The Philadelphia 76ers are honing a playoff mindset at the insistance of head coach Brett Brown in their final push to the NBA Playoffs
The Philadelphia 76ers have fought a growing perception that the the coaching staff is okay with the team “as is”. The persistance of high turnovers, the lapse in team defense, and inconsistent shooting continues to haunt the team, even as they gird for their first postseaon push. But the rules changed today. Head Coach Brett Brown changed them. And he’s placing his players on notice.
#Sixers’ @dariosaric: “We [had] a meeting today. Coach was talking about we have to be more a playoff mind, more ready to play on defense.” pic.twitter.com/cQZwNIXjmb
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) March 19, 2018
Coach Brown timed that meeting very well. The Philadelphia 76ers have 14 games remaining of the 82 game season. Nine games play in Philadelphia, five games are on the road. The team has won their last two games, but in a very dramatic come-from-behind fashion.
Faith shaken, not stirred
Even those of us with great faith in this team were shaken. If the team struggled against weaker opponents, what chance can the team possibly have against the NBA’s best teams in the playoffs? And with the close calls against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, a come-to-Jesus meeting was due. After all, neither team has much to play for. But both teams gave the Philadelphia 76ers all they could handle.
Now the team is withing 1.5 games of the 3-seed, and only up two games from the 8-seed. That’s a narrow path to navigate for a very young team on their first blush of postseason relevance. And perhaps it’s that very “all new to them” perspective that has triggered a new facet of Coach Brown’s approach. That of a drill instructor.