contender after boasting the Eastern Conference’s best regular-season record last season, but exited Wednesday as the seventh seed (a half-game behind the fifth-seeded Sixers, who are 22-17).

When the Cavaliers acquired Hunter, a Friends’ Central School graduate, from the Atlanta Hawks at last February’s trade deadline, they envisioned him as the final player needed to make a championship push. The 28-year-old wing possessed the 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame to guard multiple positions, and was thriving as an off-ball, catch-and-shoot offensive player.

Hunter’s initial transition was described in March by Atkinson as “seamless” and “as quickly as I’ve seen anybody acclimate.” As a key reserve, Hunter averaged 14.3 points on 48.5% shooting from the floor — and an eye-popping 42.6% from beyond the arc — in 27 regular-season games with the NBA’s most efficient offense, while adding 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

After Cleveland fizzled in a second-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, however, Atkinson said he looked forward to getting to know Hunter better during offseason visits. Today, the coach says he has learned even more while Hunter has faced personal adversity through the regular season’s first half.

“It’s like your kid, right?” Atkinson said before Wednesday’s game. “One that’s struggling a little or things aren’t going perfect, you probably spend more time with him.”

Through those conversations, Atkinson said, Hunter has reiterated he cares most about winning. After Cleveland’s home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday — which was part of a 2-for-10 shooting slump from Hunter — the coach said he needed to do a better job of putting Hunter in his comfort zone on the floor. And Atkinson appreciates that the struggles have not sent Hunter “into a shell” or affected the rest of the Cavaliers’ locker room.

“It’s been the opposite with him,” Atkinson said. “His body of work speaks for itself. He’s done it for a long time in this league, and it’ll come back.”

Hunter, meanwhile, has leaned into his work habits. To try to regain rhythm, he recently completed individual workouts that were deliberately intense — “despite how your body’s feeling” — and simulated game-like scenarios.

“Keep doing what I know how to do,” he said. “I’ve been shooting for years.”

It took multiple bounces on the rim for Hunter’s first three-point make to fall through the net Wednesday. But then he scored in the lane, and splashed another deep shot. Though a three-point try at the first-quarter buzzer rimmed out, he let the ball fly again just before halftime to give Cleveland a 60-47 advantage.

Hunter then helped cool the Sixers’ rally attempt in the third quarter, when twice he got free in transition for a layup and one-handed dunk. Shortly after hitting a turnaround jumper early in the final period, Hunter got to enjoy the rest of the night from the bench as the Cavaliers finished off a dominant victory.

“His aggression was the biggest thing,” star guard Donovan Mitchell said of Hunter’s impact after the game. “ … That’s the ‘Dre that we all know, and it’s great to see. He puts the time in. He puts the work in.

“So the biggest thing now is just keep going. Keep doing it. We believe in him.”

The Cavaliers and Sixers will square off again Friday, giving Hunter a longer-than-usual regular-season visit to Philly. That means there is time for another Dalessandro’s trip.

Then, he gets the opportunity to finally generate some on-court consistency in his first full season with the Cavaliers — while again playing in front of family and friends.

“That’s something I’m working on, and something I’m looking to do,” he said. “… What they expect from me, just providing that every night.”

TORONTO — Joel Embiid (knee/groin) and Paul George (knee) will return for the 76ers’ game at the Raptors on Monday night after missing Sunday’s overtime loss against the same opponent.

Embiid had been ruled out of Sunday’s game earlier in the day after groin soreness popped up following Friday’s victory against the Magic in Orlando, coach Nick Nurse said. George was a late scratch after he attempted his pregame warmup twice and could not adequately push off his leg, Nurse said.

Before Sunday, Embiid and George had gained some rhythm in availability and production after a cautious ramp-up following knee surgeries. Embiid, the former MVP, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 19 games. George has averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 20 games.

Their returns will boost a 21-16 Sixers team playing its final regular-season game against the 24-16 Raptors, who would be their first-round opponent if the playoffs began Monday.

ORLANDO — Nick Nurse called a timeout about two minutes into Friday’s matchup at the Magic, frustrated that his 76ers were “standing up straight and not moving great” defensively.

The coach continued to cycle through personnel groupings, searching for a spark on that end of the floor. He found it at the top of the final period, with guards VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, wings Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr., and center Andre Drummond.

Their suffocating, versatile defense turned a four-point Sixers lead into a 13-point advantage in an eventual 103-91 victory at Kia Arena. It helped the Sixers (21-15) overcome a night when they shot 4-for-28 from three-point range to secure the tiebreaker against a potential Eastern Conference playoff opponent. And the almost-five-minute surge happened with stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid getting their customary rest.

After the game, George said he believes the “scrappy” effort from that fourth-quarter lineup was only a flash of the Sixers’ potential on the defensive end of the floor.

“I think we can be special defensively,” said George, a four-time, all-defense selection during his standout career. “And that’s where the praise needs to be.”

The Sixers exited Friday ranked 12th in the NBA in defensive rating, with 113.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. Yet in their last five games, which have coincided with a return to a fully healthy roster for the first time since December of 2023, they are sixth (109.1 points per 100 possessions).

Nurse’s teams have regularly been lauded for an aggressive defensive style, anchored by playmakers who can deflect passes and generate takeaways. Yet this season’s Sixers also exited Friday ranked 12th in opponent turnovers (15.2 per game) and steals (8.7 per game).

Though the Sixers did not force a turnover during Friday’s decisive fourth-quarter stretch, Oubre and Grimes disrupted ballhandlers with their perimeter pressure. That allowed George and Drummond to “[patrol] in the back” near the basket. And it was a block party at the rim, with Drummond, George, and Oubre all rejecting one shot during the Magic’s 1-for-12 stint from the floor.

“We were just really keeping the ball in front,” Nurse said. “And when it did get past us, we always were sending a crowd to it.”

It was the second consecutive game that Nurse turned to the lineup that began the fourth quarter, after it blew open Wednesday’s home victory against the Washington Wizards. In 14 minutes across those two victories, that lineup has a stunning defensive rating of 48.1 points allowed per 100 possessions and a net rating of plus-74.9.

Even with that minuscule sample size, that group’s success perhaps represents a more under-the-radar benefit to the Sixers regaining health.

Outsiders may believe roster continuity is most helpful on the offensive end, where timing and chemistry between teammates are critical. But Nurse said last week that it also would allow the Sixers to add defensive schemes to complement the offensive firepower of Maxey, who dropped another 29 points Friday, the returning-to-form Embiid (22 points, nine rebounds) and George (18 points, nine rebounds), and the complementary scoring potential of Edgecombe, Oubre, and Grimes.

When George was sidelined to begin the season, for instance, Nurse said the wing would be especially valuable to this team as a defensive communicator. Oubre, who earlier this week returned from a month-plus-long absence with a knee injury, also welcomes guarding wings and switching onto multiple positions. Edgecombe is already an impact player on that end, a rarity for a rookie, while Maxey is a noticeably improved defender. And if Embiid continues to improve physically, he could become an impact rebounder and rim protector again.

Those options mean the Sixers can contest outside shots and “make it a tight paint” on drives, George said. At other points Friday, the Sixers shifted into a zone defense and used Drummond to “blitz” out on perimeter ballhandlers. The next step as a group, George said, is to become even more comfortable playing “on a string” and rotating sharply with teammates.

Nurse, though, may have discovered a lineup that can provide a defensive spark. And George believes Friday’s five-minute effort is only a glimpse at the Sixers’ capabilities on that end of the floor.

“I know it’s tough to do — especially more now than ever in this league,” he said. “But I think the versatility that we have, we should be able to do it.”