Brown’s playoff vision set: ‘I wouldn’t want to play us’
PHILADELPHIA » Through it all, through all four years of professional pain, through all the 10day contracts and 10-game losing streaks, the Sixers had a vision of what they would enjoy Wednesday. Through their process, they were hopeful that some night, some time, they would be in a game that they basically could not lose.
So it was in a 119-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies that they were in control, that they were the team with the star players, that they were longer, and stronger, and more precise. So it was as they continued to push into the playoffs that they could remember when it was all so different.
“We were Memphis,” Brett Brown said, “for most of the years that I’ve been here.” They were Memphis. They are not Memphis any longer.
And because they are not, they have turned to a new dream, one that Brown has become less hesitant to share in recent weeks. They are starting to feel, and with cause, that they have what it takes to win games in the postseason. And win series. And … and … and … more?
The other night, after a victory over Charlotte, Brown said that the Sixers are positioned to do something “unique” in the tournament. It was an interesting word selection, yet it made sense: The Sixers present unique matchup problems. And because they are something other than the standard NBA outfit, they can frustrate any opponent … or any succession of opponents.
“We play together,” Brown said. “We share the ball. Our defense, for the most part, over the body of work, the year, has been good enough to win and can win on the road. Sometimes not knowing what you don’t know isn’t a bad thing with young guys. It’s sort of a ready-fire-aim notion. You just go for stuff. And I think that we have a spirit in the group. We have accumulated some firepower. And for those reasons, if we can keep moving forward, I wouldn’t want to play us. I think we can be dangerous.”
While it wasn’t quite Buddy Ryan ordering the team bus to circle Soldier Field on the eve of a playoff game, air-horn blaring to announce the Eagles’ arrival, Brown’s growing public confidence is noteworthy in the era of coaches terrified to proclaim excellence. He has hinted in recent weeks that the Sixers are about to become “greedy” and that they can “re-calibrate” their postseason expectations. The announcement “I wouldn’t want to play us” can wind up on anything from a Tshirt to the heart of an offended opponent. But at the pace he is keeping, Brown could unload with “four, four, four, four” minutes after the playoff seedings are set.
“There is, for sure, an element of excitement for everybody here,” Brown said. “Really. We’ve all been through quite an amazing five-season journey, with now the fun really beginning to kick in. And I feel very sort of at peace with where we are. There is lot more to do.
“The notion of making the playoffs, to me, doesn’t make me want to do somersaults. I want more.”
Where the Sixers land on the bracket will matter. Indiana and Washington are the most likely first-round opponents. Yet if it somehow would be Cleveland or Boston, well, the Sixers a could quickly somersault into the offseason. But Brown’s newer attitude is experiencebased. He knows the Sixers are different. And he knows that different can work, even in the tighter, rougher, better-coached springtime season.
“We still have a lot of basketball still to play,” he said. “But because I won’t let it go, even with a young team, they understand the opportunity we have. They agree with it and they understand what we need to do to get wins.”
The Sixers have won their last four and five of their last six. And their schedule is not difficult, with seven of the remaining 12 at home, and no road games against likely playoff teams. They could win them all. Most, anyway. Enough, at least, to boost their position … and to give them realistic expectations of postseason success.
“Matchup-wise, this is tough to play against us,” Ben Simmons said. “We have a 6-10 point guard. J.J. (Redick) can shoot the ball. So can Cov (Robert Covington). Dario (Saric) can dribble and shoot. You see Joel (Embiid) in the post. It’s hard, especially if you want to put a point guard on J.J. They are going to be running around the whole time and have a big on me. It’s tough.”
Before a crowd kept by the weather to about 12,000, the Sixers never trailed against a team that would drop to 19and-52. In a way, the atmosphere was reminiscent of recent years, except it wasn’t the Sixers being outclassed.
“If they can arrive at the playoffs healthy, cocky and with the spirits up, and if they are playing good basketball,” Brown said, “I like our chances.”
That was
It’s once become a a vision. reality.