The Sixer Sense
Fansided

How Long Can Brett Brown Keep This Up?

By Bret Stuter

Dec 5, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Wells Fargo Center. The Denver Nuggets won 106-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Wells Fargo Center. The Denver Nuggets won 106-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown looks on in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The 76ers won 124-122. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown looks on in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The 76ers won 124-122. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Brown Blue

Brett Brown spends about 15 percent of his day in the duties of a normal NBA head coach nowadays. The rest of the time? He’s trying to solve the equations of minutes played, minute caps, injuries, development, and player satisfaction. Even though he had a similar situation in the past, it seemed as though he was not alone in solving insurmountable equations. Now, it appears as though he stands alone.

"“If you went into my office, it’s a Rubik’s Cube,” Brown said. “I need an abacus. It’s how you spend your money. And then, how do you intertwine it with Jahlil? How do you try to go win a game? You want to save some for the fourth period.”"

Keep It Simple Stupid

But in a season where things aimed at simplification, things became ever so more complicated.

"“I have five sets of four-minute segments with Joel Embiid,” Brown said. “I have three sets of four-minute segments with Jahlil Okafor. And then you have Richaun Holmes. And so you intermittently sprinkle it in and you like to pair guys up with their matchups. We’re not there yet. It’s too complicated if you make it. So it’s simplistic. We’re going to end the game with Joel. The times he is sitting, he will be on a bike. We’ll monitor that. We practiced this. It’s probably the single thing we learned from the preseason: How to spend our money.”"

Brown is called to the carpet on his “game decisions” by fans. But its highly unlikely that he gets to devote even a fraction of his time to game planning and strategy relative to other head coaches. His immediate task is trying to set a line up. And then, setting his rotations. By game time, that likely has consumed the lion’s share of his day. And that has to be frustrating.