Today is Monday, and that means another edition of 5 Sixers thoughts is in order. A fresh batch of Sixers storylines and observations worth keeping in mind with just over a month left in the regular season:
Nick Nurse says key veterans will have minutes monitored
Nurse has been known to be aggressive with his best players' workloads, even before he became head coach of the Sixers. But as the team's season has devolved into what it is now, he acknowledged before Sunday's win over the Utah Jazz that he would be looking to monitor the minutes of some key veterans moving forward to ensure they are not overworked.
Guerschon Yabusele seemed to be the player Nurse was most intent on providing some relief; Nurse and Yabusele have both talked about the 29-year-old being out of gas on occasion and he has dealt with a few injuries since the All-Star break. Yabusele started each half of Sunday's game, but never returned to the game after those brief stints. Nurse said after the game that the plan was not necessarily for Yabusele to only play 11 minutes, but is a strong indicator that he is not someone who Nurse feels needs to be playing a ton over the next month and change.
Another player who appears to be understandably having his role scaled back moving forward is Kelly Oubre Jr., who leads the Sixers in total minutes this season and has been one of the few core pieces of the team to bring consistent, admirable energy to the floor night in and night out. Oubre's minutes were scaled back a bit in the first half on Sunday, and he never returned to the game after the first five and a half minutes of action in the third quarter.
Nurse also threw Quentin Grimes into this basket, though the 24-year-old has less mileage with more possible data to uncover. The Sixers would surely look to have as much knowledge as they can about how Grimes handles on-ball duties and everything that comes with them as they get set to make a push to keep him around long-term in restricted free agency this summer.
MORE: Diving into Grimes' emergence as a scorer and ball-handler for Sixers
Kyle Lowry "feeling a lot better," could make return
Sunday marked one month since Lowry's last appearance. He has been out due to "right hip injury management," as issues in that hip have held him out for a significant portion of the season. Lowry, who turns 39 years old on March 25, has had three separate extended absences this season, and they have all stemmed from right hip ailments. In what has become a lost season for the Sixers, it seemed far-fetched that the future Hall of Fame candidate would return for games at the end of the season, particularly after Nurse's aforementioned comments.
However, Nurse provided an optimistic update on Lowry before Sunday's game.
"Just talked to him literally five minutes ago," Nurse said. "He said he's feeling a lot better. He won't play tonight or tomorrow, but after that we'll look and check."
After the completion of their home-road back-to-back on Monday in Atlanta, the Sixers will head to Toronto for a game on Wednesday night. For obvious reasons, it would probably be of significant meaning for Lowry to play against the Raptors in that contest, especially with his future beyond this season still to be determined.
Adem Bona shines in win over Jazz
Bona had the best game of his short NBA career by far on Sunday. In over 31 minutes off the bench, the rookie second-round pick totaled 14 points, 15 rebounds (eight offensive boards), five blocks and two steals. Far and away the most encouraging statistic on his line, though: just two personal fouls. There has never been a doubt that Bona can collect swatted shots and make highlight plays in short bursts, but his gargantuan foul rates have prevented him from playing extended stretches.
This was the ideal Bona game, from his energetic shot-blocking to rim-running and everything in between. A clear vision for a possible backup center of the future:
Nurse had extremely high praise for Bona in his postgame press conference.
"That wasreally asupergoodversionofhimouttheretonight.Ithinkagain,whenhe'sbouncyandrunningandkindofsettledintothegame,whichhedidrightfromthestart,thenhe’s good," Nurse said. "Everynowandthenitseemstogetgoingalittletoofastforhim,buthejusttrackedtheballallnight, Ithought. Hewasblockinghisownguy’sshot.He was helpinghisteammatesaswell.Hewasgoodontheglass… seven [offensive rebounds], but he was really probably around another seven. He was really putting pressure on them at the rim. Lovedtherimprotection,Ithinkitseemedlikeitwasmorethanfiveblockstome.Itseemedlikehehadabout eight or nine."
Nurse's praise of Bona continued:
"Notonlydidheprotecttherim,butasyouguyssaw,hegotswitchedoutontotheguardsalot, andhedidagreatjobofknowingtheplayerhewasguarding,pressingupandnotgivingupthethree, sendingthemtothenexthelp-sideguyorwhateveritwas," Nurse said. "Hejustdidagoodjob, or when they went by him hejustchasedthemdownfrombehind.Andsohe's,youknow,superathletic,asyoucanseeinallfacets.He'sgotquicknessandjumpingabilityandhewasusingitalltonight.
MORE: Bona takes ownership of Sixers' 'basketball onboarding process'
Jared Butler finds a rhythm in extended run vs. Utah
Like Bona, Butler played a game that is just the absolute optimal version of him as a player. While that entails athletic feats of dominance from Bona, for Butler is means playing a classic, traditional game of point guard. In addition to connecting on some threes to help break out of a shooting slump, Butler began to master the drive-and-kick game, giving his teammates ample opportunity to score:
"Hisplaymakingwas great," Nurse said. "Reallyplayingallpartsofthepick-and-roll.Hewashittingtheroll guys, swingingitouttotheweaksideforopenshots,gettingitintotheslotguyforopenshots.Imean,really,reallylookedgoodasapick-and-rollplayertonight,andIthoughthegaveusatonofcatch-and-shootopportunitiesandsomestuffatthe rim."
With a strong final month-plus, Butler, 24, has a chance to earn a spot on next year's Sixers team and potentially even challenge for a back-end rotation role. The Sixers made the very rare move to trade for a two-way player when they acquired Butler from the Washington Wizards last month and converted him to a standard deal shortly thereafter primarily because of his old school skillset as a floor general.
Alex Reese talks evolution, learning two new teams
Reese, a stretch four inked to a two-way deal by the Sixers last month, got his first true rotation minutes with the team on Sunday. The 25-year-old Alabama product acquainted himself nicely, scoring six points on 2-for-3 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds and collecting three steals in 15 minutes:
"In his minutes for us, he's played very hard and he's been effective," Nurse said after the game. "He's really a tough rebounder. He goes up, and when he rebounds, he's snatching them down and kind of commanding the ball. And obviously he's not afraid to shoot from the perimeter."
Before the game, Reese spoke with PhillyVoice about his evolution from a below-average three-point shooter in college to one of the most prolific snipers in the G League, his acclimation process since joining the organization and more:
• Reese on how the adjustment period has been as he has gotten used to two new locker rooms, coaching staffs and team environments with the Sixers and Delaware Blue Coats:
"It'sbeengoodinbothplaces.Hereand inDelaware,bothteamshavewelcomedme.They'vetaughtmealotsofar,pointedmeintherightdirectionswhenIdon'tknow,youknow,eitheronthecourtoroffthecourt,wheretogo,wheretobe,stufflikethat. So I'm enjoying it andgrateful to be here."
• Reese on if he has had any extended talks with Nurse about what he needs to do to earn minutes with the Sixers:
"We haven't really had any in-depth conversations as to what he wants from me, but I know I need to knock down my shots when I get in the game. Just play my role, play good defense and help as best I can."
• Reese on the process that led to his massive breakout as a shooter (Reese has made over 40 percent of his long-range tries in the G League this season on about nine attempts per game):
"In Tuscaloosa, Coach [Nate]Oats,hegaveme thefreedomtoshootwheneverIwasopentotakegoodshots,sometimesquestionableshots.SoIthinktheworkhasbeenthedifference-maker.Workingbackhome,Itooktheyearoffjustgetting as much work as I can in. My people at Alabama Hoops down there, my agents got me in good situations over the summertime. It takes a lot of work."
MORE: KJ Martin talks trade, reflects on time in Philadelphia
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice