Austin Krell
@austinkrell.bsky.social
6.8K followers 110 following 1.8K posts
Cover the Sixers for OnPattison.com Previous stops: 97.3 ESPN, The Painted Lines, USA TODAY Sports Media Group
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My approach to writing this season is different from my first 5 seasons on the beat and, I must say, I'm really pleased with how it's turned out thus far.
NEW STORY

The Sixers couldn't just put last season's failure behind them.

They had to go to summer school.

From Sunday practice, on the hope building in Camden and the excitement to finally put offseason work to the test:

onpattison.com/news/2025/oc...
NEW STORY

The Sixers couldn't just put last season's failure behind them.

They had to go to summer school.

From Sunday practice, on the hope building in Camden and the excitement to finally put offseason work to the test:

onpattison.com/news/2025/oc...
Nick Nurse says Joel Embiid and Paul George practiced all the way through today, including 5-on-5. It was a heavy day of work, both went start to finish.
Sixers health update:

- Joel Embiid and Paul George full participant at practice today

- Trendon Watford partial

- no other updates ahead of Wednesday’s game
There are a bunch of players in all sports who are available to play every day because they don't have the requisite abilities to get into action and jeopardize future availability.
People saying “the best ability is availability” is like fingernails on a chalk board. A ridiculous concept.
Joel Embiid fist-bumped fans, chatted with people courtside during dead balls, and smiled and joked.

He seems to have recovered his game.

But he seems to have re-discovered his joy for the job.

On a return 8 months in the making @onpattison.bsky.social:

onpattison.com/news/2025/oc...
Joel Embiid doesn’t want to think about the past, but he’s re-connecting with his former self | OnPattison
This version of Embiid is wiser and yet seemingly different from the version we've seen over the past two seasons.
onpattison.com
Asked Joel Embiid about where he is in the process of learning to trust his body again.

He gave an insightful answer on where he is mentally:
Embiid on the thinking behind his hit-ahead passes tonight: “I see all these guys. I’m here to help out. According to a lot of your peers, I’m not even a top 100 basketball player in this league. So I guess I just gotta fit in and see where I can help the team win.”
Embiid on excitement to return tonight:

“It hit me when I took that first terrible shot. I don’t know what I was doing. But I just felt like, ‘Well, I have the ball’. I don’t even know if anyone was in front of me. I just felt like shooting. I thought I made it and it wasn’t even close.”
Embiid says he came out of the game feeling pretty good. Called this a "learning process" and he'll see how it feels tomorrow.
Wolves 110, Sixers 126

Edgecombe and Grimes rocked. A launching point for Embiid, hopefully. Offense 👍👍.
Sixers by 7 at halftime.

Embiid looked rusty at times, which to be expected. But he played like he trusted his body in a way that he didn't show really at all last season.
They're running Embiid off pin-downs for catch-and-shoot 3s. This is hoops.
If you told me Edgecombe had 6 deflections already in this game, I'd believe it.
Edgecombe already has like 3 touchdowns in this game.
Of course, it doesn't mean a ton in preseason. But you can see good habits building.
Since the first preseason game, and particularly over the last two, Nick Nurse's offense has looked purposeful and regimented.

Screening and cutting all over the floor, ton of activity. The process has been very encouraging, results....well, it looks like preseason.
It is funny seeing Embiid throw a post entry pass to Maxey. It was on target but too hard and went out of bounds.
About as big an ovation as you're gonna get in a preseason game for Joel Embiid.
Sixers starters, officially:

Maxey
Edgecombe
Oubre
Embiid
Bona (wowza)
Chris Finch told reporters that he fully expects the Sixers to be near the top of the East this season and have a big bounce-back year.

"You can sense the confidence in their ability to do that when I talked to [Nurse] this summer."
Nick Nurse says he's "heading in the direction" of making Edgecombe an opening night starter.
4 of the 5 starters for tonight (5th TBD):

Maxey
Edgecombe
Oubre
Embiid