Philadelphia 76ers: 5 things Brett Brown must change moving forward
The first two weeks of the NBA season have passed, and the Philadelphia 76ers sit with a 4-4 record. Here are five things Brett Brown must change.
The Philadelphia 76ers came into the NBA season with a golden opportunity. LeBron James went westward, breaking the Eastern Conference wide open for the Sixers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Milwaukee Bucks. Philly lost to the Raptors on Tuesday, the Bucks last Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Celtics on opening night, and those games, along with a tight win over Charlotte on Saturday, exposed the Sixers’ glaring weaknesses.
The most concerning parts about those games are the manners in which Philly lost them: the Raptors handled the Sixers 129-112, the Celtics crushed the Sixers 105-87 and Milwaukee beat them 123-108. The two conference rivals played the Sixers off the floor in those games, and Brett Brown needs to make some major adjustments to turn around this disappointing start to the season.
A miracle 5-11 night from three-point range for Brook Lopez played a big role in lifting Milwaukee over the Sixers, and although irregular events like that won’t occur every night, there are steps coach Brown can take to prevent similar things in the first place.
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In his time as head coach of the 76ers, Brown has had his fair share of stubborn streaks when it comes to confusing personnel decisions. For example, he played J.J. Redick, T.J. McConnell, and Marco Belinelli in the same lineup during the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics and their hyper-athletic bench unit.
Brown’s teams usually play solid defense, but for some time now, the Sixers have mightily struggled to contain superstar opponents. Kawhi Leonard dropped 31 against the team, Kemba Walker had 37, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32, and Blake Griffin had 50.
Philly’s struggles this year are consistent with last year’s: lots of turnovers, odd lineups once Brown turns to his reserves, confusing shot selection, and switching so much on defense that the opponents always have a mismatch to take advantage of.
Philly has a realistic shot of making the NBA Finals, but a lot has to change for them to stack up to the Celtics, Raptors, and even the Bucks, based on their last game. The NBA season is long and a lot will change, so take a look at five steps coach Brown can take to help his team improve.