Backup big man Andre Drummond<\/b> entered the United Center on Sunday with a gleaming smile as he walked the hallway to the locker room, passing out hugs along the way.<\/p>\n
This time, however, Drummond was headed to the visitors\u2019 locker room with the rest of the 76ers after spending the last two seasons with the Bulls. He signed a two-year contract with the 76ers as a free agent in the summer.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Beloved\u2019\u2019 is how Bulls coach Billy Donovan<\/b> described Drummond. His point was validated by the fans who sat courtside before the game and cheered as Drummond went through his routine, including an off-the-glass alley-oop from teammate Paul George<\/b> that ended his warmups.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to understand why Donovan characterized Drummond the way he did. Drummond, a two-time All-Star with the Pistons early in his career, took a backseat to Nikola Vucevic<\/b> when he joined the Bulls. He averaged 7.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in his two seasons in Chicago, and 76ers coach Nick Nurse <\/b>is thrilled to have him.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018The Andre Drummond experience is worth the price of admission,\u2019\u2019 Nurse said before the game.<\/p>\n
Drummond is averaging eight points and 8.3 rebounds in about 20 minutes in his return to the 76ers. He also spent 49 games with them in 2021-22 before being dealt to the Nets at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
A key to unlocking Drummond\u2019s effectiveness is ensuring he\u2019s finding joy in the game.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018He\u2019s a great dude,\u2019\u2019 Nurse said, \u2018\u2018the best dude to be around. Goes through some ups and downs. He\u2019s in an up moment right now, which is great.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018You have to kind of get him to enjoy it out there, right? He has a great personality. Sometimes I think the games get tough and not enjoyable. I just keep telling him, \u2018Do your thing, man. Snap down every rebound just for the hell of it and see how many you could get in a row.\u2019\u2009\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Drummond finished with four points and seven rebounds in seven minutes in the first quarter. He didn\u2019t see the floor again after starter Joel Embiid<\/b> got going.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s always good being back in this building,\u2019\u2019 Drummond said.<\/p>\n
Embiid, who scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Sunday, entered the day having played only four games this season.<\/p>\n
After missing the 76ers\u2019 first nine games \u2014 first because of a nagging injury to his left knee, then because of a suspension \u2014 Embiid made his season debut Nov. 12. He injured the knee last January, and the 76ers have been managing his playing time all season.<\/p>\n
The 76ers are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference after a dismal start that featured two five-game losing streaks. Nurse attributed the disarray to their health issues.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Most of our team was put together to complement [Embiid and George],\u2019\u2019 Nurse said. \u2018\u2018With those guys out, all these other guys had to be thrown into these other roles, which was hard for them to do.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
New Sky coach Tyler Marsh<\/b> has championship ties to Nurse.<\/p>\n
The first title Marsh won came while working on Nurse\u2019s coaching staff with Rio Grande of the G League in 2013. He also was on Nurse\u2019s staff when the Raptors won the NBA title in 2019.<\/p>\n
Marsh since has added two more titles with the WNBA\u2019s Aces.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Tyler has more rings than anybody in this room,\u2019\u2019 Nurse said. \u2018\u2018He\u2019s almost got a whole handful. I\u2019m really happy for him. Great person, doing everything right.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Drummond is averaging eight points and 8.3 rebounds in about 20 minutes a game for the 76ers after playing the last two seasons with the Bulls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n