The Sixer Sense
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Brett Brown Doesn’t Want to Emulate Golden State Warriors

By Josh Wilson

Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown shouts at his players during the second quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown shouts at his players during the second quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers, according to head coach Brett Brown, will try to create their own path, rather than emulating the Golden State Warriors.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown knows the trends around the NBA, but he doesn’t want to fall into the buzz-words and trendy actions. I guess he just wants to be the hipster of the NBA.

All the rage lately — okay, maybe it’s died down a bit since they blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals — has been the Golden State Warriors’ 3-point shot and small ball. This has been cultivated by the dominance of the Golden State Warriors over the past two seasons, often running small lineups that run quick and spread the floor.

While other teams are looking to go small and expand their range, the Sixers aren’t exactly trying to emulate that exact style.

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Head coach Brown acknowledges that the scheme works for the Warriors, but thinks there is better value in just looking for the best shot on the floor, and getting the ball in the hands of the best players, no matter where they might be on the floor.

Speaking to NBATV’s Utah summer league broadcast crew, Brown had this to say:

"And often times, you know, Golden State is going to be the model. That was what we saw over the past few years, the 3-ball was in vogue, small ball was in vogue, and I think that maybe it’s a little bit trendy based on teams that are winning. For us, it’s how do you get the best players the ball? If that’s Jahlil [Okafor] or Nerlens [Noel]… It doesn’t always have to be primitive 3-point game, although I do think it’s tilting towards that."

The 3-point craze makes logical and mathematical sense. Without a doubt, 3 points are worth more than 2 points. Perhaps, however, Brown is onto something here. Instead of small ball, maybe tall ball is coming.

Is 3 points worth more than 2 points if you don’t have as high of a success rate with your 3-point shots? That’s, of course, where having sharpshooters comes in handy. In some ways, we may have made basketball too much about numbers, and stopped paying attention to momentum, flow of the offense, and ball movement.

This, of course, could also indicate that the Sixers aren’t seeing as much value in the analytics side of the game that was ushered in by Sam Hinkie. Bryan Colangelo, a more old-school type of president, may have pushed that out.

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I think the Sixers are hinting at getting back towards that, and looking for the best players and the best shots will set them up well moving forward. Whether they’re giving one of their big men the ball in the post, or giving Nik Stauskas or Timothe Luwawu a 3-point look, they will have a much better offense than they did last year.