Philadelphia 76ers podcast: Brett Brown’s comments, chemistry, NBA vs. NFL

Special guest Larry Atkins joins the podcast to discuss all things Philadelphia 76ers.

This week, Lucas Johnson and Uriah Young welcome special guest Larry Atkins to talk Philadelphia 76ers hoops. In a little over three weeks, the NBA season will resume, and the intrigue about the team’s return dominates the sports news cycle. Our hosts and guest cover a range of topics that include players, coaches, rotations, and our very first Twitter Polls of the Week.

Lucas and Uriah start off with Brett Brown’s comments during last week’s press conference on Ben Simmons and Shake Milton. Are the 76ers going to roll Simmons out right away or limit his minutes? Will Shake be a major part of the lineup to keep the momentum going after his hot streak was interrupted by the hiatus?

They also discuss how Ben and Shake would fit together in the starting lineup. The press grilled Simmons about his teammate, and he gave a cookie-cutter response that leaves us to wonder how he really feels about Shake’s new role in the offense.

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From there, they go into the best pick-and-roll tandems on the roster. Last season in the playoffs, Brett Brown committed more to the pick -and-roll system because of Jimmy Butler’s skillset. With Butler gone, they have added some new pieces and a few players have emerged who could pick up where Butler left off. Is the best tandem Simmons and Embiid? Horford and Harris? How about Korkmaz and Embiid? Listen to find out.

The conversation then turns toward who should be held accountable for the team’s poor chemistry? Is it the coach or the players? Is there someone else in the organization who should shoulder the blame for the team’s disjointed play and poor home record?

They round things out with whether or not the NBA will have viewership issues competing with all of the other major sports leagues, such as the NHL, MLB, and NFL, between now and November. Of course, the NFL is king in the U.S. while the NBA is a clear second place, with four major sports being televised at the same time, someone’s ratings will dip. Should the NBA be worried?

Larry Atkins was gracious enough to lend his time and thoughts to our podcast, and we want to thank him for joining us. You can

follow Larry at @LarryAtkins4 on Twitter

. He is a prolific writer and a heck of a professor at Temple University and Arcadia University! Show him some love, folks!

Until next time, Sixer fans, keep hoops alive!