PHILADELPHIA — For the first time since — well it might as well be forever, as far as Nick Nurse is concerned — the 76ers injury report Wednesday night was clean as a whistle by tipoff. Kelly Oubre, out 22 games with a left knee ligament strain, returned to action. Trendon Watford, out 17 game s with a left adductor strain, was also available for the first time in more than a month. With Joel Embiid able to go for the fifth straight game, all in the last nine days, the 76ers had that novelty of novelties: A full NBA roster. The last time Nurse had that luxury was Dec. 18, 2023, per records kept by Philly Voice. While Nurse wasn’t getting too far ahead of himself, Wednesday’s visit from Washington was an opportunity to vet options of what the Sixers can look like at their best. “It is great,” he said pregame, while all three players remained officially probable. “Getting them all there, if they get there, is the first accomplishment, or first step. And then, getting them all to a level of conditioning and rhythm and their peak performance, that’s going to be a ways away yet. But this is the first step in that, and that’s when we can see all the things we can really do eventually.” Nurse said he assumed that both players would return on a minutes restriction, but he wasn’t going to tempt pushing the issue in the first game either way, given the length of their layoffs. The 76ers have only one back-to-back — Sunday and Monday in Toronto — to navigate in the next two weeks. Oubre played the first 12 games of the season, averaging 16.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in one of his most productive stretches. Nurse knows exactly what he’s getting in Oubre on both ends of the court, particularly with the ability to match up two big wings in he and Paul George defensively. Wednesday was the first time this season that Oubre played without starting. Only 20 of his 141 games as a 76er have come off the bench. Oubre checked in for the first time at 4:27 of the first quarter, getting a warm ovation from the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd against his former team. Watford didn’t get off the bench in the first half, with Nurse a little more noncommittal on if he would use him. Watford is a more perplexing case, in a good way. The point forward started four of his 14 games, averaging 20.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists, including a triple double against Toronto. A potent facilitator for the second unit, he unlocks a ton of stuff offensively. Much of that remains the province of Nurse’s imagination because he hasn’t seen it in practice. But he’s excited by the prospect. “We certainly like his size, his skill, his versatility, but I just haven’t seen enough of him yet to really understand where he’s going to help us and fit into this thing,” Nurse said. “And the first thing is for him, just being available for a long stretch of games so we can look at some different opportunities for him.” Watford missed the start of the season with a preseason hamstring strain that was in the same leg but unrelated to the adductor he strained against Orlando. Nurse doesn’t have any specific concerns about a heightened risk of reinjury, but he wants to see Watford, who played 14 straight games upon his return, get a sustained stretch in the lineup. “The soft-tissue stuff and the muscle strains, quads and hamstrings and all that stuff is pretty touchy,” he said. “Which is why I just want to make sure that he can get through that stuff. I just want to keep him healthy. I don’t want him back for a few games and out for another few weeks because of this stuff. And it’s not easy to do with these kind of injuries, but that’s what we’re hoping for.” Writ large, both players figure to help Nurse achieve the aim of being “a little more fluid” in his starting lineups. The 76ers went with the same lineup for the fifth straight game, and Nurse still likes using Quentin Grimes in finishing units. But he can get to a point where either Oubre or George is out there for the entire fourth quarter. Oubre and Watford offer more shooting than other wing options. The returns also offer opportunities at the four. In the unsightly loss to the nine-man Denver Nuggets in overtime Monday, Nurse stuck with Adem Bona at the four next to Embiid for most of the fourth quarter and overtime. The offensive limitations of that five were stark, and Bona was a minus-6 in 23 minutes. Two-ways Dominick Barlow, who started again Wednesday, and Jabari Walker have provided big boosts. But they we designed to be reserves. Oubre can play the four in small lineups and bring more defensive structure without sacrificing offense. Watford can plug into a bunch of lineups. ...read more read less