Verdict in: Philadelphia 76ers Coach Brett Brown can win

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 24: The Philadelphia 76ers celebrate with Brett Brown in the locker room after defeating the Miami Heat in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Brown wins with talented teams

Gauging the potential success of a team coached by Brett Brown prior to this season was next to impossible. Not due to the lack of effort by the team, nor the quality of the coach. The team simply had too many injuries and insufficient talent to make a valid judgement. But judgements happened anyway. Often.

In fact, the call for firing Coach Brown after each loss became so predictable, that it became a running joke among Philadelphia 76ers fans. “Fire Brett Brown” became synonomous with “The Philadelphia 76ers lost”.

Play the hand you are dealt

But Brown simply played the best roster dealt to him. The only way to develop raw young talent is to play them in game situations. So that is what he did. Keep in mind that neither Marco Belinelli nor Ersan Ilyasova were on the roster for much of the season. For that matter, both Markelle Fultz and Furkan Korkmaz were injured for much of the season as well.

Brown still had to send a starting lineup onto the court. Some lineups had three-point shooters. Others did not. But when the team landed Belinelli and Ilyasova, Brown had enough fire power. Subsequently, the team won 16 consecutive games to close out the regular season, and are 4-1 in their first playoffs series.