There has been a lot of.. you know what.. thrown at the Sixers organization over past two seasons. The Sixers method of ‘tanking’ and rebuilding through the draft has not sat well with some coaches, general managers, and media members around the league.
Eds. note: They hate us cause they ain’t us.
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Out of all of the criticisms thrown the Sixers’ way, one of the most persistent one seems to be this idea of a losing culture developing in the Sixers locker room and organization. Critics say that when young players experience this much losing they develop bad habits and begin to accept losing. Skeptics then use the Sixers 116 loses in their last 150 games as evidence of a losing culture existing.
To all the naysayers and critics, let’s end this now: there is not a ‘losing culture’ that exists in the Sixers organization. In reality the 76ers are building their own kind of culture, founded on defense, hard-work, and player development. This ‘Sixers culture’ that is currently being built can mostly be attributed to one man: Brett Brown.
Here is something you do not usually hear about someone with a 34-116 record: Brett Brown is a really good NBA head coach.
In his short tenure as head coach, 42 different players have suited up and seen playing time under Brown. Coming into this season, the Sixers only had five players returning from last year’s active roster and currently only have two remaining — not including Tony Wroten. But despite the substantial roster turnover and more than occasional influx of new players, Brett Brown has done a great job coaching this team.
Last season the Sixers were 27th in the league in defensive efficiency (107.5). For an organization that wants to build itself on its defense it was not a great start. But after a full offseason of work, the Sixers sit 12th in the league (101.6). In the 14 games since trade deadline, the Sixers have posted a defensive rating of 100.9.
Now some credit has to go to the players, as they are the ones that are playing hard and executing on defense. But a lot of credit should go to Brett Brown for putting a defensive system in place and having players execute it every game night. Remember people, this is a 16-52 team that is in the top half of the NBA in defensive efficiency.
As mentioned earlier, one of the main concerns about this kind of rebuilding from Sixer-skeptics is that players will develop losing habits. But that notion does not apply to this Sixer team, whether people want to believe it or not. Of the Sixers 16 victories, they have came back from deficits of 23, 17, 16, and 18. This does not include the other times that the Sixers have fought back from a large deficit but still came out with a loss. Not often can you say a 16-win team is fun to watch, but the effort that this Sixer team plays with is really enjoyable. You never have to question the effort of this team, and a large part of that is due to Brett Brown.
There was an interesting moment in a game a few weeks ago, which tells you a lot about what Brown believes in and what kind of coach he is. This was the Sixers’ first game against Michael Carter-Williams in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform. It was an ugly game from start to finish, but this moment stood out more than anything else.
With the Bucks leading 31-17, Robert Covington checked back into the game at the 9:31 mark of the 2nd quarter. Then this play happened:
Khris Middleton went right by Covington on the baseline for the dunk. This was after Covington made some lazy plays on defense in the first quarter as well. Right after this play Brown went to JaKarr Sampson, who subbed in for Covington at the 8:38 mark.
Brown was not done with discipling Covington either. He would sit the rest of the quarter, benched to start the second half, and would not check back into the game until the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Now Covington is arguably the Sixers best player on the offensive end, but Brett Brown does not care about that. Brown is building this team around defense and if a player is not going to put the effort in on that end of the court then they will not play.
Mar 14, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown talks with guard
Isaiah Canaan(0) during a timeout in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Having the right coach is very important for a team that is rebuilding. Look around the league at other teams that are currently rebuilding. The Magic, Bucks, Jazz, Pistons, and Kings are each on their second or third coach in their rebuilding process, which shows how difficult a job it is for a coach.
Brown deserves a lot credit for putting all of his efforts into trying to move the Sixers, as a program, forward and for his players responding to his coaching. His commitment to player development has been showcased by Nerlens Noel, JaKarr Sampson, and Jerami Grant.
The former Spurs assistant desire to build a hard-nosed, defensive team in Philadelphia has already seen early returns from the team’s 12th ranked defense. The Sixers are fortunate to have one of Gregg Popovich’s understudies at the helm of their rebuild. Brett Brown is the right coach for this job and he will be the right coach for a contending Sixers team down the road.
And all that talk of a losing culture developing? Not under Brett Brown’s watch.
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