Sixers Practice Notes: Unpacking the Aftermath of the Jared McCain Injury

CAMDEN - Nick Nurse would be lying if he said he and his staff hadn't thought about it.

Given the Sixers' rash of injuries, do you consider going lighter at practice to lower the risk of a new injury or aggravating an existing one?

The head coach chuckled a bit. It was a question he and his associates had already asked themselves, well before any reporters had a chance to pose it to them.

"We did have that conversation [Sunday]. Are we at the stage where we need to kind of not do a lot at practice so we don't have other people going down?," Nurse said after Sunday's practice.

"We decided we're going to get to work. We had a pretty physical practice today. It is something, though. We've been thinking about that. We gotta get to the game too sometimes with some healthy bodies, right?"

It's not a thought that jibes with any coach truly dedicated to the business of winning championships.

So, it speaks volumes as to where the Sixers are in the middle of December that it's even a topic that they're broaching.

But, rookie sensation Jared McCain is sidelined indefinitely with a torn lateral meniscus. Joel Embiid is now dealing with a fractured sinus in addition to the perpetual knee injury management.

Nurse inadvertently summed up why the Sixers are where they are - sitting at 7-16 and fighting an uphill battle just to earn an invitation to the Play-In tournament - above: they're not getting to games with enough healthy bodies.

He had to clear some fog out of his head just to comprehend the news about McCain.

In the coming days, it will be determined whether McCain is having the suture repair or trimming procedure. That will dictate the forecast for his timeline to return.

"We gotta try to keep things long-term. That's the most important perspective, right? How does this affect him going forward in his career, which we hope is many, many years, right?," Nurse said.

"You hate it for [McCain]. He's playing at such a high level and such a great kid. Brings such good energy. That does really hurt. Everybody feels for him and really, really hates that for him. It sucks, that's just how it goes sometimes," Caleb Martin told reporters Sunday.

Martin was impressed that McCain maintained his spirit at Sunday's practice, the news still so raw. The rookie guard was still himself, even if a little down.

"I think that speaks so much to his character," Martin said.

For now, Nurse sees McCain's absence as a two-fold problem. First, it eats at the team's depth at backup point guard. Kyle Lowry was back in the mix on Sunday and "feeling better" after being a late scratch on Friday with low back spasms, according to Nurse. It also taxes the team's already underwhelming shooting. Expect Eric Gordon to get another opportunity to step in there.

Well, that's a third problem, giving those guys bigger on-court roles. That's part of why the Sixers got off to the painfully slow start they did. The team was relying on veterans well beyond their best years to play significant roles.

It's a bed the Sixers partially made themselves. Now, they fully have to sleep in it.

Spare notes

• Embiid will have another evaluation on his fractured sinus on Sunday to determine what lies ahead. Surprisingly, he has not yet been ruled out for Monday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. According to Nurse, it's not even a certainty that he will need to wear a mask to protect his face when he plays.
• Caleb Martin said he's feeling better and anticipates that his ailments will resolve as this season goes on. He is not concerned about the long run.