Philadelphia 76ers Emerging As Pace Space Pass Legends

Pace

If head coach Brett Brown sits down to explain his philosophy to the press, inevitably he will turn to the following mantra:

"“Pace, space, and pass.”"

But that same mantra changes when he sits down to address his youth-infused players. Instead he goes to another variation of the phrasing:

"“Pace and poise.”"

But when he was running the offense through center Jahlil Okafor, he had to change that to accomodate the scoring acumen of his rookie center, and so it became:

"“Pace and post.”"

Accommodating players’ skills is what Brown learned from his instructions under Popovich.   But in the NBA, judgement is passed on results, not mantras.   and so, regardless of the wins or losses column, just how fast was the 2015-2016 Philadelphia 76ers squad?

NBA.com Stats has a very nice way of measuring that.   In advanced team stats, they measure PACE by the number of possessions per 48 minutes of play (a full league game).  Surprisingly, the Phiadelphia 76ers came in sixth (100.23) behind the Sacramento Kings (102.24), Golden State Warriors (101.65), Boston Celtics (101.15), Phoenix Suns (100.86) and Washington Wizards (100,63).

So the team is playing quickly.  If you recall, that was an area Brown immediately identified as an area needing improvement.  But pace has a way of exaggerating what a team is.  If the team is good (ala the Golden State Warriors), pace gives the team more shots per game – more opportunities.  But if the team has few shooters (ala the Philadelphia 76ers), well, that gives the other team opportunity to shoot.

So pace unto itself is just that, the pace of the game.  Can it prove to be an advantage?

Next: The Future of Philadelphia Pace