Nov 20, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown talks with guard
(12) during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Hornets defeated the 76ers 113-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia 76ers Are Good For The NBA
The process of the NBA is the same pattern of most professional sports, and is common in the culture of today’s society. Patience is a virtue, a very out-dated antiquated virtue, and we are in a “must win now” mentality in virtually all we do.
Speed is relative. When transportation was boat or horseback, the railroad seemed awfully fast. When the railroad became the norm, motorized vehicles seemed awfully fast. When automobiles became the norm, airplane travel seemed awfully fast. Man has been on a “faster is better” path for centuries.
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Is it any wonder, then, that the careers of NBA general managers and head coaches can be snuffed out after one bad season? The perception in professional sports, having seen the turn around of fortunes on a team which obtains that one key player, is that turn around situations are common-place. The idea is that everything happens in a perfect world – drafted prospects will immediately hit the floor running in the NBA, teammates will instantly gel with chemistry, and that success is simply there for the taking.
But let’s back away from this tunnel vision for a moment. What doesn’t fit in this version of reality?
Building a winner takes a lot of strategy. Not only does a championship team have its share of stars, it also boasts affordable but plentiful supporting cast whose roles are to fill the minutes with good basketball. The challenge is that many teams either find a star in the NBA, or even two, or fill a team with supporting cast players but haven’t found the true star to take them through post season.
Next: The Machine
Nov 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Members of the military practice unfurling a large United States Flag for Veterans Day prior to a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Machine
Teams do not have the margin of error to take chances on high reward high risk. Successful teams need to play it safe to remain in the hunt, unsuccessful teams are on a limited time track to get in the running. That places 29 teams in the hunt for the upper echelon of prospects available to the NBA.
Save one.
The Philadelphia 76ers are the counter culture experience for virtually every professional sports team today. Six of the twelve players to register minutes with the team in the early part of the season have been undrafted: Isaiah Canaan, T.J. McConnell , Robert Covington, Christian Wood, Phil Pressey, and JaKarr Sampson all endured an NBA draft where their name was never called. But the Sixers did call them after the fact, did give them the opportunity to try out for an NBA roster, and did give them a spot on the roster for the team in the 2015-2016 season.
For this, NBA fans and many analysts are furious with the team.
Without the Sixers, the NBA doesn’t have that safety net for talent missed in initial assessments. In the NFL, undrafted players comprise a significant portion of rosters, even on very successful teams like the Seattle Seahawks. But in the NBA, there is essentially two rounds for each team to reload their talent. That’s hardly favorable odds for the NBA to capture the talent of hopeful prospects who truly just need to get their foot in the NBA door to realize their full potential.
Next: The Factory
Nov 18, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Sixers flight squad holds a giant Philadelphia 76ers flag on the court to start the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. The Pacers won 112-85. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Factory
The Philadelphia 76ers cannot change the rules of randomness. But they’ve set up a system to tweak the curve. Pulling together experts in basketball analytics, nutrition, fitness, sports science and medicine, psychology, and constructing a state of the art basketball training facility.
Strategies of most teams up to now have been to focus on finding the superstar, and then once found, scramble to backfill a roster of supporting cast players rapidly to peak in that one or two year window where everything falls in place under the NBA salary cap.
The strategy of the Sixers is two-fold: while they shoot for the best and most draft picks in the NBA, they are also filling their roster with undrafted talent. This has allowed the team to get quality minutes out of undrafted NBA players – players like the 2014-15 season from Robert Covington, who put up 13.5 points per game as he averaged 27.9 minutes per game. It has also allowed the team to find the talented T.J. McConnell, whose 7.2 points per game, coupled with 6.5 assists per game, has been one of the few bright spots for the team in the early struggles of the 2015-16 season.
Yes, the team is suffering under the expectation of results: immediate and permanent results. But long-term solutions take a long time to arrive. In the meantime, the team is working to build a team mentality. In fact, early struggles may actually benefit the team.
Next: United We Stand
Apr 4, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown talks with players on the bench during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
United We Stand
Military members know this process intimately. Adversity builds a lifelong bond. When young men and women enlist in the US military, they know nobody, and they know nothing about the culture of the military way of life. Individuality, a mainstay of civilian life, is actually a huge detriment in a military lifestyle. The military success depends on synchronization of a myriad of individuals into focusing on achieving one simultaneous goal. That inter-dependance and simulataneous relationship is hinged upon each individual sticking to one script.
Losing isn’t fun. But perhaps it is a necessary first step to building the team mentality which is the basis of what has yet to come. Sports physician Jordan Metzl of the Sports Medicine Institute of Young Athletes in New York gave some insightful comments on the topic:
"“Losing is often overlooked. Winning is celebrated but the pain of loss is very significant. The shame and pressure of losing is a very strong emotion that athletes deal with for their entire careers. Most athletes do lose, it’s normal to be disappointed. It’s not normal to be depressed three months later.”"
The discipline of practice, of exercise, dramatically improve an athlete’s psychology as more and more of the unfamiliar become familiar. By converting responses from “thinking about it” to reflex actions, we improve our ability to react and perform. To get any athletes attention at the professional level, there has to be motivation. Losing, while it seems counter-productive, provides some of the strongest motivation to a competitor to learn new and better ways of doing things, and to exert the training and effort it takes to improve.
Next: The Learning Curve
Oct 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown yells instructions to his team during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Learning Curve
The modern professional athlete is more than just a tall, strong, or fast player. They are a PhD in the sport of their specialty. They no longer can go out and drink all night and sweat it out the next day on the baseball mound or the basketball court. To gain and maintain the competitive edge, an athlete must know and use the latest in sports science. Training and discipline are the off-spring of focus.
Focus is one of the most powerful tools in sports psychology. Whatever sport you compete in, the ability to focus is essential to success. And the conflict of genetics versus athletic focus is going on right now on the counter-culture Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers are more than just a team experimenting on draft and international player assets. The path of this team is even more fundamental. Can a team “teach” players to win in one of the most competitive sports in the modern world? Can this team take undrafted players and afford them an opportunity to improve with the right mix of science, coaching, and opportunity to hold their own in NBA games?
The emotional response of NBA fans is confusing. Fans of many team are angry with the Sixers for the attempt. The hill this team must climb is already quite steep. 76ers players must improve at a pace that is nearly double the teams of the NBA in order to compete. So far, they are still at that deficit, their play is weak in fundamentals like ball control and shot selection, and they are losing.
Next: We Didn't Start The Fire
Sep 28, 2015; Galloway, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward
(7) during media day at Stockton Seaview Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
We Didn’t Start The Fire
The NBA has made a valiant attempt to even the playing field by restricting the amount of money that a team can spend on its players. If a team underbids, they lose the player to a competing team. If the team overbids, they are stuck paying an overpriced amount to an under-performing player for the duration of that contract.
The Philadelphia 76ers have given the NBA a third option. By fielding a team of inexpensive but hopeful players, the Sixers have given teams an opportunity to cast overpriced veterans and their punishing contracts to the Sixers: for a price. That price usually comes in the form of NBA draft picks. They absorbed JaVale McGee‘s contract to get the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round draft pick. The same Sixers absorbed the contracts of Jason Thompson and Carl Landry in order to obtain the 2018 first round draft pick of the Sacramento Kings and coveted player Nik Stauskas. They even absorbed the contract of Gerald Wallace from the Golden State Warriors for the right to swap a first round pick with the Warriors.
Next: Game Preview -- Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat
For a team that has grown to be hated by fans of virtually each team in the NBA, we are providing a necessary service – and blazing a new path in the process. Has this team plenty of work to do yet? Of course. But innovative thinking is good for professional sports, and the Sixers are innovators. That’s why the Philadelphia 76ers are good for the NBA. When we start winning, and we eventually will, I won’t be surprised to find a number of teams following the path we are burning right now.