Sixers are seeking continuity in their playoff push coming out of the All-Star break: ‘I think we’re up for it’

The Sixers are running out of time to get healthy and make the playoffs. They know it. If only the injury report would reflect it.

Let’s start with the good news for the Sixers. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were full participants in Tuesday night’s practice, the team’s first since the All-Star break. The star duo missed the final game before the break, a 100-96 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 12.

Nick Nurse said Embiid looked “good today” but wasn’t sure if he’d return to the court for Thursday’s game against the Celtics.

“Everybody looked like they had some days off and fresh,” Nurse said. “Again, I don’t think we ever notice anything. [Embiid] was a full participant. We went at it pretty hard, pretty long. I guess we’ve always got to wait to see how it turns out. Probably in the morning’s usually the first checking point, but he seemed OK today. He seemed like he was moving good and practiced very hard today.”

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It wasn’t all good news for them, however. Veterans Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry sat out with injuries, and breakout rookie Justin Edwards, whose contract was converted from a two-way to a standard rookie deal on Feb. 9, sprained his left ankle in practice. Edwards started nine of the last 10 games before the break, and the Philadelphia native was growing into his role in the rotation. He’s averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 25 games this season.

Gordon will see a specialist for his wrist on Wednesday, and the Sixers expect to have more information on his and Edwards’ injuries ahead of Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics (7 p.m., TNT).

The break also gave Nurse an opportunity to work with trade-deadline additions Jared Butler and Quentin Grimes. The pair spent extra time on the court before and after practice as they continue to learn the playbook and Nurse learns how best to deploy them.

In four games with the Sixers, Grimes is averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and a steal over 32.8 minutes. Nurse hopes to use Grimes’ skill as a perimeter defender and give him some of the toughest defensive assignments and is tweaking some of his offensive sets to get Grimes more involved.

“[Grimes and Butler are] accustomed to going a lot quicker, so we’re grateful to have them,” point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. said of the new additions. “They’re going to bring a lot of toughness, a lot of grit and grind to this team, and we’re grateful. It’s going to flow a lot smoother.”

With 28 games left in the regular season, the Sixers know every game down the stretch is crucial for their playoff aspirations, and they need to be as healthy as possible to make a run. But Nurse knows there are a few games that are extra important, including upcoming matchups with Chicago, Atlanta, and Brooklyn, to earn playoff tiebreakers.

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“I think we’re up for it,” Nurse said. “We certainly need and deserve some better health. We certainly need it. I think hopefully we can get some guys healthier and get them out there on a more consistent basis, and I think that’ll go a long ways to us playing a little better …

“We’re going to make a push to see if we can get in the [play-in] tournament. That’s all we can do right now, try to get in the tournament and try to develop some better play and some better habits and some continuity and some chemistry, and then see what happens.”