Practice notes: A career milestone, Andre Drummond’s knee and cutting school

Camden — Adem Bona was none too pleased to hear that Jared McCain had referred to himself as a "proud big brother" after his draft classmate laced his first career three-pointer on Friday night.

"'Big brother' is crazy. 'Big brother' is insane, bro," Bona said.

"He should feel like a proud younger brother looking up to me."

And then the smile broke through. Bona was only kidding. He appreciated that McCain was excited about his milestone.

"It's something we've been working for a long time to come, so I was pretty excited for it," the second-year big man said.

It was a moment for a smile at a time when there hasn't been a great deal to smile about in Sixer world.

On a two-game losing streak and their record teetering on .500, they needed something worth smiling about. A victory and some improved health would do the trick. They'll settle for a win over the lowly Brooklyn Nets and Bona's first-ever NBA three.

Andre Drummond departed Friday night's game in the second quarter with a knee injury after colliding with Kyle Lowry as they each pursued a rebound in the air. They appeared to make knee-to-knee contact.

Drummond immediately collapsed to the floor in pain, holding his right knee. He was helped off the court and later shown on television in a wheelchair. Before the second half began, Philadelphia announced that he was out with a sprained right knee.

The veteran big man had an MRI on Saturday morning. It revealed no structural damage, and Drummond reported to the team that he felt better in the morning.

"Still a little sore. But that is awesome. Should be back out there fairly soon. I don't know when that'll be. But that is great news," Nick Nurse said. 

He was walking around, he was actually on the court a little bit today. So that's good."

Drummond is 'questionable' with what the team is now calling a right knee contusion on the initial injury report for Sunday's action.

Speaking of sprained knees, with no official update prepared, Nurse could only offer some basic hints of optimism on Kelly Oubre Jr.

"He's walking good, feels pretty good from when I talk to him daily."

The Sixers got home from Brooklyn late on Friday night. He wore the fatigue on his face a bit. He couldn't do much to hide it when time came for a slew of questions on Joel Embiid.

Can you blame him if the topic is getting old?

Saturday practice was a film session and walkthrough for Sunday's matchup. A light day. There will be no morning shootaround on Sunday ahead of that evening's game against the Atlanta Hawks at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Even though the activity was light, Embiid participated in an extra workout after Saturday's practice.

"I think there's a chance, but I don't know if I would put it as 'good', 'bad' or 'medium'," Nurse said of the likelihood that Embiid returns on Sunday.

As of the 5:30 p.m., Eastern time, injury report for Sunday's games, Embiid will be out with right knee injury management.

Having to be the one to deliver that sliver of hope covered in genuine uncertainty for the last year wears on him.

Perhaps the problem, almost as much as the injuries plaguing Embiid's knee(s), is that the genuine uncertainty gets pushed to the back of the mind by the sliver of hope. He can't help that that's what people hear. All he can do is sigh and look beyond the collective of reporters as he says what he knows.

People want clarity. There's not much to provide. Not even on the obstacles Embiid has to clear to return are all that clear.

"I think it's just getting through some pain and then also some on-court activity. Kind of a combination of those things," the head coach said.

Rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe participated in Saturday's walkthrough, as well. If there's any chance that a player is available for the next game, he will participate in the walkthrough.

He, too, is 'questionable' with left calf injury management on the game's first injury report.

"Again, we didn't do much but he did get out there, get through things. So we're hopeful," Nurse offered.

"So he was there and we'll see, we'll see where we go."

On '45' cuts, 'slot' cuts and spacing

Dominick Barlow made a pair of great cutting reads in Friday's win in Brooklyn. They were especially notable because they served as blueprints for how to space the floor with two non-shooters in the frontcourt.

The first was a '45' cut:

With the middle of the paint open, Barlow cuts from the opposite wing to the basket, giving Drummond an easy target to pass to out of the short roll.

The second was a 'slot' cut:

With two Nets focused on Tyrese Maxey, Barlow cuts down the line that connects the elbow to the baseline, known as the 'slot'. Paul George finds him for a layup, but Barlow doesn't convert it.

Nick Nurse talked to On Pattison about the challenges of spacing with players who aren't proven shooters at Saturday's practice.

"It is a challenge. I think the biggest thing is just getting those guys out there with some minutes together to get the read. You're going to do things like, well you just mentioned, PG and Dominick. Those two guys are on the same side of the floor, pretty good idea who we want cutting and who we want spacing. I think that's 'what are you primarily?'," Nurse said.

Before you can anticipate opportunities to cut, you must first accept your own skills and role as a spacer.

"Dom can hit the three. He's like Kelly, Kelly can hit the three but he's also got this great timing as a cutter. That's part of it, too, that you kind of sense. I always say guys that are good cutters sense that cut a count before the actual cut. They see it coming just a bit early and that's what gets them cleanly through the backdoor of those plays."

The Sixers will take the easy buckets any way they can get them.