Philadelphia 76ers Bank D’Antoni Brings Fast Break Fix

Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown consoles guard

(12) on the bench during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. The Spurs won 119-68. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Vanilla Doesn’t Sell In The NBA

Brett Brown has wanted to implement a D’Antoni offense, or a derivative, since becoming the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.  But the team has been assembled each year with new and younger faces of players who are still learning basic vanilla NBA.

"“That’s the stage that this program is at. It’s all vanilla and it’s all vanilla off the court, too. With just basic routines and showing up on time and interaction with teammates and how we travel and cell phones. It’s everything. I like the responsibility. It’s a different set of circumstances because of what their birth certificates say and what their NBA resume says. It’s not anything that I’m shying away from. I enjoy it. We start at what is vanilla and as vanilla as vanilla can be. It’s just very simple and deliberate and we try to focus on the teaching part of vanilla. Everybody around me knows what I want to leave the week with, and we haven’t let it go. We’ve been disciplined to have pace in our practice, pop in our practice and a rhythm, and it moves quick and we’re so much better organized. It’s done in an environment that has an incredible feel and pace to it.” – Coach Brett Brown discussing limits to offensive playbook"

And so, Brown is not limited by what he can teach, but in how quickly his players can learn.  Limited is what the Sixers offense has been so far this season.  When one player steps up offensively, another cools off.   With so much tethered to who and for how long players offensive production shows up, the team is a cascade of bad quarters of basketball with a sprinkling of good quarters intermingled.

The team has talent.  The team has a quality coaching staff.   The team simply does not have consistency.   That’s where D’Antoni can help.  By fitting the Sixers players into a highly structured offense that is proven over and over to score at a high pace in the NBA, the team now has the offensive template to judge who will work going forward.  This setup does not take well to a rigid veteran team – such as the Los Angeles Lakers team D’Antoni took over as their head coach.  This setup works optimally with young players, whose NBA habits remain fluid enough to be shaped by a well-structured offense.

Growing pains will happen.  The team may falter before it begins to show signs of improving.  But the D’Antoni hire was a true coup of the Philadelphia 76ers organization.  Not only did they land a premier offensive basketball coach, but they may have intercepted him from taking on a coaching role with such NBA powerhouse the Golden State Warriors and the resurging Denver Nuggets.  What is the draw for an accomplished coach to come to the Philadelphia 76ers?  If you can fix this team, it’s clear that D’Antoni will write his ticket to a head coaching position.

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