Philadelphia 76ers Will Be Just Fine Philadelphia

Nov 29, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Phil Pressey (26) drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard Mario Chalmers (6) at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Phiadelphia 92-84. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Under Lots Of Pressey To Win

Pace, Space, and Pass

The words are the mantra of a Brett Brown coached team,  So far, the Sixer resemble nothing of this tried and true NBA strategy.

Pace – a fast game where you move at an accelerated speed to tire your opponent, force them into reactions and the potential for mistakes, and position yourself to make a play instantly.
Space –proper intervals, this gives the NBA team better “looks” for shooting, provides better defense due to covering more basketball court, and allows teammates to anticipate where one another will be in order to move the ball with more accuracy.
Pass – ball movement.  Selfless style of play that moves the ball around, complicating the defensive planning of their opponent and placing the ball into the hands of a player with the hot hand or the best look at a shot.

"“You learn at this stage, for me—and it’s highlighted even by playoff basketball—that it’s all about pace, space, and pass,” Brown explained. “And even though we’re big, we still wanna run. We led the NBA in pace our first year, we were fifth or sixth last year. I can’t go to my guys and say, ‘You’re gonna get in career best fitness, the best shape of your life, and then we’re gonna play slow.’ There’s a contradiction. And so, event though we men of size we want to get up and down the floor. Space, a lot of time with bigs, equals shooters. You need people that command that attention. And so it’s gonna be on us to recruit, develop, draft—in the future—shooters to allow that space and let those two guys co-exist.”"

The Sixers filled a roster and are now 18 games into the season and have yet to see good looks at all of their players. Point guard Phil Pressey is one such player.  He was signed to the team on November 4th.

Nobody saw the move as anything more than a team trying to get a warm body onto the roster who could play some minutes while injured players recovered. But the signing was not seen that way by Josh Wilson of The Sixer Sense, who wrote a compelling article indicating that Phil Pressey was more than a bench body. Since that time, his play has caught the eye of other writers an analysts.

Pressey plays behind T.J. McConnell and Isaiah Canaan.  In 27.9 minutes per game/MPG, McConnell excels at assists (6.2 assists per game/APG) , can score a little (6.8 points per game/PPG) , but does not penetrate to the basket in order to draw the foul.  In 25.8 MPG, Isaiah Canaan can score (11.3 PPG) can assist a little (1.8 APG) and shoots 83% from the free throw line.  Pressey has only begun to see the floor in the last three games.  In 12.5 MPG, Pressey is scoring 4.5 PPG, assisting at 3.6 APG, and is shooting 40% from the free throw line.  He’s had playing time in three games, and that’s hardly enough to get excited about.  But it is enough time to catch the keen eye of head coach Brett Brown:

"“He has an NBA gift in that he has speed. And there’s a physicality to his speed that lets him play in traffic and take hits and bumps. He’s got a motor. He’s got a pace. We know ending and closing out games has been a problem for us, primarily because we get stood up. It’s no secret we’re trying to go to Jahlil [Okafor], but you can’t make the defense promise they’re going to let it get in there. And so when they all of a sudden deny the obvious, now what do you do? And that’s where we struggled. And so he has that gift.” – Brett Brown"

The Sixers are still just a box of pieces that are assembling the team before NBA fans. They are doing it on the fly, and as they plug guys in and see how they stand up to the pressure and the pace, they can tell if the prospect has potential. The Sixers team is designed to be a good defense and a fast offense. How does Pressey look in that context?

Brian Setzer touches on that topic in a recent article on Sixers.com .  We know that Pressey is a fast player on a fast playing team.

"When the newly acquired point guard is on the court, the Sixers’ pace, 104.3, is at its fastest compared to any player currently in the club’s rotation. Conversely, the Sixers’ pace drops by roughly 5.5 possessions when Pressey is off the court. Furthermore, Pressey’s overall average game speed of 4.68 miles per hour ranks first among his Sixer peers, as does his 5.26 miles per hour offensive speed. He and T.J. McConnell are tied for the fastest average defensive speed, at 4.15 miles per hour."

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