Philadelphia 76ers Coach Brown loves defense, and it shows

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown loves to stress defense. Defense wins championships. And on the Philadelphia 76ers roster, it shows

When the NBA touts defense, the Philadelphia 76ers are often considered okay at defense, but not great. Perhaps it’s due to the years of rebuilding? But perhaps it’s that “optics” that so many talk about? After all, the Philadelphia 76ers surrendered 105.3 points per game.. That’s not even in the NBA top 10.   But the Philadelphia 76ers run a fast paced offense. And that pace pushes the team into the top 10 on offense at 109.8 points per game. And with those two set, the point differential, the most important stat of all, is a +4.5.   That’s good enough for fourth best in the entire NBA.

So things have changed a bit, haven’t they, NBA?

Embiid impact

Now it’s playoff time.  And the Philadelphia 76ers are new to the hype and the spotlight, right? So the defense should suffer as a result. In four games, this defense has allowed 103, 113, 108 and 102 points.  That averages out to 106.5 points.  From 105.3 to a 106.5 post season average?  That’s actually pretty good.   But wait.  Embiid was out two games. So for the two games IN MIAMI, how was that defense?

105 points. And the 76ers average 116.75 points per game. With Embiid? 117 points per game. And that’s solid first round basketball. But who are the contributors?

Ben Simmons, Robert Covington and Joel Embiid made the cut off on total defensive rating. All three players are in the NBA’s Top-15.

Brown coached team well

Well, for starters, the Philadelphia 76ers have three of the top 13 in the NBA in total defensive rating. Simmons, Covington, and Embiid. Only the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks have multiple players. And not one other NBA team has three or more players in that top 15 list.

But the defense does not end with just three players. The Philadelphia 76ers have proven that they have defensive aligned players when the going gets physical. Justin Anderson, T.J. McConnell, Amir Johnson, all have seen time with defensive responsibilities at the forefront of their court time.

Advantage Philly

The worst strategy conceivable for Miami was the method they elected. Intimidation, really? Philly stands intimidate the players more than anything the Heat can do. But oh they tried. Pulling arms, stepping on face masks, running at the Sixers and kocking them down repeatedly, trying to throw Philly into a panic mode?  Laughable. The Philadelphia 76ers have been trolled by all in the past three years. Trying to get “in their heads” of the Sixers team was not a well thought-out plan.

As a result, the 2018 NBA Playoffs find the Philadelphia 76ers standing at 3-1 and going home with momentum.  Still, game four was as ugly and unorthodox of a win as I have ever seen in an NBA Playoff game. The Sixers coughed up 26 turnovers, and only shot 7-31 from the three-point line. Still, the team managed to win 106-102. How?

Miami wilted in their own Heat

Continuing the same theme from games two and three, Miami once more climbed up backs, tackled, pulled jerseys and limbs. But in game four, their antics caught up to them. When Joel Embiid dove at a loose ball, both Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, who were also diving, came out of the pile injured. Richardson emerged with a bruised shoulder, and Winslow needed four stiches above his eye.

Defense. Pure and simple.

Wade offense shows on even games

The Philadelphia 76ers endured another offensive showing of Heat ageless Dwyane Wade. Just like game two, Wade led the Heat in scoring in game four. Fair enough, but the Sixers kept the rest of the Heat in check. In fact, without Wade’s 5-6 from the foul line, the Heat could only manage 8-19 on free throws.

Next: Sixers grab 3-1 series lead with comeback win

Philly needed the physicality to be ready for round two. But now, having witnessed Miami’s best, it’s time to put this round away in Philadelphia.  Advancing to round two looks like a Philadelphia-Boston matchup, and the NBA should tune their attention to that one. Boston and Philadelphia have incredible history, and no love lost. But this Philadelphia team has upgraded quite a bit and will be ready for Boston. Boston loves to play defense. But so does Philly now.