New On SI: "Listen guys, if I'm going to war, I'm taking VJ Edgecombe." "He told me right before the ball tip, 'I'm going to kill this kid.'" A feature story - full of stories and anecdotes you didn't know - on the person and competitor, VJ Edgecombe. si.com/nba/76ers/onsi/vj-edg…

The theme of day 4 of Sixers training camp? That would be Joel Embiid. Video report from Camden:

A few minutes after what sounded like a helicopter departed from the Sixers' training complex on Friday, it sounded as if another helicopter was in the vicinity. Justin Edwards, never shy, had a one-liner referencing LeBron James:

A consistent theme of this first week of team activity has been Joel Embiid looking really happy. Justin Edwards: “He’s really happy. Honestly, I asked him last year, I was like, ‘Did you like me my rookie year?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, man.’ I was like, ‘Because you ain’t never talk to me this much.’ I always tell people Jo is like one of the most funny people on the team. He's hilarious."

Lebaron Philon Jr. on whether anything surprises him about his new teammates: "The way they compete. Everybody’s competing really hard. We’ve had great days. Like, everybody’s just going at each other. I feel like that’s the only way we can sharpen each other’s iron, by just going at each other. When I see ‘Bron going at JB and VJ going at Tyrese, that kind of sparked me a little bit to push somebody else on the team Like me trying to go at Ant, Ant trying to go at me, or stuff like that. I feel like that connection right there is gonna get us better as a whole, and we’ve been seeing it ever since training camp started. So it’s been a great process. Then Coach Nurse taking his time to try to explain things and harping on our defense, for sure. Definitely that. Everybody trying to put more effort on that side of the ball has been great."

Lebaron Philon Jr. on Joel Embiid: "Defensively, he’s been really good. 2-on-1s, 3-on-1s, he’s been doing his job, stopping guys from scoring. And that’s kind of hard when you’ve got three guys coming at you. So he’s been putting big effort in on the defensive end. Then offensively, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a big that can score, pass, and do everything at once. Being able to see him do that, it’s been really joyful to see, just because he’s got a smile on his face and he’s making plays and stuff like that. Then he’s getting into the game and those guys are talking to each other, so it’s been good trying to play against them and compete."

Nick Nurse on LeBron's daily routine at today's practice: "I think that we saw a little bit of it in the summer. He’s a very early guy, so he's in here very early, and he's got his set, straight to the weight room when he gets in, and then he's into his skill work and all that kind of stuff. So, listen, I think he's obviously in great condition. Played a long time. He knows what he's doing with that stuff. And I mean, to me it's always great to see. I always again, I'm an early person too. Fired up to get up and start my day and get working, and I like that. I think that'll transcend to some players."

Phillies’ base hits (runs scored) in last 7 postseason elimination games: 3 (1 run) 5 (2) 4 (1) 12 (8) 4 (1) 12 (4) 6 (2)

I think this picture properly encapsulates all the mental states I go through watching Phillies postseason games.

The Sixers spent the first 2 days of camp on defense. What was day 3 about? Hear from Nick Nurse and Jaylen Brown from Camden on Thursday afternoon:

Jaylen Brown on whether the younger players on the roster have approached him for veteran mentorship: "Yeah, yeah. A lot of them have. Showing me a lot of respect. Asking questions or asking to jump in my workouts and I welcome it, I'm open to all of that. Being a teacher. I was the guy that was always asking questions, so I appreciate when the young guys ask me questions."

Jaylen Brown on Tyrese Maxey: "I think Tyrese has just been a great communicator, leading with his voice early on. He's gone out of his way to make sure that I feel comfortable...He doesn't have to do that. I'm the type of guy that I'll figure it out regardless. But for him to try and make sure I feel welcomed, I appreciate it."

Ariel Hukporti on Joel Embiid: "That post game is quite impressive."

Asked Nick Nurse where you start when building an offense for a team that has as much talent as the Sixers do:

Nurse: "[Embiid] and LeBron have both been a part of everything we've done. I will say that they're both pretty smart about when we're scrimmaging and run 7 or 8 plays, they're getting themselves in and out. I think they're not overdoing it. But, yes, they want to get in shape, get the chemistry, feel."

Nurse said Adem Bona is not practicing. He will be evaluated in the next couple days. Nurse thinks he'll be ready for a couple of the preseason games.

Asked Nick Nurse if there were drill concepts or ideas for camp that LeBron has brought to him that he hadn't thought of before: "Not yet...I will say this, it wouldn't be any surprise. We'll go through a set or whatever and he'll stop those guys and say, 'This is the angle. Right here on the court. This is the angle.' He's fine-tuning pretty quickly. I'm just trying to get guys to run to the right spots right now because we're learning new stuff. He's fine-tuning....It's just his IQ."