How does Brett Brown stay the Philadelphia 76ers head coach?
It’s no secret, Brett Brown is on the hot seat going into the Disney Bubble and if things don’t turn out a certain way, he could be out as the Philadelphia 76ers head coach. The question is, what does he have to accomplish inside of this bubble to keep his job?
Well, I’ve alluded to it before on The Sixer Sense podcast with guest Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I said that they have to make it at least the Eastern Conference Finals for him to have a shot at keeping his job and to secure it they have to make it to the NBA Finals.
That seems like a lofty goal and to be fair for the current sixth-place Sixers, it is. However, there are steps in which Brown can put the team in the best opportunity to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
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In terms of adjustments, the biggest one that needs to be made is how Brown has been using veteran big man Al Horford. Before the stoppage of play, Brown experimented with Horford coming off the bench, which produced positive results. Brown needs to continue that during the restart and trust second-year guard Shake Milton in the starting lineup.
Staying along the same lines, Brown can’t have Horford, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid on the court at the same time. The trio hasn’t proven to be efficient together and Brown should just try to keep two on the court at all times to minimize the spacing issues that all three present at some level.
Brown should also treat Simmons as a power forward in the half-court offense due to the fact that he’s really effective as a roll man in the pick-and-roll. This also helps the Sixers as Simmons has proven to be an unwilling shooter.
Speaking on Simmons’ unwillingness to shoot outside shots, Brown has to figure out a way to get his point guard to take more 3-pointers. If he does, it might open up the door to Simmons, Embiid, and Horford being able to co-exist on the floor effectively.
If Brown wants a shot to keep his job, then he has to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Luckily for him, there are adjustments he can make to help him and the club make a deep playoff run.