Gesundheit » "Its always nice to go back to back

PHILADELPHIA -- As word spread through NBA inner circles that Kansas prospect Joel Embiid suffered a foot injury, the Philadelphia 76ers wondered if his misfortune was just the break the downtrodden franchise needed. "I sniffed opportunity," Sam Hinkie, the teams president and general manager, said Friday. "The moment he got hurt, we thought we might get him. We might be just the organization with just the set of owners, and we might be the one to do it." When the 7-foot centre was available at three, the Sixers pounced, even though he could miss up to a full season because of a broken foot. The 76ers are used to big men sitting out the season. Former All-Star centre Andrew Bynum never played a second because of bad knees in 2012-13. And rookie Nerlens Noel sat out all of last season because of a torn ACL. Noel, the No. 6 overall pick out of Kentucky, was antsy to play toward the end of a 19-63 season. The Sixers refused to rush him, not wanting to risk additional injury in what was always planned as a lost -- or, tanked -- season. Embiid recovery from a stress fracture in his right foot could take five to eight months. So will the Sixers play him in another season where the Sixers are building again toward a high lottery pick instead of a post-season berth? "Guess what our approach will be," Hinkie said, smiling. "Well focus on the long-term health of the player." Embiid wont be Philadelphias only lottery pick sitting out next season. Croatian forward Dario Saric, the 10th overall pick, signed a three-year deal last week to play in Turkey. The Sixers hold the rights to the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder for the next three years, and it could be that long until he plays for Philly. By the time hes set to join the Sixers, the organization hoped a playoff berth would be within reach. Hinkie said the Noel-Embiid frontcourt will be a "menace" at the rim. Coach Brett Brown was already drawing up plays for the duo -- Xs and Os hell have plenty of time to perfect. "I do think that Joel and Nerlens can co-exist," Brown said. "I think I can find a way to play those two guys together. Its a really good problem to have." Hinkie credited Philly fans for their "patience and understanding" for another lean season where the best outcome would be a No. 1 draft pick and not a seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Outside of rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams and veteran forward Thaddeus Young, the Sixers have few other credible players, and will likely stack the roster again with D-League castoffs and 10-day contract stopgaps. "Its not even close to demoralizing," Brown said. Brown tried his best at an optimistic spin on the seasons ahead. Knowing the security of three more years left on his contract makes it easier to wait for a project like Embiid. The versatile 7-foot Embiid had a fantastic freshman season with the Jayhawks, averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds while blocking 72 shots to earn Big 12 defensive player of the year honours. Embiid, who grew up playing soccer and volleyball, only decided to pursue basketball a few years ago. He started to blossom as a senior at The Rock School and ultimately chose to attend Kansas, where he arrived with less fanfare than fellow freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden. Embiid hurt his back while landing awkwardly during a game late in the season, and missed the Jayhawks final two regular-season games and the Big 12 tournament. He also missed a victory over Eastern Kentucky and a season-ending loss to Stanford in the NCAA tournament, after which he said that he would have been able to play had Kansas advanced to the second weekend. Hinkie said the Sixers consulted various doctors and felt confident there was little long-term risk to his health once the foot healed. Embiid was projected as Clevelands No. 1 overall pick before the draft. The honour went to Wiggins. "In this scenario, and only this scenario, does he fall to three," Hinkie said. "If he can remain healthy, he can have a fantastic, fantastic NBA career." Notes: 76ers G Jason Richardson exercised the $6.6 million player option for next season and will return. The 7-foot C Byron Mullens declined his $1.1 million option and will become a free agent. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . Nowitzki scored 28 points, Harris had a season-high 14 for the second straight game and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-106 Sunday night. Brian Burns Panthers Jersey . Cornet won six straight games to rally from a 2-0 deficit and take the first set. The 25th-ranked Frenchwoman broke back twice in the second set before Bacsinszky saved a match point at 5-4. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-cam-newton-panthers-jersey/ . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf. Jordan Scarlett Womens Jersey . As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. DJ Moore Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit.ROME -- Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic claimed a second consecutive clay-court title Sunday as they won the Italian Open 6-4, 7-6 (2) over Dutchman Robin Haase and Spains Feliciano Lopez. The victorious sixth seeds backed up their Madrid trophy of last weekend with Masters 1000 success at the Foro Italico, claiming the title in 84 minutes with eight aces and three breaks of serve. The pair have now won 27 trophies as a team. They lifted their first of 2014 in January in Sydney and added Madrid and Rome to head into the French Open starting next weekend as favourites. "Were playing mentally tough right now," said Nestor. "Weve faced a lot of good opponents but weve found a way to win with all the ups and downs. "On clay there are a lot of momentum chances. Weve been doing a good job of playing relaxed on clay, a lot of momentum chances, doing a good job of playing relaxed and staying with our game plan. Wev been playing well these last few weeks and we are confident going to Paris." Torontos Nestor has won four Roland Garros titles since 2007, the last one two years ago with former partner Max Mirnyi of Beelarus.dddddddddddd "Its always nice to go back to back, especially the way weve been winning." said Nestor. "Weve shown a lot of resilience. We are dealing well with any situation on court, thats a feeling going into a grand slam. We hope to keep this up in Paris, but nothing is easy. If we stay mentally strong, we give ourselves a chance to win (in Paris). "Well continue training, we have to adjust to longer matches. Well keep building and try to be as ready as possible for Roland Garros." Nestor, 41, now owns 85 doubles titles from 140 finals and remains in third place in the post-1968 Open era doubles title leaderboard behind Mike Bryan (100) and Bob Bryan (98). Nestor and Zimonjic came back quickly after Nestor was broken in the third game of the match, recovering the break for 3-3. They earned the set after 36 minutes with a concluding break. Zimonjic lost serve early in the second set but two double-faults from Lopez set up break-back points, which were converted for 2-2. Nestors team hung onto their clay momentum as the set moved into a tiebreaker. They earned the victory on the first of four match points. ' ' '