PHILADELPHIA - There were times when Nick Nurse needed to take a moment to find the right words. As if there were words to do this season justice.
He has yet to talk to Joel Embiid in the wake of the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the season. But, that doesn't mean they haven't pondered, together, about what a roller coaster from hell this season has been.
"He was at practice [Friday]. Obviously, the news came after practice. I had not talked to him about which way it was leaning at all. At that point, I asked how he was doing, and he said he was alright. That's it," Nurse said.
"I mean, obviously knew it was a possibility. Was certainly hoping it wasn't. Disappointed for sure, right? I think disappointed on a lot of fronts and not what we hoped at all for this season or for him or anybody. So, very disappointed."
At least publicly, the next steps are as clear as a walk through dense fog, unsure of what awaits you just two feet ahead.
"Obviously, the medical team is going to handle all of that. Whatever that course of action is, they'll take care of all that stuff," Nurse said.
At most, it seems the head coach's priorities have maybe shuffled a bit in light of the news. Winning remains a goal, but it wasn't the first goal that came to his mind on Saturday evening.
"Our priority is to get this team to play with great effort and try to figure out how to win some games," he said.
They intend to do so with Paul George and Tyrese Maxey on the court.
When asked if the plan is to keep the other two tentpoles of the team active - health permitting, of course - Nurse responded with a simple "Yes".
It's not like having them play was interfering with the Sixers' chances of keeping their protected first-round pick in the 2025 draft, anyway.
The Sixers will ostensibly spend a lot of time worrying about the future on two fronts. They have a chance to bridge this era to the next if they keep their pick - and hit a home run with it. It's a golden ticket opportunity that might save a sinking ship from going completely underwater over the next handful of years. But, they also have to worry about the guy they've so heavily relied on to keep the ship afloat over the past eight years.
Nurse doesn't know of any setbacks with Embiid's knee.
Rather, he describes the state of his knee as a perpetual roller coaster.
"I get the reports from the medical team. But, I think that, yeah, it's felt good at times and it's felt not as good at times. I think it's kind of been an up-and-down thing," he said.
"That's it, I think it gets to points where it feels a little better and then he can go play and then it swells up again and it doesn't feel that good and he can't play as well, can't move as well."
According to Nurse, Embiid most laments not being healthy enough at the most critical moments, such as postseason play. It's something the two have talked about a great deal.
And until there's a clearer picture, those 'what if's are what the locals and the NBA community, at large, will talk about when it comes to no. 21.
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